Warriors hooker Nathan Friend is expected to be out of NRL action for six weeks after breaking his jaw in the 30-20 win over Brisbane in Auckland on Saturday night.

Friend suffered the injury after five minutes, but refused to come off, playing on until the end and pulling off 53 tackles.

The 31-year-old, who joined the Warriors from Gold Coast in the summer, also set up tries for Jacob Lillyman and Feleti Mateo with passes from dummy half.

He was taken after the match to hospital, where x-rays confirmed the break.

Team doctor John Mayhew says Friend, a veteran of 144 NRL matches, is likely to have surgery.