Canberra captain Elliott Whitehead is expected to miss the next three to four weeks with a calf injury, opening the door for a couple of new recruits to strut their stuff.
Whitehead was a surprising omission from the Raiders’ team list to face the Knights, with former Panther Zac Hosking to start on the right edge in his club debut.
UK import Morgan Smithies, having joined the Raiders this off-season from Super League club Wigan, will start at lock for the Green Machine.
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Whitehead’s injury is a big blow for a team who lost plenty of leadership and experience when Jack Wighton left for the Rabbitohs.
Joseph Tapine will captain the side in Whitehead’s absence with Jamal Fogarty the vice captain.
MANLY AND BRISBANE’S VEGAS BLOWS
Both the Sea Eagles and Broncos have been hit with injury blows, with Jason Saab and Brendan Piakura set for sideline stints.
In the first Las Vegas clash, Saab pulled up lame in the closing minutes of the clash, grabbing at his hamstring.
The 23-year-old looked unsettled, grabbing at his leg whilst standing beyond the dead ball line in a horrible sight for Manly fans.
“Any time you see one of your real speed men pull up like that it’s not ideal, obviously he’ll get scans in Australia, we’ve got a long turnaround but it’s probably doubtful he’ll play in that Roosters game,” Anthony Seibold said.
“Whenever you see a player come off with a hamstring it’s never going to be just a five-day turnaround or a seven-day turnaround, it’s going to be a little bit longer.”
Seibold highlighted both Raymond Vaega and Tommy Talau as potential options to fill his spot on the wing.
Meanwhile, the Broncos could be without Piakura in Round 2 after he suffered an ugly concussion to start the second clash.
While attempting to tackle hooker Brandon Smith the backrower got his head in an awkward position, colliding with his opponent’s knee.
The 21-year-old was stumbling on his feet and there was immediate concern for his welfare from teammates and Tricolours players.
Piakura was in doubt prior to the season opening games, having suffered a minor MCL strain in the pre-season challenge. Now he could be hit with a mandatory stand down period.
Read on for the latest NRL Casualty Ward
INJURED IN ROUND 1
Jason Saab (hamstring) — TBC
Brendan Piakura (head knock) — TBC
FULL CASUALTY WARD
BRONCOS
NIL
BULLDOGS
Ryan Sutton (knee) – Indefinite
Connor Tracey (ankle) — Round 2/3
COWBOYS
Coen Hess (knee) — season
DOLPHINS
Tom Gilbert (knee) – TBC
Sean O’Sullivan (head knock) – TBC
Max Plath (facial injury) – TBC
Turbo try controversially denied! | 00:37
DRAGONS
Corey Allan (knee) – season
EELS
NIL
KNIGHTS
Jayden Brailey (hamstring) – Round 1
PANTHERS
Jarome Luai (shoulder) – Round 1
Warriors shock Panthers to win WCC | 02:46
RABBITOHS
Jack Wighton (suspension) – Round 3
Campbell Graham (sternum) – Round 22
RAIDERS
Seb Kris (suspension) – Round 2
Corey Horsburgh (suspension) – Round 4
Elliott Whitehead (calf) – Round 4/5
Corey Harawira-Naera (rested) – Indefinite
ROOSTERS
Dom Young (neck) – TBC
Billy Smith (hamstring) — Round 2
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (suspension) – Round 2
SEA EAGLES
Josh Schuster (calf) – Round 2
Matt Lodge (knee) – Round 5
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Trell throws intercept – Saab runs 60m! | 00:37
STORM
Cameron Munster (calf) — Round 1
SHARKS
Nicho Hynes (quad) – Round 1
Jesse Colquhoun (foot) — TBC
Kade Dykes (hamstring) — TBC
TITANS
AJ Brimson (head knock) – Round 1
David Fifita (pectoral) – TBC
Jayden Campbell (knee) – Round 3
Isaac Liu (knee) – TBC
WARRIORS
Edward Kosi (hand) – Round 3
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad (hamstring) – TBC
Demitric Sifakula (knee) – season
TIGERS
Justin Olam (knee) – Round 2
Adam Doueihi (knee) – Indefinite
Source Agencies
