JUST IN: Melbourne Storm's new coach sacked three players because of.....

The Bulldogs will be sweating on the fitness of four players who went off against the Cowboys due to concussion, causing them to activate their 18th man.

Chris Patolo, Brent Naden, Braidon Burns and Jeremy Marshall-King went off for HIAs, reducing the side to an empty bench at one stage, which saw reserve Aaron Schoupp come into play.

The Eels face a crisis at wing after Sean Rusell became the third winger to potentially be sidelined after being rushed to hospital with a rib injury.

Russell suffered the injury when he was hit hard in the act of scoring his third try.

“He has gone to hospital and they think he might have broken ribs but they are just checking on him,” Eels coach Brad Arthur said post match.

“He did a really good job and finished off some nice movements, but I’m not 100 per cent sure how he is at the minute.

“Hayze Perham could be an option to come in or Tom Opacic who scored four tries yesterday so he is pretty happy.”

The Storm have suffered a horrific triple blow in their Round 1 win over the Wests Tigers with Brandon Smith, George Jennings and Christian Welch all suffering serious injuries.

Smith suffered a fractured hand in the opening minutes of the game.

It’s understood that the Storm medical staff believe Smith sustained the injury in the first tackle of the game. He tried to play on but came off after two minutes.

The bad news continued for Melbourne with winger George Jennings suffering a suspected ACL injury. And then in the final two minutes of the game Christian Welch was assisted off the field with a ruptured Achilles, as confirmed by Fox League sideline commentator Jake Duke.

“This is catastrophic for Melbourne,” analyst Michael Ennis said.

Commentator Dan Ginnane added: “Christian Welch is borderline irreplaceable.”

Earlier, veteran prop Aaron Woods left the field early in his Dragons debut with what looked to be a hamstring injury.

The Storm provided an update on Sunday on the injured trio.

“Welchy (ruptured Achilles) and Brandon (broken hand) will undergo surgery tomorrow,” The Storm tweeted.

“George will have an MRI on his knee tomorrow as well.”

The Roosters lost Victor Radley in the first half of their clash with the Knights after the superstar suffered a nasty head knock.

Radley came in quickly to tackle Knights half Jake Clifford and his head connected with Clifford’s shoulder.

“That’s a nasty one,” Fox League commentator Andrew Voss said.

Radley stayed down for a moment but eventually got back to his feet.

Controversially he was not taken off for a HIA straight away. However three minutes later Radley was taken from the field for the assessment.

Sideline commentator Hannah Hollis revealed that the reason for the delay was because Radley was cleared to play on by the Roosters’ medical staff, however the independant doctor in the bunker intervened.

“I’ve been seeking some clarity on the Victor Radley headknock, under the new rules brought in this year there is an independent doctor sitting at the bunker and the bunker can make a decision on whether a player needs to come from the field,” Hollis said.

“They have direct communication with the refs so the bunker in this case has identified Victor Radley’s incident as a category one — that’s the highest rating possible. He will not return to the field of play and as a result the Roosters lose an interchange for the rest of the game.”

There are major concerns for Raiders veteran Josh Hodgson who left the field in the opening minutes of his side’s clash with a right knee injury.

Hodgson was spotted on the sideline just seven minutes in Friday’s game clutching at his knee. The 32-year-old couldn’t put weight on his leg and needed the assistance of two trainers.

Fox League vision later showed Hodgson getting assessed in the sheds for an ACL injury, while sideline commentator Matt Russell confirmed the star hooker would not return to the game.

“That’s checking the ACL… That’s checking the structure inside it,” Cooper Cronk said of the vision.

While it was later confirmed it was not believed to be an ACL, he still faces a stint on the sidelines with the injury a suspected MCL.

It comes after halfback Jamal fogarty suffered a serious knee injury during pre-season that will has sidelined him for four months.