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Barnett's Origin fitness clouded as Warriors top Souths
Scott Bailey, AAP • June 1st, 2025 7:22 pm
South Sydney's Latrell Mitchell (left) checks on injured Warrior Mitchell Barnett. (HANDOUT/NRL PHOTOS)
The Warriors hope Mitchell Barnett has avoided a serious knee injury, after the NSW State of Origin prop limped off in their 36-30 win over South Sydney.
On a day when Souths winger Alex Johnston's hat-trick made him the second man to reach 200 career tries, Barnett's Origin series was left in serious doubt.
The NSW front-rower will undergo scans back in Auckland on Monday, after he clutched at his right knee while making a first-half tackle at Accor Stadium on Sunday.
The injury came just four days after Barnett laid the platform for NSW in their series-opening win, and two-and-a-half weeks out from game two in Perth.
"He's done a knee injury of some description, but we're waiting for scans," Warriors coach Andrew Webster said.
"We honestly don't know what it is at the moment.
"He could be fine in a couple of weeks - I don't want to be talking like he is not with us any more.
"If you do a medial or PCL, you're never (mobile). There are different grades to different injuries, and until you look under the hood you never know."
Stefano Utoikamanu was NSW's back-up front-rower for the series opener, but Keaon Koloamatangi again made his case in Souths' loss.
After totalling 494 metres in his first two games since moving from second row to prop, the one-time Origin player ran another 189m on Sunday.
The 27-year-old got through 80 minutes again, bust eight tackles and scored the Rabbitohs' first try when he barged through three defenders to go over the line.
"Keaon's numbers are great, and he is playing a full 80 minutes," Souths coach Wayne Bennett said after the match.
"He is not even looking to be brought off the ground. That is the remarkable thing at the moment.
"For a middle forward it's all about workload. Payne Haas is pretty good at it too, but this guy is in that league."
The Warriors' win keeps Webster's men deeply entrenched in the top four at the halfway mark of the season, with a 5-1 record for games in Australia.
But it didn't come easy.
After Koloamatangi's try, a 90-metre Johnston intercept had the Rabbitohs leading 12-4 at the half-hour mark.
The Warriors then kicked into gear with five tries in the space of 24 minutes around halftime.
Luke Metcalf was the main star, the Dally M leader setting up three tries and scoring one himself when he went 85 metres from dummy-half.
Second-rower Leka Halasima again showed his talent when he stepped back through a gap and beat three defenders to the line.
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck also bagged a double in one of his better games of the season on the wing for the Warriors.
Latrell Mitchell and Johnston still offered the Rabbitohs some late hope, with the Souths fullback sending his winger over for two late tries in the second half.
And while that took Johnston to the 200-try milestone and put him within 12 of Ken Irvine's record tally, it wasn't enough to keep the Rabbitohs inside the NRL's top eight.
"It's a pretty remarkable achievement ... it's hard scoring one, let alone 200," Souths teammate Jai Arrow said.
"Although the result was disappointing, we can shed some light on AJ. I thought he was really good today."
