NRL 2024: Jayden Campbell opens up on the true extent of his hand injury after dominant return

Rising Gold Coast Titans playmaker Jayden Campbell has revealed the extent of the hand injury he is playing through after starring against the Eels. More here.

Titans playmaker Jayden Campbell’s broken hand is being held together by plates and screws amid a purple patch of form that is keeping Gold Coast’s finals hopes alive.

The revelations come in the aftermath of Campbell’s NRL return in Gold Coast’s 24-16 win over Parramatta on Saturday.

The 24-year-old confirmed the extent of the damage for the first time and opened up about how much he was impeded during the club’s round 16 win over New Zealand where he broke his hand and Gold Coast’s record for the most individual points (26) in a game.

“I’ve got plates and screws in there from the injury holding it together,” Campbell said after his dominant return.

“So touch wood it holds it together for the next few weeks.”

The 24-year-old also revealed just how hampered he was by the injury in the Warriors game, where he went on to score 26 points, the most ever scored by a Titan in an NRL match.

Jayden Campbell of the Titans in action during the round 19 NRL match between Gold Coast Titans and Parramatta Eels. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images.

“I did it in the first two and a half minutes of the game,” Campbell said.

“I couldn’t really make a fist. I went to go palm Shaun Johnson and he sort of landed on it ... I felt it click a lot.

“I strapped it up and it was all right. I wasn’t really in too much pain, it was just uncomfortable because I couldn’t really use my hand properly. At the end of the game it was pretty sore.

“I thought it was just ligaments, when you break a bone you think you’re gonna be in a lot of pain, but it ended up being a spiral fracture, I was pretty surprised by the damage.”

A spiral fracture is when a bone is broken with a twisting motion, and Campbell said the injury didn’t affect his ball-playing, but rather his tackling.

Jayden Campbell of the Titans in action. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images.

“It was more so my tackling, hitting and sticking, because I couldn’t make a fist I couldn’t grab on and get underhooks and all that, it made it a little bit hard to stick onto a tackle,” he said.

Despite the plates and screws that remained in his hand on the weekend, Campbell dazzled for Gold Coast and his attacking prowess was on show with three try assists against Parramatta.

He also proved his defence won’t be a liability, landing a hit on Eel Jake Tago that popped the ball free and led to the Titans third try.

Campbell attributed his defensive improvement to the work he has done with assistant coach Brett White over the past two years.

“With Brett White coming in last year I knew myself defence was on area for improvement,” Campbell said.

“So Whitey last year really helped me with my tackle technique, and Des is a really good defensive coach as well so there’s been a lot of improvement over the last two years.

“I feel like I’ve put the work in and now I’m now starting to reap the rewards.

“I’ve still got a lot of work to do though.”