NRL casualty ward round 1: Seibold's gloomy response to James Roberts' back injury

Brisbane Broncos star James Roberts will undergo scans on Friday to determine the severity of a back injury he suffered against the Storm in the NRL opener.

Roberts limped off the field in the opening stages of the Storm’s victory over Brisbane at AAMI Park, with Kotoni Staggs taking his place for the remainder of the clash.

The Broncos star underwent some tests after the round one loss and released a statement on the club’s website.

"James had a rather severe back spasm and was unable to continue," said Broncos' Manager of High Performance Paul Devlin.

"We will wait until it has settled down and then will be able to check whether there has been any structural damage."

Brisbane coach Anthony Seibold was less than optimistic about the extent of the damage when asked about his charge in the post-match press conference.

"He hurt a disk in his back, or he felt an issue with his back on pretty much his first carry," Seibold said.

"We will see how Jimmy pulls up tomorrow morning and get the doctor to assess him.

"He was in a fair bit of pain. He is not lying down.

"He certainly couldn’t have come back on was pretty much the message from the medical staff straight away."

The Storm seemed to walk away from the clash unscathed with Melbourne going into their round two clash with a full complement of players when they travel to Canberra to play the Raiders.

Joe Stimson is expected to return from a back problem for the trip to the nation's capital, while Scott Drinkwater is still some way off a return to fitness. The Broncos will have to wait for the results of Roberts' scans before making a decision on his availability. Broncos officials say they'll monitor his progress in the lead up to their second round clash against North Queensland.

BRONCOS

Payne Haas (Disciplinary, Round 5)

James Roberts (back, TBC)

STORM

Scott Drinkwater (Pectoral, Round 8-12)

Joe Stimson (Back, Round 2)