NRL 2021: Brett Morris’ career over after ACL tear confirmed
The 16-year NRL career of Brett Morris is over after scans confirmed the Roosters’ worst fears. And the bad news for the Tricolours doesn’t stop there.
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Brett Morris’ career is over with scans confirming he suffered an ACL tear against the Knights on Saturday night.
And in further distressing news for the Roosters, State of Origin prop Lindsay Collins will miss the rest of the season after picking up an ACL injury of his own.
Scan results early on Sunday morning delivered what was feared a little over 12 hours earlier.
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Roosters coach Trent Robinson had confirmed on Saturday night that both players wouldn’t play again this year and strongly hinted Morris’s career was finished after 16 years at the top.
“Shattering is the word. It was a really, really tough night for us,” he said. “It’s one of the proudest and worst sheds I’ve been in.
“We’ve got a group of guys that really care for each other and love playing together and you’ve got a guy that’s a legend of our game, one of the best wingers we’ve seen, and he’s possibly just finished his career.
“It’s extremely flattening. The game pales in significance to how you feel about Brett and Lindsay.
“It’s a sad night for us but no-one ever gets a fairytale. Jake (Friend) didn’t get one, Brett didn’t get one. But they did get fairytales in the way the way their career was played.”
Josh Morris said: “He (Brett) was in a fair bit of pain. It’s good when you come up here and get a win but when you get two injuries in the last five minutes, it dampens the spirits.
“It’s going to be a hard drive home.”
The injury-hit Roosters finished the game with just 11 fit players after clearing their bench.
It continues a horror injury run that has claimed some of the club’s biggest names.
The heavy casualty toll made open the way for teenage sensation Joseph Suaalii to make his debut in coming weeks.
WALKER STANDS TALL AGAIN
Boy genius Sam Walker is set for an early taste of the State of Origin furnace after tormenting Newcastle.
The teenager produced another performance beyond his tender years, playing a key role in the Roosters’ first four tries with a mix of clever kicks and a sublime passing game.
He added a try, five goals and two second half try assists as Newcastle slumped to their fifth loss in six games. He was credit with five try assists for the game.
Walker may only be five games into his NRL career, but he is likely to be invited into Queensland’s Origin camp to learn from senior players ahead of game one on June 9.
He won’t play but the Maroons want the 18-year-old to experience the build-up to an Origin game with a view to handing him the No.7 jersey in the years to come.
Walker again underlined his class and ability as the Knights were sliced and diced before a big home crowd. He now has 12 try assists for the season to sit one ahead of Chad Townsend and just one behind Penrith’s Jarome Luai.
Two moments of brilliance in either half showed just how special this kid is.
Walker used his non-favoured left foot to put in a grubber that led to Angus Crichton scoring in the 15th minute.
And midway through the second half, he backed up a long Victor Radley break before stopping and hitting Josh Morris on the chest with a dead accurate cross-field kick for the Roosters’ sixth try.
“It’s just sensational from an 18-year-old,” NSW Origin advisor Greg Alexander declared.
“It’s just special. He’s quite the star and there’s no doubt it (time in Origin camp) would be a great experience for him.”
Teammate Radley added: “He’s really smart for such a young kid. He backs himself.”
The Roosters led 20-0 after as many minutes thanks largely to Walker’s input and backed their defence to close the deal from there.
It was their 13th win over the Knights in the last 15 encounters between the clubs.
CRISIS TIME FOR KNIGHTS
Newcastle’s bright start to the season seems a distant memory after another disappointing night in the Hunter.
Before a raucous home crowd, the Knights were 20-0 down before they knew what hit them and forced to play catch-up early on.
Kalyn Ponga did his best to revive Newcastle’s fortunes and Bradman Best was a handful, but they still finished well short despite asking some questions either side of the break.
Since starting their 2021 campaign with wins over the Bulldogs and Warriors, the Knights have won just one of their last six games.
And that victory was a late one over the struggling Sharks.
They have slipped out of the top eight and face an equally desperate Canberra next Saturday.
The heartbreaking image that brings a tear to the eye
- David Riccio
It will go down as one of the most heartbreaking images in Australian sport.
Yet the comforting embrace from twin brother Josh, hugging and consoling his shattered twin brother Brett Morris, is not how the astonishing career of the veteran winger will be remembered.
The 16-year NRL career of Morris hangs on the results of MRI scans of his knee.
If this is to be the end, we can only say thank you B-Moz.
Few players who run out each week in the colours of your rival have been admired more than Morris.
Did you see the Knights fans standing to applaud as Morris limped past them on the arms of the Roosters trainers?
That’s respect for a 34-year-old who will be revered as the greatest winger of the modern era - possibly of all-time.
It was a show of appreciation for a man who has given all of himself to the sport from the day he played his first game as a six-year-old with the Kiama Knights.
Alongside Josh, the brothers entered the NRL for St George-Illawarra in 2006; Morris making his debut as a 19-year-old on the wing and lining up outside Test centre Matt Cooper.
It was the stuff of boyhood dreams.
Sixteen years later, the Morris boys stand as the most prolific try-scoring brothers in premiership history.
Morris’ 177 tries in 256-games leaves him ranked fourth for most-tries of all-time behind Ken Irvine’s record 212.
For all his class finishes, Morris was also as tough as they come.
He famously played on for NSW with a broken shoulder in the 2014 State of Origin series.
He represented Australia 18 times and yep, you guessed it, he scored more tries (23) than he did pull on the green and gold.
Before every season, the twins would bet a case of beer on who would score the most tries by the end of each season.
Josh doesn’t have to worry about shouting his brother a slab of beer this year.
If this is to be the end B-Moz, the next one is on us.
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