The injury toll from Saturday's thriller at Allianz Stadium continues to mount for the Roosters, with head coach Trent Robinson delivering a grim update on flyer Mark Nawaqanitawase, and the news is about as welcome as a knock-on in golden point.
The electric winger, who had openly spoken about his desire to pull on the Blues jersey, looks set to watch the State of Origin series opener on the sidelines.
His night ended most cruelly when his foot became pinned beneath teammate Robert Toia, the kind of freak moment that can derail an entire season in seconds.
A syndesmosis injury is the suspected culprit, with surgery looming and a 6-8 week recovery timeline all but slamming the door on his Origin debut.
"It's (his) syndesmosis, he looks like he'll have an op," Robinson revealed in the press conference after his side's victory.
Nawaqanitawase wasn't the only Rooster limping out of the wreckage.
Queensland workhorse Lindsay Collins failed his head injury assessment before the break and won't make the trip to Gosford next Friday.
Star backrower Angus Crichton will also need scans on a knee injury that forced him to leave the game during the second half.
"Gus was a medial. We're having a look at that to see where he's at, so he's getting scans now,” Robinson stated.
"But I probably could have left him out there, but he needed work multiple times, so that's medial.
"And then obviously Lindsay, he was pretty good there (in the sheds), he was pretty clear on what happened and everything, but not good enough to go back on."
