Hurrell doubtful for Brisbane trip

by NRL

Rookie sensation Konrad Hurrell faces a battle to be fit for the Warriors Round 19 clash against Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night (9.30pm kick-off NZ time).

The 20-year-old hat-trick hero in Saturday night's 32-14 win against Gold Coast limped from the field with a foot injury after 56 minutes.

Hurrell was upbeat about the injury after the game, optimistic he would recover for the battle of Brisbane. Later on Twitter, 'Super K' tweeted: "Thanks tweeps for the kind words n yeah it's a good feeling to get the two points and I should be alright for next week."

By Sunday morning's medical it was thought he would be doubtful for Friday's match, travelling home in a moon boot as a precaution pending further assessment.

"It looks like Kon could be struggling to be right for this game," said Vodafone Warriors head coach Brian McClennan.

"He's in a moon boot and he's being assessed. Hopefully he'll recover quickly but there might not be enough time for this week against Brisbane."

If Hurrell is ruled out of contention, it's expected Lewis Brown would replace him. The all-purpose Brown, used in the centres regularly last year, played there for the last 24 minutes of Saturday night's match.

While Hurrell is in some doubt, McClennan was buoyed by the knowledge the club's try-scoring record holder Manu Vatuvei was almost certain to be available to travel to Brisbane. He said Vatuvei, who had a knee operation just over two weeks ago, had been 'training the house down' since last week.

Hurrell, one of the NRL's top rookies this season, has been in rare touch.

Making his debut with a players' player of the day performance against Manly in March, he picked up the honour again in the win against the Sydney Roosters on May 12.

With 11 tries in his last seven games and 12 tries in 12 games so far this season, Hurrell is now third on the NRL's try-scoring chart and ranks among the leaders for most line breaks and tackle breaks. Among Vodafone Warriors players he's second only just behind Ben Matulino for most average metres gained per match.

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