Jimmy the Jet’s State of Origin dream alive after being cleared of serious injury
JAMES Roberts’ Origin dream remains intact after Brisbane’s NSW hopeful was cleared of major achilles damage.
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JAMES Roberts’ Origin dream remains intact after Brisbane’s NSW hopeful was cleared of major achilles damage.
Rookie NSW Origin coach Brad Fittler faced a nervous wait after watching speed machine Roberts limp off in the 60th minute of Brisbane’s 18-10 defeat of the Eels last Thursday night at Suncorp Stadium,
But scans yesterday cleared Roberts of any season-ending achilles injury, with the Broncos confident careful management would enable ‘The Jet’ to make his NSW debut if chosen for Origin I.
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“James has had a precautionary scan and there was no significant damage found,” Broncos high-performance chief Jeremy Hickmans said.
“He does have some soreness in the achilles area, but that is something we have been monitoring for a period of time now.”
Broncos coach Wayne Bennett said Roberts has been hampered by the injury for the past six months, but it hasn’t stopped the flying centre producing some of the best football of his career.
Blinding acceleration is a key weapon in Roberts’ attacking game and there is a risk the 25-year-old could suffer further damage by continuing to play with the injury.
“It flares up every day,” Bennett said.
“He’s been struggling with his achilles since the start of pre-season, but he will be right.
“I’m sure he will play Origin if he’s picked.
“Whatever pain he has today would go away very quickly (if Roberts is handed an Origin debut).”
Fittler admits he faces a selection headache with Roberts and fellow NSW aspirant and Roosters centre Latrell Mitchell as he juggles their attacking brilliance with their defensive flaws.
Roberts and Mitchell waged a superb centre duel a fortnight ago, producing some superb moments in attack, but Fittler was left concerned by some defensive errors.
“I’ve never seen a greater example of the term catch-22 with those guys,” Fittler said on Channel 9.
“They both scored or set-up two tries and then let in a couple.
“My hope is they learn from letting them in.
“They are both flat-out attackers, (although) their defence has picked up a great deal.
“I can see there is a better mindset (with their defensive attitude) and I can see why they came out of the defensive line because of the fear of (marking) each other.
“If they are to go through (to the NSW side), then they are capable of doing (damage) to the Queensland defence as well.”
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