A shoulder injury has ended Micheal Luck's run of 70 consecutive NRL appearances with the New Zealand Warriors.

The 26-year-old loose forward has been left out of the Warriors' lineup to play Cronulla at Mt Smart Stadium on Saturday night.

He was forced off the field in the 60th minute of last Saturday night's 16-12 win over Brisbane Broncos and is expected to be sidelined for two matches.

Since joining the Warriors for the 2006 season, the former North Queensland back rower had not missed a match until now.

"It's a real shame for Lucky and disappointing for us because he makes such a huge contribution to the side consistently every week," coach Ivan Cleary said.

"Considering the workload he has and the job he's required to do, it's a tribute to him that he has been able to put such a long run of appearances together."

With Luck out, 19-year-old Ben Matulino is promoted from the bench to make his first start at NRL level after being used as an interchange player in his first eight appearances.

Matulino goes into the second row with Logan Swann switching to loose forward for his 189th career match. The new player on the bench is 158-game veteran Wairangi Koopu returning for his sixth game of the year, his first since the June 6 clash against South Sydney.

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