Webcke to
retire; Cronk, Ryles & Naiqama

Brisbane's former Test prop Shane Webcke has announced he'll retire from rugby league at the end of the season.

The 31-year-old has played 243 first grade games for the Broncos since joining the club from Toowoomba in 1995. He's also played 20 Tests and 21 State of Origin games for Queensland.

Meanwhile, Cooper Cronk has failed a fitness test on his injured right shoulder raising concerns Melbourne may be forced to take on St George Illawarra without a genuine halfback on Saturday night. Cronk suffered an AC strain in the Storm's huge win over Newcastle last weekend, playing a leading hand in several of the team's nine tries.

The rookie halfback will be tested again on Friday before being ruled out of the clash. Fullback Greg Inglis is likely to recover from his knee injury and play after he completed about 80 per cent of his fitness test today.

St George Illawarra has paid a heavy price for its 22-12 NRL victory over Sydney Roosters, with prop Jason Ryles and winger Wes Naiqama both sidelined for 4-6 weeks. Scans this morning confirmed Ryles re-broke his hand, ruling him out of Australia's Test match against New Zealand on May 5.

Naiqama will also be sidelined for up to six weeks with an ankle injury, while Mathew Head (knee) and Aaron Gorrell (hip) are expected to be fit for Saturday's match against Melbourne.