Injury has been added to insult for the Newcastle Knights, with the club potentially set to be missing up to three players next weekend.
It was a difficult Saturday evening for the Knights, as they became the latest in a long line of clubs to let in 40 or more points to the Melbourne Storm.
While the contest, if it could be called that, ended up at 48 points to 4, Newcastle have far greater concerns in the coming days.
With just a six-day turnaround to next week's difficult clash with the Sydney Roosters on the Sunshine Coast, Newcastle's Queensland Origin star Kalyn Ponga, and former New South Wales prop David Klemmer, both failed to finish the game after being concussed and failing HIA assessments.
Coach Adam O'Brien is confident the duo will be fit next week, but concussion protocols will need to run perfectly for the pair to play. The NRL's stringent measures to protect player health mean a one-week return to play is the best possible result after failing a head injury assessment during games.
"They're both good, I just spoke to them then," O'Brien said after the game.
The Knights may be facing an extra blow in the forwards, with starting prop Jacob Saifiti failing to finish the game due to an ankle injury.
It's unclear how serious the injury is, but any time out could be disastrous for the Knights, who are on the edge of the top eight and locked in battle to play finals footy this season.
Daniel Saifiti has battled his own injury in the past fortnight, pulling out of Origin 3 and unable to make last night's game against Melbourne. While he is due back next week, the loss of both brother Jacob and Klemmer could prove an insurmountable bridge to overcome for O'Brien's men.
Both Saifiti brothers signed new contracts this week to remain in the Hunter long-term.
