RICK Stone admits Wests have endured a rough start to the 2024 season.
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Luke Walsh (calf), Will Smith (suspension) and Nathan Ross (hamstring) all out round one while Ben Stone (concussion), Brock Gardner (hamstring) and Bray Guyan (suspension) became casualties from Saturday's loss to Central.
"We lost a few boys before kick off and then we lost another three as we go," the Rosellas coach told the Newcastle Herald.
Walsh and Smith slot straight back into the halves when Wests meet Lakes at Cahill Oval on Saturday.
"You could just see when we were training last night, everything flowed a bit smoother," Stone said on Wednesday.
"No disrespect to the other blokes or anything like that, those two boys [Walsh, Smith] are pretty experienced campaigners who know how to get a footy team around the park.
"Particularly Walshy, he does a lot of the puppeteering and Will provides a good foil for that."
Ross remains sidelined following recent "surgery to reattach" hamstring on bone and while he's "still got quite a road to home" Stone hopes intervention helps "get him back a little bit quicker".
Stone's son Ben, captain of the Rosellas who just notched up his 100th first-grade appearance, underwent a HIA around half-an-hour into the last game of Magic Round at No.2 Sportsground.
Gardner finds himself in the casualty ward for an "extended period" while Guyan later copped a two-match suspension for a crusher tackle.
Stone gave "credit" to Central and called on Wests to "improve".
* MACQUARIE have potentially lost skipper Jordan Noble (broken thumb) for a month while Jake Self, who hails from Toowoomba, was listed at halfback in round two. New forward Kai Parker may also come into calculations for the Scorpions.
* MAITLAND are entertaining two changes when hosting Kurri on Saturday with captain Alex Langbridge (work) unavailable and back-rower Lincoln Smith (ankle) undergoing scans for syndesmosis.
* WYONG are down Kyle Tukapua and Jake Lewis against visiting neighbours The Entrance on April 20 while recent addition Sione Vaenuku (Roosters) backs up after a crucial late try last weekend.
* UPPER Hunter product Lachlan Walmsley reached a career milestone of 100 tries in the English second-tier Championships when he crossed four times for Wakefield Trinity in round four.