Melbourne will be without their ‘big three’ for Saturday’s NRL match against North Queensland, with State of Origin stars Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk and Billy Slater all ruled out with injury.
The Storm on Thursday confirmed Cronk fractured his left arm and dislocated a joint during Queensland’s 12-8 loss to NSW and was expected to miss eight to 12 weeks.
He will have further scans when he returns to Melbourne.
Star fullback Slater suffered a grade-two AC joint sprain to his right shoulder on Wednesday night, sidelining him for up to three weeks.
Smith also left Brisbane battered and bruised, a low-grade right ankle sprain likely to keep him off the field for one-two weeks.
He will, however, travel with the team to Townsville, where he’ll be assessed by Storm medical staff.
The only Storm player to emerge from Origin unscathed is the Blues’ Ryan Hoffman, who is expected to play in their clash with the Cowboys at 1300SMILES Stadium.