State of Origin centre Brenko Lee’s comeback from a calf injury was thwarted by COVID-19 cases in Brisbane at the weekend.
Lee was due to play 40 minutes for Brisbane Tigers in the Intrust Super Cup in his first game for 2021, but after flying to Brisbane for the game he, and his Tigers affiliated Storm teammates, had to come straight back to Melbourne after positive COVID-19 cases were detected in the Queensland capital.
The Tigers went on to play the Townsville Blackhawks without their Storm contingent and fell to a 30-0 defeat, their second to start the campaign.
It was a better weekend for the Sunshine Coast Falcons who scored two tries in the final eight minutes to defeat Souths Logan 32-26 at Bishop Park in Brisbane.
Also playing without their Storm players, the Falcons’ matchwinner came in the 76th minute from centre BJ Aufaga-Toomaga, who trained with Melbourne over the pre-season.
