‘It’s a tragedy’: Raiders gun facing medical retirement after mid-game collapse
Canberra coach Ricky Stuart has revealed a “tragedy” at his club with a star facing medical retirement following an incident this year.
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Canberra coach Ricky Stuart has revealed backrower Corey Harawira-Naera is facing a medical retirement following his mid-game seizure this year.
Harawira-Naera hasn’t played since collapsing on the field during the Raiders’ clash against the Rabbitohs in Round 13.
The New Zealand Test representative was sidelined for the rest of the season as doctors tried to get to the bottom of what triggered his seizure.
It was expected Harawira-Naera would return in 2024, but Stuart has confirmed the club are all but resigned to the Kiwi star never playing again.
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“It is really sad for the kid… it’s a tragedy actually,” Stuart told WWOS.
“The medical reports we are getting is that he is very unlikely to play again.
“At 28, that’s tough and he has been good for us.
“But we are supporting him and looking for a pathway for him after football.
“We would like to keep him in the game and in the club.”
The Raiders are exploring their options for salary cap relief for Harawira-Naera, who is contracted until the end of 2026.
WIGHTON SENDS SCARE THROUGH SOUTHS
South Sydney’s star recruit Jack Wighton sent a scare through his new club after reportedly going down at training on Tuesday.
Wighton was running when he hit the deck with what club officials initially feared was a knee problem but was later diagnosed as a calf issue.
The 30-year-old will now rest over Christmas before joining the club’s rehab group when players return from the break on January 9, according to The Daily Telegraph.
Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou told the masthead he was optimistic Wighton could be running freely again by mid-January.
“They didn’t want Jack putting pressure on it when he walked off so they helped him off the field to make sure he didn’t put too much weight on it,” Demetriou said.
“Once they got him inside, it wasn’t as bad as first thought. It’s not a knee injury, it’s a calf injury.
“Jack went to push off and tweaked his calf. The physios are confident it’s not too bad.
“We’ve only got one more day of training (this year) and we hope he will be running probably around the 9th of January when we start back.
“He will be rehab running by then and by mid-January he will be training with the team, I’d say.
“We have two weeks off.”
ARTHUR CHALLENGES BROWN
Eels coach Brad Arthur is expecting star five-eighth Dylan Brown to bounce back in a big way in 2024 and repay the faith the club has shown in him.
Brown’s 2023 campaign was shrouded in controversy with the playmaker suspended for seven games after pleading guilty to two counts of sexual contact without consent at a licensed venue in Double Bay.
Speaking to the SMH, Arthur is confident Brown “will have a big year” for the Eels next season.
“Before Dylan was rubbed out last season, he was one of the best players in the competition. Then look what he did in that last Test for the Kiwis [in November],” Arthur said.
“We just need Dylan to play like that all the time. When you’re getting paid the sort of money he is, we need him in the team every week.
“Dylan is 23 now, and he hasn’t really lived up to his potential yet.
“If you talk about X-factor, Dylan has that, he brings that to our side. It’s what he does for us defensively as well. He’s so important to this team, and he needs to understand that. We’ve had some good conversations about it.
“He wants to repay his teammates for what happened last season, he wants to repay the fans and repay his family. He’ll be very good for us next year.”
2023 was a disappointing season in more ways than one for the Eels, who missed the top eight a year after making the grand final.
Arthur admitted Brown’s suspension didn’t help, although it didn’t make or break the season.
“There’s never one incident you can blame for a whole season, but that did put a real dampener on things,” Arthur said.
Originally published as ‘It’s a tragedy’: Raiders gun facing medical retirement after mid-game collapse
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