NRL 2023: Raiders star Danny Levi shows off before-and-after shots of broken jaw surgery | Sport Confidential
Canberra Raiders star Danny Levi has shown off the extraordinary photos of his face, as he makes a recovery from surgery to fix his broken jaw. SPORT CONFIDENTIAL
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Raiders hooker Danny Levi has posted an extraordinary photo of his face as he makes a recovery from his broken jaw.
Levi is four days post surgery from the injury after breaking his jaw in two places.
Danny Levi post jaw fracture repair surgery - quite the transformation! pic.twitter.com/rKoJjLxPZ1
— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) March 25, 2023
When NRL officials went looking for Danny Levi’s teeth on the ground at GIO Stadium last Sunday their search would amount to nothing.
“My jaw had split so much that there was this massive gap between my teeth,” Levi said. “It looked like I had a heap of missing teeth because it was split so far.
“But I am lucky that I wasn’t missing any teeth. I managed to keep them all.”
Levi played just two minutes for Canberra against the Sharks before being forced from the field with a badly broken jaw.
Sport Confidential has obtained the X-rays which show the sickening impact of the tackle gone wrong.
He suffered the injury in Canberra’s first defensive set when he attempted to tackle Teig Wilton. Levi stayed on the field and made another tackle before realising how bad the damage was.
“At first I thought a bad whack to the jaw,” Levi said. “Then I felt my tongue and teeth weren’t in the right spot and there were a few bones split in my mouth.
“After the tackle they ran back to me. I couldn’t close my mouth so I was pretty sure I’d broken my jaw.”
Levi underwent surgery on Tuesday afternoon after breaking his jaw in two parts – either side of his mouth. He needed a plate and screws on one side of his face and screws in the other.
The injury is expected to sideline him for about two months.
Danny Levi will undergo surgery after fracturing his jaw last night. The Raiders expect him to miss 8-10 weeks pic.twitter.com/SRsAwJQRBa
— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) March 20, 2023
“I’m eating like a baby,” Levi said. “It’s a puree diet. It’s not fun but I have to do this for the next four weeks. I will be trying to get back on the field around the six week mark.
“I can’t really talk properly.”
It was a cruel blow for Levi who had won Canberra’s starting no. 9 jersey after returning to the NRL following a one year stint in the Super League.
“It sucks,” Levi said. “I thought even though we had those two losses we were still playing really well. “I was gutted (on Sunday). I’ve got the starting spot and three weeks in I did my jaw.
“It is what it is. I was gutted because I felt like I started the game well.
“It’s a little set back but I’ll be back.”
REVEALED: THE TRUE COST OF FIXING TURBO AND TRELL
The cost of repairing the hamstrings of Tom Trbojevic and Latrell Mitchell can finally be revealed. The pair spent 10 days with rehab guru Bill Knowles in the US as they looked to fix their broken bodies.
The cost was about $15,000 for 10 days of one-on-one time with Knowles. And it has been a worthwhile investment for South Sydney and the Sea Eagles with Mitchell and Trbojevic flying to start the season.
The pair will come head to head for the first time since they underwent a full body repair on Saturday night.
The path back for another of Knowles’ disciples in Ryan Papenhuyzen will be a longer one. It remains to be seen when Papenhuyzen will take to the field again this year.
NRLW FUTURE SECURED AS STALEMATE NEARS END
Female players should be free to start signing with NRLW clubs as soon as this weekend with the NRL and players union on the verge of ending their stalemate over the women’s game.
Sport Confidential understands that the NRL and RLPA have all but reached agreement on a deal that would allow female players to secure their futures in preparation for the start of the NRLW season in July.
The women’s game has been in stasis while officials brokered an agreement over their contracting system and playing rights. With the issues around the women’s game resolved, officials will meet on Friday to try to finalise talks over the men’s game.
ARL Commission chair Peter V’landys and RLPA chair Deidre Anderson are expected to be involved in discussions on Friday and although several issues remain outstanding, the big ticket items have largely been agreed.
MARSHALL-KING CLOSE TO NEW DEAL
Could this be the quickest contract upgrade in history? Jeremy Marshall-King is set to add another season to his Dolphins contract after playing just two games for the club.
Marshall-King joined the Dolphins from Canterbury on a two-year deal but his upgraded and extended contract will take him through to 2025.
The 27-year-old has been arguably the most improved player in the game during the past 24 months. He picked up Canterbury’s player of the year last year after being thrown a lifeline by the club ahead of the 2018 season.
