Tate out of Warriors clash

Bronco back Brent Tate will miss this Sunday's round-16 match against the New Zealand Warriors in Auckland due to injury.

Named to play on the right wing at Ericsson Stadium, the 2004 Tri-Nations tourist has still not recovered from the sprained right ankle he suffered in the round-14 win over Canberra.

That means Queensland under-19 representative Steve Michaels will play his third-straight NRL game since making his debut against the Raiders when called in to cover for the missing State of Origin II stars.

18-year-old Michaels, who crossed for his debut NRL try in Saturday night's 40-22 win over the Wests Tigers, will take Tate's position outside Justin Hodges.

Other Broncos to miss the Warriors-match are injured pair of International lock Tonie Carroll (calf) and winger Scott Minto (knee) and suspended utility forward Neville Costigan (2 weeks).