Melbourne's premiership defence has copped an early hit with co-captain Dale Finucane out for six weeks with a calf injury.
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Scans have revealed the NSW Origin forward suffered a high-grade tear at training and the club does not expect him back until after the first month of the season.
"A couple of days ago towards the end of training I was accelerating and as I gained momentum I felt a little pop in my calf. I knew immediately when I did it because I was limited when I did it. I'm looking at 4-6 weeks," Finucane told SEN on Thursday.
With Harry Grant already sidelined, Brandon Smith will be filling in at hooker so Craig Bellamy's options to replace Finucane at lock are likely to be between Tui Kamikamika, Nelson Asofa-Solomona or Chris Lewis.
Grant has been ruled out for at least the opening three rounds after scans revealed a high-grade medial ligament strain in Saturday's trial win over Newcastle. - NRL.com
