Souths beast to play days after fracturing eye socket
Wayne Bennett has hailed Keaon Koloamatangi's toughness as he prepares to line up for South Sydney less than a week after fracturing his eye socket.
The rapid-fire return gives Koloamatangi two games to reassert his State of Origin credentials, after missing NSW's trip to Perth for game two with the game-ending injury suffered against Canterbury on Sunday.
Koloamatangi had originally been a member of NSW's extended squad for Origin II and appears the next cab off the rank if Laurie Daley wants to tweak his 17 for the decider on July 9.
Koloamatangi comes in from the extended squad to face Melbourne on Saturday and will be joined in the team by star fullback Latrell Mitchell, who is backing up from NSW's two-point loss.
The Storm have ruled Xavier Coates out of the game at Accor Stadium but are likely to have his Queensland teammates Harry Grant and Trent Loiero on deck after they flew direct to Sydney from Perth after Origin.
Fellow Origin representatives Stefano Utoikamanu and Cam Munster flew back to Melbourne and are at longer odds to make the trip to Sydney to face Koloamatangi and the Rabbitohs.
"(Koloamatangi) didn't need any surgery and the doctor's quite confident (the injury) won't be a problem to him. He's confident and he's happy so we'll go ahead and let him play," said Souths coach Bennett.
"He's a bit like Jye Gray the other night with a broken thumb, played the whole second half. You can't question the toughness and the wanting to play for the club as well.
"The club's in a good place if players want to play and they've got injuries or getting back a little bit earlier. They work really hard."
The news is not so good for recruit Lewis Dodd, who had been named to come in from reserve grade for the injured Jayden Sullivan but will be replaced at five-eighth by Jack Wighton.
The axing raises further questions as to Dodd's future at the Rabbitohs, who have only started him in the halves once since he was lured from England on a salary of more than $600,000.
Dodd's selection chances will only diminish further when Cody Walker returns from his groin injury next weekend, having almost recovered in time to face the Storm.
"I haven't really had a conversation with (Dodd) because I told him on Tuesday he probably wasn't in the team anyway," Bennett said.
"I didn't know what was going on with Origin, I didn't know the other guys' injuries. I only really announced the team this morning to the players."
Saturday's game will be the 44th time Bennett has coached against Storm mentor Craig Bellamy, breaking the record for most match-ups for two coaches since the grand final era began in 1954.
To keep their top-eight tilt on track, the 14th-placed Rabbitohs must snap Bellamy's 14-game winning streak against Bennett-coached sides.
"(Bellamy's teams) all do their jobs, they're really good at that. Whatever role you've got in the team, they do it," Bennett said.
Wayne Bennett has hailed Keaon Koloamatangi's toughness as he prepares to line up for South Sydney less than a week after fracturing his eye socket.
The rapid-fire return gives Koloamatangi two games to reassert his State of Origin credentials, after missing NSW's trip to Perth for game two with the game-ending injury suffered against Canterbury on Sunday.
Koloamatangi had originally been a member of NSW's extended squad for Origin II and appears the next cab off the rank if Laurie Daley wants to tweak his 17 for the decider on July 9.
Koloamatangi comes in from the extended squad to face Melbourne on Saturday and will be joined in the team by star fullback Latrell Mitchell, who is backing up from NSW's two-point loss.
The Storm have ruled Xavier Coates out of the game at Accor Stadium but are likely to have his Queensland teammates Harry Grant and Trent Loiero on deck after they flew direct to Sydney from Perth after Origin.
Fellow Origin representatives Stefano Utoikamanu and Cam Munster flew back to Melbourne and are at longer odds to make the trip to Sydney to face Koloamatangi and the Rabbitohs.
"(Koloamatangi) didn't need any surgery and the doctor's quite confident (the injury) won't be a problem to him. He's confident and he's happy so we'll go ahead and let him play," said Souths coach Bennett.
"He's a bit like Jye Gray the other night with a broken thumb, played the whole second half. You can't question the toughness and the wanting to play for the club as well.
"The club's in a good place if players want to play and they've got injuries or getting back a little bit earlier. They work really hard."
The news is not so good for recruit Lewis Dodd, who had been named to come in from reserve grade for the injured Jayden Sullivan but will be replaced at five-eighth by Jack Wighton.
The axing raises further questions as to Dodd's future at the Rabbitohs, who have only started him in the halves once since he was lured from England on a salary of more than $600,000.
Dodd's selection chances will only diminish further when Cody Walker returns from his groin injury next weekend, having almost recovered in time to face the Storm.
"I haven't really had a conversation with (Dodd) because I told him on Tuesday he probably wasn't in the team anyway," Bennett said.
"I didn't know what was going on with Origin, I didn't know the other guys' injuries. I only really announced the team this morning to the players."
Saturday's game will be the 44th time Bennett has coached against Storm mentor Craig Bellamy, breaking the record for most match-ups for two coaches since the grand final era began in 1954.
To keep their top-eight tilt on track, the 14th-placed Rabbitohs must snap Bellamy's 14-game winning streak against Bennett-coached sides.
"(Bellamy's teams) all do their jobs, they're really good at that. Whatever role you've got in the team, they do it," Bennett said.
Wayne Bennett has hailed Keaon Koloamatangi's toughness as he prepares to line up for South Sydney less than a week after fracturing his eye socket.
The rapid-fire return gives Koloamatangi two games to reassert his State of Origin credentials, after missing NSW's trip to Perth for game two with the game-ending injury suffered against Canterbury on Sunday.
Koloamatangi had originally been a member of NSW's extended squad for Origin II and appears the next cab off the rank if Laurie Daley wants to tweak his 17 for the decider on July 9.
