Warriors captain Addin Fonua-Blake has been given a “50/50 chance” of taking to the field on Friday night against the Cowboys, after suffering a knock last weekend.
The prop has been named on an extended bench, however he will be required to pass a fitness test before having any chance of making an appearance on the field.
Injuries to several key players have forced the Warriors to name Fonua-Blake despite uncertainty surrounding his fitness, however assistant coach Justin Morgan believes he is the greatest chance of taking to the field compared to his injured teammates.
“It’s a tough one for Addin. People ask why we named him at No. 24 in the squad, but of all of our middles that are available, he’s the one that is the most likely to make some kind of recovery,” he said on SENZ Mornings.
“Tohu Harris is not going to be able to play, Ben Murdoch-Masila and Jazz Tevaga aren’t going to be able to play, and then the other guys on the fringe like Jackson Frei and Tom Ale aren’t available for selection.
“So we’ve had to name him in the 24 because you have to name 24 players. He’s basically a 50/50 chance to play at this stage.
“He picked up a bit of a knock against the Broncos and wasn’t able to finish the game. He’s made some really good recovery in the front half of the week, we weren’t expecting him to play.
"We’ll give him all the way up until the captain’s run to improve his fitness because of his experience and the quality player he is, but as a group we’re preparing for him not to play, and if he plays it’s a nice little bonus for us.
“It’s just the way that the rules are, you have to name players in the 24 if they’re a chance of playing because you can’t change them without a special exemption from the NRL.
"We’re just trying to be as transparent as we possibly can for everybody to know that if he plays, it will be a bit touch and go.”
The Warriors will hope that Fonua-Blake can make a swift recovery, as they look to continue their winning streak against the Cowboys at Moreton Daily Stadium on Friday night, with kick-off set for 8:00 NZT.