Warriors fans are gutted as star halfback Luke Metcalf has been ruled out for the season with a torn ACL injury.
The 24-year-old went down during the team’s loss to the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium, after a heavy tackle from forward Brendan Piakura caused his right knee to buckle.
This marks the second time Metcalf’s done his ACL, with the same knee taking him out back in 2019.
Metcalf has had his best season to date, securing eight tries and nine assists across 15 games, and was leading the Dally M count on 31 points before voting went behind closed doors in Round 13.
In a press release, the Warriors said: "A timeline on surgery is yet to be determined." However, usual recovery is expected to take around nine months, which could see him miss the start of the 2026 season too.
“In some heartbreaking news for Luke Metcalf, scans yesterday confirmed that he has ruptured his ACL and will miss the rest of the season,” The One NZ Warriors posted to their social media.
It’s another big loss for the Wahs side, who are already without co-captain Mitch Barnett (also out with an ACL), and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and Ali Leiataua, who are both sidelined with ankle injuries.
Meanwhile, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad has also been confirmed to miss a few games after he also sustained a knee injury in last weekend's match against the Broncos.
The Warriors' post added: “In some good news, Charnze is expecting to return from his own knee injury suffered over the weekend in four weeks.”
"He’s expected to be available again for the round 21 match against the Titans on July 26."
The faith now turns to Te Maire Martin and Tannah Boyd to step up and take the reins in the number 7 jersey - and fans are already getting behind them.
“We've got 2 players who are more than capable of taking his position and steering us into the finals,” one Facebook commenter wrote.
“The next man up mentality that Webby has installed in the group will be important going forward,” another added.
The Warriors face the Wests Tigers in their next home game on July 13th.
With key players out, all eyes are on who’ll rise to the challenge to hold our place in the top four.
