Reds star Jordan Petaia on injury comeback trail and eyeing World Cup spot
Injury cruelled his Super Rugby season, but exciting Reds talent Jordan Petaia is making a steady recovery and has a key goal in mind.
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Reds young gun Jordan Petaia is targeting a club comeback for Wests next month to force himself back into the conversation for a World Cup spot.
It has already been a slow, frustrating 12 weeks on the sidelines for the Queensland Reds tyro.
He had three screws removed from his left foot last week, was back in a moon boot for a few days and is working on calf strengthening exercises before a return to running.
There is no rushing back from his tricky mid-foot ligament injury but, finally, he is seeing progress.
“Straight after surgery, there were definitely moments where I felt my aspirations to make the World Cup squad had flown out the door as well as the Reds season,” Petaia said.
“Pretty quickly just doing my rehab right took over as the priority.
“Not skipping any steps is the big thing so there are no issues down the track.
“Get my calf strength back, start running and I’ll be tracking to get into some contact as soon as possible for some rugby with Wests Bulldogs.”
It’s the update every rugby fan has wanted to hear.
If he’s playing club rugby around July 20 when the Wallabies open against South Africa in Johannesburg, he can be fed into the camps to follow for Tests against Argentina and the All Blacks.
The young Queenslander has been off the radar since March 2 and has had his 19th birthday since he limped off that night against the Crusaders at Suncorp Stadium.
Why the fuss over a centre-winger whose Super Rugby season lasted all of 95 minutes?
In Dunedin on February 22, he didn’t just run for 148m in a straight line off nine boring ball-carries against the Highlanders.
It was a wonderful mix of sharp footwork, body fakes, changes of pace, surges into space not bodies and one power blast through the tackle of All Blacks fullback Ben Smith.
There was also a big tackle on All Blacks flanker Shannon Frizell when it mattered most.
It was a classic outside centre’s game partnering the influential Samu Kerevi.
In 13 Reds matches since, only Kerevi most weeks and halfback Tate McDermott, in his game-changing 30 minutes against the Sunwolves in Tokyo, have matched the impact Petaia had that night.
It might sound a bit overblown but Petaia is worth waiting for in a year where the Wallabies need to unearth something a little different apart from just the Ronnie Regulars.
Picking the right centre pairing is a challenge for Wallabies coach Michael Cheika, especially if now sees Kurtley Beale as his best attacking fullback to fill the void left by Israel Folau.
Petaia might be a perfect young sidekick to consider in the squad mix with Kerevi, Tevita Kuridrani, Matt Toomua and utilities Beale, Reece Hodge and Adam Ashley-Cooper.
Petaia was invited to the two-day camp for potential Wallabies in Brisbane last month.
“It’s been pretty frustrating not being out there with the Reds so that was really encouraging to be brought in,” Petaia said.
“It gives me hope I guess that I can play some good footy for the Doggies and put myself in the race.”
Time with friends and family, promotional work for the Reds, junior clinics, too many hours playing League Of Legends online and lengthy hours of rehab have filled his long lay-off.
“Samu (Kerevi) has been pretty unstoppable out there and I was hoping that game in Dunedin would be the start of a big season together (in the centres),” Petaia said.
“Watching the boys win and lose for the Reds, you always wish you could be on the field with them.”
Injuries happen. So do comebacks. And the return of Jordan Petaia is one to look forward to.
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