As Mother’s Day presents go, the one that Konrad Hurrell conjured up the night before rates as pretty special.
The rookie centre scored two outstanding tries in the Warriors’ 30-26 NRL win over the Sydney Roosters in Auckland on Saturday and dedicated the double to his mother.
“It’s for Mum and for all the mums in the team,” he said.
“She’s back in Tonga. She was watching on TV. I’m glad it was live in Tonga.”
Hurrell’s twin strike came in the space of seven first-half minutes and helped the Warriors to restore parity after the Roosters had opened with two four-pointers of their own.
Hurrell showed speed for his first with a 65-metre dash to the line and power for his second as he used his 101kg frame to brush off three defenders.
The 20-year-old, who is in just his second season of rugby league after converting from rugby union, also chimed in with more than 200m gained, nine tackle breaks and three line breaks, all game-high stats.
Hurrell announced his attacking prowess in the Toyota Cup last year, when he scored 22 times in 21 appearances and produced a remarkable 268 tackle breaks.
After the Roosters targeted him by sending many of their raids down his flank, he admitted that defence was an area he had to work on.
“It’s the hardest thing in the game for me, just reading the play,” he said.
“It’s developing every game. It’s getting there.”
For the Warriors, victory in a seesawing match, that had plenty of intensity in the closing stages as the Roosters mounted a late charge, lifted them above their opponents and into the top eight.
However, the result came at a price.
Centre Jerome Ropati, filling in for the injured Kevin Locke at fullback, limped off with a dislocated kneecap late in the first half and will be out for six to eight weeks.
It continues a depressing run for the 27-year-old Ropati, who missed most of last year after surgery on the same left knee.
He also had a spell out earlier this season after lasting just 27 minutes of the opening-round loss to Manly before spraining an ankle.
His latest injury came from a hit by Roosters forward Boyd Cordner, a tackle that was put on report after it was ruled that Cordner’s shoulder made contact with Ropati’s head.
With Locke recovering from a sternum problem, Glen Fisiiahi has pressed his claims for the fullback’s role after continuing his prolific try-scoring for feeder club the Auckland Vulcans.
Fisiiahi scored three times against the Windsor Wolves on Saturday to take his NSW Cup tally for the season to 18 in just eight matches.
He also has one try from his two appearances for the Warriors this year.