Jason Clark forced to hose down rumours he wrapped his car around a telegraph pole
A GIANT ‘zipper’ stitch across his face was bad enough but Jason Clark’s weekend only got worse after a rumour spread he had wrapped his car around a telegraph poll.
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JASON Clark has the ugliest head in rugby league right now.
But the 20-plus stitches he received above his left eye that left him looking like Frankenstein, made him the butt of jokes with his South Sydney teammates _ and even created headlines in the US over the weekend _ was not what left his mother Michelle traumatised.
“My mum ended up in tears when she heard I had apparently wrapped my car around a telegraph pole (on the way to Souths recovery),’’ Clark said.
“I was just driving and skimmed across a pole. There was no damage to the car. But rumours got around I’d crashed and totalled it. My mum rang in tears. It was annoying. But she knew the truth as soon as she spoke to me.’’
While Clark’s car was unharmed, the same could not be said for his face, with the giant ‘zipper’ stitch still raw on Monday.
After he injured his knee during the warm-up before last Friday’s 22-20 win over Parramatta, Clark then suffered one of the nastiest facial cuts seen in rugby league.
Clark said one of his young daughters laughed rather than cringed when she awoke to see him early Saturday, and the main issue had been trying to make the swelling go down.
It was the stitches rather than concussion that prevented Clark from returning to the field on Friday.
He plans to play against St George Illawarra on Thursday night, and most likely with his head taped, which I what he wore during an afternoon hitout at Coogee.
Clark does not get much praise given the presence of some of his high-profile teammates, but is loved by the club, and hopes to extend his stay beyond this season.
Even though he’s a Souths junior, Clark also knows the game is business, which he was reminded of last week after mate Nathan Peats was let go by Parramatta.
“This is home for me, but unfortunately seeing what happened with Peatsy, I know it’s business,’’ Clark said.
“I just want to do the right thing for the club and my family as well.
“’Madge’ (coach Michael Maguire) wants me to play good football and that’s my focus. I try telling myself if a contract comes, it will be because I’m playing good football.’’
Originally published as Jason Clark forced to hose down rumours he wrapped his car around a telegraph pole