Jayden Brailey the posterboy for why first two NRL rounds shouldn’t be scrapped
Roosters supremo Nick Politis broke the internet when he said the first two rounds of the NRL — already played — must be scrapped. He should have spoken to this fella first.
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Jayden Brailey took five, maybe six steps on Monday morning. His first since surgery, three weeks ago.
But as for the best news to come out of that day?
Peter V’landys saying our first two rounds counted,” he said, referencing the ARLC chairman. “If we’d been told that was all for nothing, I would’ve been real disappointed.”
Fair enough, too.
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Currently recovering at home with his right knee in a brace, 24-year-old Brailey has emerged this past fortnight as something of a limping, breathing poster boy for all those arguing that competition points earned before the NRL lockdown must stand.
A debate, coincidentally, on which everyone has opinions.
Same deal the growing ruckus over exactly how long the NRL competition should run when it returns.
Regardless, this Newcastle No. 9 now knows his own effort counts.
Specifically, when in Round 2 against Wests Tigers, Brailey played 45 minutes, almost impossibly, on a busted ACL.
“And had that game not counted, it would have been tough for me,” he told The Daily Telegraph. “That day, I played 45 minutes with a busted ACL. Put a lot on the line for those points.
“But if somebody had told me it wasn’t going to count, if it had been, say, a trial game, then I probably would’ve just stuck my arm up and said ‘hey, something isn’t right here’ and come off.
“I wouldn’t have pushed on like I did. It wasn’t just me either; we had (backrower) Mitch Barnett suffer a serious neck injury as well.
“So you look at him, our other players, Knights fans … there are a lot of people who deserve to keep those points.”
Better, Brailey is also an outside chance of returning this year, especially with talk of the season continuing into December.
“That would really be shooting for the stars,” he said of a November return, his best case scenario. “But who knows?
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“I certainly won’t rush it. Monday, I was just happy to drop the crutches and take those steps.
“I never imagined walking could feel so good.”
While most NRL players are currently training out of makeshift backyard gyms, Brailey’s days are now spent icing his knee, stimulating the muscles with a Compex machine and receiving treatment from a visiting Knights physio.
Quizzed on his memories of the incident, the hooker continued: “There was bugger all in it.
“I was just jumping out of dummy-half, looking to engage the marker before I passed.
“And as I planted my foot, I got knocked in the opposite direction.
“Heard it go too, a sound like someone clicking their fingers. But you hear things all the time in games.
“And I’ve definitely felt worse pain, only to get scans afterwards and be told nothing is wrong. So that was on my mind too.”
Still, how the bloody hell did you play another 45 minutes?
“Dunno,” he said. “But the fact we get to keep those two points, it makes the decision worth it.”
Originally published as Jayden Brailey the posterboy for why first two NRL rounds shouldn’t be scrapped