The NRL finals hopes of both the Warriors and Bulldogs have taken a major hit, following injuries to key forwards Tohu Harris and Max King. The news is particularly brutal for Warriors captain Harris, who is set to miss the remainder of the season due to a chronic wrist injury.

Harris has been playing through the pain of the wrist injury for the majority of the year, despite missing four games for the New Zealand side in the middle of the season. The veteran Kiwi international did make a brief return but was below his influential best for Andrew Webster’s side when he did take the field.

The 32-year-old was named to play the Bulldogs in round 18 but was a late withdrawal from the controversial golden point defeat, with the club enjoying a bye in round 19. But Harris and the Warriors have now come to the decision that the veteran forward will undergo surgery on the wrist injury, meaning he won’t feature again this season.

It’s a huge blow for the Warriors’ faint finals hopes in 2024, with Webster’s men currently 12th on the ladder and facing a tricky run home that includes four games out of seven against teams currently in the top-eight. Webster’s men came within one win of making the NRL grand final last season and looked to have strengthened their squad in 2024 but injuries to key players such as Harris, Shaun Johnson and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, plus a dip in for the likes of Addin Fonua-Blake have hit the Warriors hard.

Tohu Harris and Max King both sidelined with wrist injuries

The Bulldogs are also set to be without arguably their most influential forward King for six weeks, with scans revealing the Canterbury prop has suffered a fractured wrist. King played through the pain of a wrist fracture earlier in the season but the NRL Physio confirmed that his latest injury requires surgery that looks set to rule him out until round 26 at the earliest.