The Warriors may have the best spine in the NRL but they are struggling to get them all on the park after captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck was ruled out of tomorrow night's round three NRL clash against the Bulldogs at Forsyth Barr Stadium.
The 23-year-old fullback has failed to recover from a concussion which forced him from the field in the first half of last Friday's 26-10 defeat to Melbourne.
He sat out the rest of the match after failing the NRL's requisite head injury assessment and his condition continued to be monitored this week, but another failed test yesterday ensured he would be sidelined for at least another week.
Versatile back Tui Lolohea will wear the No1 jersey against the Bulldogs after initially being named in the Warriors' extended reserves and last year's skipper, Ryan Hoffman, will captain the side in Tuivasa-Sheck's absence.
``Roger has been through the concussion protocols as required and hasn't been cleared to play,'' Warriors coach Stephen Kearney said.
``Ryan is a natural choice [as captain].
``He's one of our leaders and is well versed in the demands of the role.''
The loss of Tuivasa-Sheck is a blow to the Warriors who, despite having the Kiwis test spine on their books, have been unable to get all of their big playmakers on the field together for extended periods.
Tuivasa-Sheck, along with hooker Issac Luke, arrived as marquee signings last year, but the former Sydney Roosters premiership winner made only seven appearances before suffering a season-ending ACL injury in April.
The addition of five-eighth Kieran Foran for this season is yet to pay dividends. The NRL suspended him for the first two rounds and a slower than expected recovery from shoulder surgery has further delaying his highly anticipated debut.
The scenario is made more unpalatable following Tuivasa-Sheck's commanding early-season form, which provided fans and critics with a glimpse of the side's undoubted attacking potential together with a fully fit Luke and halfback Shaun Johnson.
After building his confidence in the pre-season trials, Tuivasa-Sheck turned in a terrific performance in the round one win over Newcastle, topping the running metres with 251 from 21 carries while making several threatening runs to get his side on the front foot.
The Warriors attack suffered noticeably following his departure in the 27th minute against the Storm and the home side failed to add to its score throughout the remainder of the match.
