Warriors coach Stephen Kearney denied that there were any "shenanigans" involved in Roger Tuivasa-Sheck's late withdrawal from the Anzac Day clash with Melbourne.
The captain sat out the one-point loss with a hamstring injury despite Kearney saying earlier in the week that he would be right to go.
Speaking after the 13-12 defeat at AAMI Park on Thursday night, Kearney said his star fullback only succumbed to the injury later in the week.
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"We trained on Monday and he completed training - he had a little bit of tightness but nothing too serious," Kearney said.
"Goodness knows how it got out but he was adamant that he was okay and then after the captain's run he didn't pull up so well and we just didn't want to take the risk with him, but there was no shenanigans on our part.
"If you ask Roger, he was adamant he was going to play."
With the 2018 Dally M Medal winner headlining a list of important 'outs' for the Auckland-based side, most gave them no chance against the table-topping Storm.
Blake Green, David Fusitu'a and Solomone Kata also missed the clash, though it was the Warriors who made most of the running, leading for the majority of the match and prompting a half-time bake from Storm coach Craig Bellamy and captain Cameron Smith.
While disappointed to lose, Kearney said he was proud of the team's efforts, with reinforcements set to join them for their round eight clash with Newcastle next Sunday.
When asked if Tuivasa-Sheck would return, Kearney was confident.
"That's the plan, (we've got a) 10-day turnaround," he said.
"Obviously Roger felt a pinch in the hamstring at captain's run so we left him with the physio back home.
"It will depend how he pulls up over the next few days."
Kearney said that playmaker Green likely would have been named had they played this weekend, though they may have fresh injury worries, with Jazz Tevaga and Bunty Afoa picking up respective calf and hamstring concerns.
