Early Mail: South Sydney rocked by triple injury blow; Jed Stuart to debut for Raiders

South Sydney have hobbled away from Sunday’s loss to the Bulldogs with a host of injuries, while Jed Stuart is poised to make his NRL debut for the club his coach and father made famous. ROUND 16 NEWS

South Sydney have hobbled away from Sunday’s loss to the Bulldogs with a host of injuries, adding to their season from hell at the hands of the footy gods.

NSW Blues 19th man Keaon Koloamatangi suffered a potentially fractured eye socket that will prohibit him from joining the NSW side in Perth ahead of Origin II, Jayden Sullivan injured his calf and Jye Gray broke his thumb in the first half before bravely playing on.

All three are set for stints on the sideline but coach Wayne Bennett said he refused to become upset by the horror injury run that has seen Souths lose skipper Cameron Murray before the season with a ruptured Achilles and face significant time without star fullback Latrell Mitchell, halves Cody Walker and Jamie Humphreys, centre Jack Wighton, hooker Peter Mamouzelos and wingers Alex Johnston, Mikaele Ravalawa and Tyrone Munro.

“(Sullivan) He’s done his calf muscle,” Bennett said.

“Jye Gray’s broken his thumb. That was at half time. So, he’s gone for six weeks.

“Keaon may have fractured his eye socket, so he’ll be gone for a while to by the look of it

“What it is, I can’t get frustrated about it. It won’t help anybody getting frustrated.”

Jye Gray broke his thumb in the first half. Picture: NRL

STUART’S SON TO DEBUT

- David Riccio

Jed Stuart is poised to make his NRL debut for the Raiders, 37 years after his legendary father Ricky wore the famous green jersey for the first time.

In a sure sign that Stuart will achieve his lifelong dream, the 193cm tall and athletic winger has been withdrawn from Canberra’s NSW Cup side to play North Sydney on Sunday following long-term injuries to NRL wingers Albert Hopoate (knee) and Savelio Tamale (knee).

Stuart, 23, will become the latest son to be coached in the NRL by his father when he runs out against the Wests Tigers at Campbelltown on Friday night.

The Stuart family will join Penrith’s Ivan and Nathan Cleary and the Dragons Shane and Kyle Flanagan as current father-son combinations in the NRL.

Recently, Billy Walters was also coached by his father Kevin last year at the Broncos while former Eels coach Brad Arthur also handed his son Jake his NRL debut.

Jed Stuart will debut for the Raiders. Picture: Mark Nolan/Getty Images

An Australian rugby sevens representative in 2021, the athletic Stuart has impressed the Raiders coaching staff with his progression through the lower grades and NSW Cup where he has scored four tries in 10 games this season, while averaging 95 run metres per game.

It’s understood the Raiders leadership group, including Hudson Young and Joseph Tapine, have played a key role in encouraging their coach Ricky that Stuart has done all he can to prove he’s ready to take the next step.

In particular, Stuart earned the trust of his teammates following a strong pre-season to be named the Raiders 18th man for their round one clash against the Warriors in Las Vegas.

It will be one of the most emotional and special moments in Canberra’s history when the next-generation Stuart runs out for the Raiders on Friday night.

Ricky made his debut for the Raiders as a 21-year-old in 1988, going on to become the club’s greatest-ever halfback with 203-appearances.

Kaufusi faces hefty ban

-Fatima Kdouh

The Dolphins’ win over North Queensland has come at a huge cost with veteran forward Felise Kaufusi facing up to a three-week ban.

Kaufusi was hit with a grade three dangerous contact charge on Cowboys playmaker Tom Duffy in Saturday’s 58-4 win in Townsville.

An early plea will see Kaufusi miss two matches against the Knights and South Sydney.

Felise Kaufusi was sent to the bin. Picture: Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images

If Kaufusi opts to challenge the charge at the judiciary but is unsuccessful, he will be forced to sit out three matches.

The suspension is the last thing that coach Kristian Woolf needed with the Dolphins’ forwards stocks already depleted.

Woolf is likely to turn to either Josh Kerr or Mark Nicholls to replace Kaufusi at starting prop against Newcastle.

The Dolphins have already lost both Daniel Saifiti and Tom Gilbert to shoulder injuries for the rest of the season.

Tom Flegler, who has not played since round five last season, is also out indefinitely with a shoulder injury.

PAPALII GETS HIS SHOT

-Michael Carayannis

Parramatta will get a taste of life post Dylan Brown with the Eels set to hand Joash Papalii his first start in the No.6 jersey.

The Eels have been forced to find two replacement halves for the suspended Brown and the injured Mitch Moses for their clash against the Titans next Sunday. Dean Hawkins will wear the No 7 jersey with Parramatta coach Jason Ryles expected to give Papalii a crack in the halves. Parramatta have a bye this week.

Papalii has been earmarked by those at the club as a potential successor to Brown when he leaves the club at the end of the season to take up a decade long contract at Newcastle.

Joash Papalii. Picture: Scott Gardiner/Getty Images

The Eels chased Lachie Galvin but now look to Papalii after missing out on the former ex-Tiger who opted to join the Bulldogs.

Papalii, who came through the grades as a fullback, made his NRL debut off the bench in round 12 and has gone on to play two more games as an interchange player.

He has spent some time in the halves at NSW Cup level this year as the Eels toyed with the idea of making him switch spots.

“Joash is a really good player,” NSW winger and Parramatta teammate Zac Lomax said. “He’s light on his feet and whenever we do opposed sessions and he’s in the Cup team, he trains really well.

“He’s earned his way into the 17, Rylsey believes in him. He’ll be a really good player.”

The Moses injury has come at a cruel time for the Eels who were starting to find their way after their skipper missed the first six games of the season.