Sydney Roosters skipper Boyd Cordner has been put on ice for at least another week as the NRL club forge ahead with his extended preseason in round two.
The Australian and NSW Origin captain battled quad and calf injuries last season, playing 19 of a possible 27 games, as the Roosters pushed for back-to-back premierships.
His injury history has prompted the club to take a conservative approach to start the year despite losing their opening match of the season against Penrith.
Cordner missed the Roosters trial games as well as the World Club Challenge in February, and will now miss at least the first two rounds of the season after he was not named in Robinson’s team to play Manly on Saturday.
“The whole thing is to get volume into him now, speed, strength, endurance, so he can carry out what is a long season and a great season for him, when you get to play the matches he does,” Robinson said last week.
“The performance and medical staff said ‘let’s put him in the best shape possible to carry out his full season and so we’re doing that.”
However, in a boost for the premiers Angus Crichton will make his return to the field after missing the opening round with a case of pneumonia and testing negative for coronavirus.
Cronulla star Josh Dugan is also a chance to make his season debut against Melbourne on Saturday after being named on an extended bench, while Bronson Xerri has been left out of the team.
The Warriors have called on inexperienced duo Adam Pompey and Adam Keighran to play in the backline against Canberra for Peta Hiku and Patrick Herbert, who returned to New Zealand over the weekend.
Pompey has played five NRL games at wing and centre, with Keighran a five-eighth, hooker or bench utility with just six first-grade games under his belt.
Meanwhile, North Queensland will unleash representative forward Josh McGuire against Canterbury at ANZ Stadium on Thursday night after missing the first game of the season through suspension.