The New Zealand Warriors have expressed frustration with the NRL for not allowing the club to bring in an experienced forward on loan as the club faces an extensive injury list.
Prop Leeson Ah Mau (pectoral muscle) and lock Jazz Tevaga (knee) have now joined hooker Jackson Frei (knee) and Bunny Afoa (knee) on the long-term injury list after sustaining injuries while in isolation camp in Tamworth.
Due to this, CEO Cameron George wants a player loaned to the Warriors, with George stating that clubs are prepared to loan players to the club, even for a short period.
Speaking on his middle forwards on Monday, George told NRL Media: "We've sort of run out of stocks.
"We've been declined already from the NRL for loan players. So were going to have a second discussion with them"
"We've got significant injuries in one particular part of our squad, in key positions. So to simply say 'You've still got 28 players', well they all can't play front row."
"So we need to go back to the drawing table with the NRL and give them a very clear understanding of who we have and what we don't have available, particularly in the middle."
In response to the Warriors loan request, an NRL spokesperson on Monday stated that "player loans" are against the spirit of the competition.
Due to the Warriors injury list, cancellation of the lower-grade competitions and restrictions on travel, George believes the club has grounds to claim compensation from the NRL.
"Development players are not necessarily NRL-ready. We have a duty of care as does every other NRL club," he said.
"You don't have too many front-rowers in your development list. Usually, they are in your top-30 and firing or you bring them in from the outside because they've developed elsewhere.
"We haven't got any sitting there ready to rumble. That's the challenge for us."
"We've been contacted by a couple of other NRL clubs who have offered to help us out, which is absolutely brilliant"
"And our development players aren’t getting that experience playing Canterbury Cup or another grade. So we're in a really challenging spot."
In a silver lining, George revealed that Tevaga's knee isn't as bad as initially thought, but is still expected to miss four to six weeks.
