NRL: Warriors coach Stephen Kearny giving Issac Luke every opportunity to prove fitness

Warriors coach Stephen Kearney is giving injured hooker Issac Luke every opportunity to prove his fitness for Saturday's clash against the Wests Tigers at Mt Smart Stadium.

The club confirmed on Monday that the 30-year-old was expected to miss up to four weeks after picking up a knee injury during the 50-10 loss to the Melbourne Storm.

However, the following day, Luke was unexpectedly included in the Warriors 21-man squad for the Tigers clash.

"We want to give him every opportunity to try and play," said Kearney on Wednesday.

"He had a run today and did a little-unopposed skill. The way with the NRL, when you name your 21-man squad, it is difficult to put a guy in who is not named in there, so that is the reason for naming him."

Kearney said Luke needs to pass some more tests before confirming if he will feature against the fifth-placed Tigers.

"He needs to pass a few fitness tests. He ticked a couple of boxes today, and he has a couple more tomorrow to tick off to make sure he is ready.

"He has pulled up well. It has been a big break from when we last played to Saturday night, so it is one of those things. He is not out of the woods yet.

"We don't want to put him at any risk, but we wanted to give him every opportunity to play."

If Luke is ruled out due to his knee injury, Sam Cook or Karl Lawton will get the nod to start the game at dummy-half.

Cook made his Warriors debut against the South Sydney Rabbitohs earlier in the season, while Lawton has yet to play for the Penrose based club - but he does have previous NRL experience.

The 22-year-old was signed by the Warriors from the Gold Coast Titans back in March, days before the NRL season began as injury cover for Nathaniel Roache.

Karl Lawton.
Karl Lawton. Photo credit: Photosport

Lawton might not be a well-known name to Warriors fans, but the utility has played 12 games for the Titans, sadly he does not have good memories at Mt Smart, as he broke his leg in his NRL debut against the Warriors back in 2016. 

If called upon, Kearney is expecting Lawton to deliver the goods after some strong performances playing for Warriors reserve squad. 

"Karl has played at a number of positions at the Titans. He has played out in the centres; he has played a bit of lock, a bit of dummy half, and also in the halves. 

"He is a utility, but we got him to the club with Nathaniel (Roache) going down early in the season, it was important we had a guy with experience."  

The round-nine clash against Wests shapes as a special one as the Tigers are currently coached by former Warriors fullback and boss Ivan Cleary.

On top of that, three former Warriors players (Elijah Taylor, Pita Godinet, and Ben Matulino) were all named in the Tigers squad for the game. Fellow ex-Warriors Russell Packer and Tui Lolohea will miss the game due to injury. 

The Tigers have had their way over the Warriors in recent years, having won four of the last five previous meetings. 

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