Robbie Farah’s knee injury leaves Wests Tigers coach Jason Taylor struggling for options

ROBBIE Farah’s knee injury is a huge blow to Wests Tigers on the eve of the new season — but it might end up hurting his coach even more.

Coach Jason Taylor in camp with the West Tigers at Nelson Bay. Picture by Peter Lorimer.

ROBBIE Farah revealed how he heard a “pop’’ in his knee that has now forced him out of the opening six rounds of the season for the Wests Tigers.

Farah will undergo surgery on Tuesday morning after scans confirmed he had a lateral meniscus tear in his right knee, which he suffered during the Tigers’ final trial against Cronulla on Saturday night.

It is the worst possible news for the joint venture whose experienced dummy-half options Matt Ballin and Dene Halatau are also unavailable for the opening-round clash against the New Zealand Warriors because of injury and suspension respectively.

The Tigers coach now has an almighty challenge on his hands ahead of the new season.

Tigers coach Jason Taylor will now turn to Manaia Cherrington and possibly 19-year-old rookie Jacob Liddle to try and stop gun No.9 Issac Luke in his first game for his new club.

While fans will be gutted by the Farah injury news just 12 days out from the start of their campaign, Taylor would have been the most disappointed given the need for his club to start well for the sake of his job.

After the botched attempt to move Farah along, Taylor has found himself under intense pressure to produce early results, which won’t be easy now without his most experienced player.

Given halfback Luke Brooks will also be missing through suspension for the clash against the Warriors at Campbelltown Sports Stadium, the TAB pushed the Tigers’ price out from $2.75 to $3.

Farah told The Daily Telegraph he had heard a noise in his knee, the same one he ruptured his ACL in 2004.

“I got tackled and my leg got twisted, and that’s when I heard the pop in the knee,’’ Farah said.

The Tigers coach now has an almighty challenge on his hands ahead of the new season.

“I got up and I was able to run it off, and it wasn’t until I cooled down I knew something was wrong.

“But the scans came back showing a meniscus tear. I’ll get some of it cut out. I could have had it repaired, but that would have meant four to six months on the sideline.

“It’s disappointing because I’d been feeling really good, and I got through three to four months of hard work in the pre-season, I’d been happy with some parts of my trial form, and I’d been working hard on my game, especially with (attacking coach) Craig Sandercock who has taken control of our attack.

“Unfortunately now I’ll have to wait, and I’ll just work hard to come back as soon as possible.’’

Farah’s injury could ultimately do for Taylor.

Farah avoided alcohol as pre-caution during a harbour-cruise on Sunday night for the club’s season launch.

Cherrington toured England with the New Zealand side at the end of last year, but is still unable to play 80 minutes. Liddle is still eligible for the Holden Cup, and while only small, a few good judges have been impressed with his toughness. Kyle Lovett could be a stop-gap solution, while Farah quipped ‘’Justin Hunt had put his hand up to play there during the cruise on Sunday night’’.

Taylor looked genuinely relieved in recent months to finally move on from the Farah drama, so it’s crummy luck that same player will now be unavailable.

“If you can’t roll with the punches with this sort of stuff, and stay positive about what we have to do and how we’re going to go about it, you’re better off not being in the role,’’ Taylor said.

“It does make it tougher, and it’s now up to us to work out how we replace him.’’

Originally published as Robbie Farah’s knee injury leaves Wests Tigers coach Jason Taylor struggling for options