Koloamatangi comes in from the extended squad to face Melbourne on Saturday and will be joined in the team by star fullback Latrell Mitchell, who is backing up from NSW's two-point loss.
The Storm have ruled Xavier Coates out of the game at Accor Stadium but are likely to have his Queensland teammates Harry Grant and Trent Loiero on deck after they flew direct to Sydney from Perth after Origin.
Fellow Origin representatives Stefano Utoikamanu and Cam Munster flew back to Melbourne and are at longer odds to make the trip to Sydney to face Koloamatangi and the Rabbitohs.
"(Koloamatangi) didn't need any surgery and the doctor's quite confident (the injury) won't be a problem to him. He's confident and he's happy so we'll go ahead and let him play," said Souths coach Bennett.
"He's a bit like Jye Gray the other night with a broken thumb, played the whole second half. You can't question the toughness and the wanting to play for the club as well.
"The club's in a good place if players want to play and they've got injuries or getting back a little bit earlier. They work really hard."
The news is not so good for recruit Lewis Dodd, who had been named to come in from reserve grade for the injured Jayden Sullivan but will be replaced at five-eighth by Jack Wighton.
The axing raises further questions as to Dodd's future at the Rabbitohs, who have only started him in the halves once since he was lured from England on a salary of more than $600,000.
Dodd's selection chances will only diminish further when Cody Walker returns from his groin injury next weekend, having almost recovered in time to face the Storm.
"I haven't really had a conversation with (Dodd) because I told him on Tuesday he probably wasn't in the team anyway," Bennett said.
"I didn't know what was going on with Origin, I didn't know the other guys' injuries. I only really announced the team this morning to the players."
Saturday's game will be the 44th time Bennett has coached against Storm mentor Craig Bellamy, breaking the record for most match-ups for two coaches since the grand final era began in 1954.
To keep their top-eight tilt on track, the 14th-placed Rabbitohs must snap Bellamy's 14-game winning streak against Bennett-coached sides.
"(Bellamy's teams) all do their jobs, they're really good at that. Whatever role you've got in the team, they do it," Bennett said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sydney Morning Herald
9 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Second to none': Wright hails Suaalii as Wallabies scrap for Lions spots
Wallabies fullback Tom Wright has had a perfect view of Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii's rapid development in rugby, helping to direct him on his memorable winning international debut against England in November and then facing him in May while he was wearing the No.15 for NSW. Speaking after the Wallabies' first day of training in Sydney before facing Fiji in Newcastle on Sunday week, July 6, Wright was delighted to see a fit and firing Suaalii back in gold after recovering from injury. 'I think he goes pretty well any time he's on the field,' Wright said. 'It's a credit to how versatile he is. We saw him play in the midfield [for the Wallabies]; we've seen him now play at fullback for the Tahs as well. 'The first thing I might have mentioned was how good it was to see competition for spots heat up today at training, and that's the luxury that the coaching staff have. It's a difficult luxury to have, but to be able to pick a 23 to go out against the Fijians, there's going to be guys that miss out. 'But [with] his talent, he's probably second to none in the group. You pair that with his work ethic that he's got ... it's really impressive, and he gets the most out of all of us as his teammates.' Wright played some of the best rugby of his career under Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt last season and believes that a lot of the New Zealander's foundational work with the squad is being built upon before taking on Fiji and then the British and Irish Lions. 'This morning was less about trying to push a fresh load of information and plays and structures onto everyone's plate after breakfast, but it was more about a refresher and getting everyone back into language and lingo, and then everyone just sort of hitting the ground running today,' Wright said.
The Age
9 hours ago
- The Age
‘Second to none': Wright hails Suaalii as Wallabies scrap for Lions spots
Wallabies fullback Tom Wright has had a perfect view of Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii's rapid development in rugby, helping to direct him on his memorable winning international debut against England in November and then facing him in May while he was wearing the No.15 for NSW. Speaking after the Wallabies' first day of training in Sydney before facing Fiji in Newcastle on Sunday week, July 6, Wright was delighted to see a fit and firing Suaalii back in gold after recovering from injury. 'I think he goes pretty well any time he's on the field,' Wright said. 'It's a credit to how versatile he is. We saw him play in the midfield [for the Wallabies]; we've seen him now play at fullback for the Tahs as well. 'The first thing I might have mentioned was how good it was to see competition for spots heat up today at training, and that's the luxury that the coaching staff have. It's a difficult luxury to have, but to be able to pick a 23 to go out against the Fijians, there's going to be guys that miss out. 'But [with] his talent, he's probably second to none in the group. You pair that with his work ethic that he's got ... it's really impressive, and he gets the most out of all of us as his teammates.' Wright played some of the best rugby of his career under Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt last season and believes that a lot of the New Zealander's foundational work with the squad is being built upon before taking on Fiji and then the British and Irish Lions. 'This morning was less about trying to push a fresh load of information and plays and structures onto everyone's plate after breakfast, but it was more about a refresher and getting everyone back into language and lingo, and then everyone just sort of hitting the ground running today,' Wright said.
ABC News
10 hours ago
- ABC News
InZane Rugby League - Should the Tigers let Api go to keep Tallyn Da Silva
On Inzane Rugby League this week Zane Bojack and former Canberra Raiders halfback Sam Williams discussed the prospect of the Wests Tigers losing Tallyn Da Silva off the back of seeing Lachie Galvin in a Bulldogs jersey. The pair discussed the merits of Peter V'Landys and the ARL Commission trying to secure an extended broadcast deal from 2028 and what the NRL should do in retaliation to the AFL s cheduling a State of Origin match between WA and Victoria in Perth next year. Zane and Sam also discussed how Origin 2 was won by the Maroons and what the NRL should do to celebrate Alex Johnston's impending try-scoring record.
