The Brisbane Broncos, Queensland Maroons and New South Wales have all been left sweating on the fitness of forwards Patrick Carrigan and Payne Haas.
Carrigan came from the field at the completion of Sunday's 30-26 loss to St George Illawarra with blood dripping from his mouth, following a head clash with Dragons forward Jack de Belin.
Carrigan appeared in visible discomfort after the incident and was seen receiving treatment in the dressing sheds after the match for what was initially feared to be a broken jaw.
While Broncos coach Michael Maguire played down the concern post-match, saying Carrigan had โjust a split in his mouth,โ he will likely undergo precautionary scans to rule out any structural damage.
โHe's okay,โ Maguire said during his post-match press conference.
Haas, on the other hand, is reportedly only a 50-50 shot of taking to the field with the Blues for Game 1 after suffering a quad injury in the loss to the Dragons.
NRL Physio is reporting he will go for scans on Monday morning to ascertaine the extent of the damage.
The Blues have already lost both Jacob Saifiti and Jake Trbojevic from contention for spots in the middle third, while it has been reported that Laurie Daley does not want to pick the in-form Terrell May.
Carrigan has become a mainstay of the Queensland side since debuting in 2022, racking up 11 Origin appearances and claiming the Wally Lewis Medal in his debut series. His consistency, communication and work ethic have made him a cornerstone of Queensland's recent success.
At club level, Carrigan remains one of the NRL's premier middle forwards. Since debuting in 2019, he has notched 93 first-grade appearances and was instrumental in Brisbane's run to the 2023 grand final.