With just a $10,000 offer on the table from the Tigers, he left the Tigers after being guaranteed a pre-season and $15,000 by the Bulldogs.
He will miss Friday’s local derby against the Broncos after being suspended following their round two clash for two matches.
DRAGONS V MANLY TUG-OF-WAR HEATING UP
The ongoing tug of war between St George Illawarra and Manly has shown some signs of respite after the Dragons secured Alec Tuitavake on a deal until the end of 2025.
Tuitavake will join his new club next week after being caught in the middle of negotiations between the two clubs. Tuitavake, 22, is the nephew of ex-Dragons and Manly forward Solomon Haumono.
The Sea Eagles have granted the former Australian Schoolboy an immediate release. The Dragons remain hopeful of securing fellow Manly prop Viliami Fifita. So far the Sea Eagles have publicly and privately denied Fifita’s request to leave the club.
Fifita has a deal until the end of next year.
He has been named to play for Manly’s feeder cup side Blacktown on Saturday.
Tuitavake is still on the comeback from a ruptured ACL but should be fit to return to the field before the end of next month.
He was contracted until the end of this season at Manly.
The Sea Eagles are in talks to upgrade and extend Haumole Olakau’atu and Tolutau Koula.
FITTLER’S FUTURE IN OWN HANDS
Brad Fittler holds the fate of his Origin future in his own hands. The Blues coach automatically receives a 12-month extension should NSW win back the trophy.
“The nature of his contract when it was signed is that he has a rolling extension and so when we win Origin he gets an automatic extension for 2024,” Trodden said.
“We don’t make our plans around losing to Queensland, we make them around winning Origin. We are really confident we can win. It will be great to see Latrell Mitchell and Tom Trbojevic back in the fold. We have every reason to be confident the prospects are fantastic not just this year but into the future.
ATKINS ROTATED
Leading referee Grant Atkins has been rested this weekend as part of a rotation policy. Atkins will be in the bunker across the weekend. He made way for veteran Ben Cummins – who is the most capped referee – to control his first game of the season.
NRL DELAYS DECISION ON DRAGONS STAR
The NRL is still reviewing Francis Molo’s court case before deciding what – if any – action they will take on the St George Illawarra prop. Molo avoided conviction after pleading guilty to intimidating his partner at their family home. He is due to line up against the Sharks on Sunday for his 100th NRL Game.
“The NRL is aware of the outcome of court proceedings involving St George Illawarra player Francis Molo,” the NRL said in a statement. “The NRL will review the court findings in detail and consider its response under the NRL rules.”
ILIAS OPENS UP SEIBOLD MEETING
Lachlan Ilias has opened up on the meeting with Anthony Seibold at a Homebush cafe nearly five years ago that convinced him to join South Sydney.
Ilias was a Wests Tigers junior but was convinced to move to the Rabbitohs after catching up with ex-Rabbitohs coach Seibold and the club’s former recruitment chief Ben Rogers at Sydney Olympic Park in 2018.
Ilias never got to play under Seibold – the Manly coach left Souths at the end of 2018 to join the Broncos – but he has flourished at the Rabbitohs under Wayne Bennett and now Jason Demetriou.
“Seibs was the coach at the time that I sat down with,” Ilias said.
“We had a chat about Souths and it sounded really appealing. That was pretty cool sitting down with an NRL coach.
“It was encouraging. I think I was pretty quiet – I didn’t really know what to say. I was still in school and having a meeting with an NRL coach is pretty intimidating.
“After that meeting I knew that Souths was the club that I was going to go too. I didn’t really have a pathway prior to that … and then when Seibs and Benny came up, I knew with Souths being such a great club, that was it.“
Souths announced Ilias’ singing in early-2019 – on the same day they confirmed they had signed Sydney Roosters superstar Joseph Suaalii to a contract.
By then, Seibold was gone and Bennett had stepped into the role as the Rabbitohs coach, eventually handing over the position to Demetriou as part of the club’s succession plan.
Ilias has gone from strength to strength and now he gets the opportunity to show Seibold what could have been as the Rabbitohs host Manly at Accor Stadium on Saturday night.
“Obviously I didn’t get to train under Seibs,” Ilias said.
“I heard he was a pretty good coach. There would have been an opportunity there but Wayne came – and Wayne is Wayne.
“But I have loved my time here at Souths and I haven’t regretted anything.”
MUNSTER’S FINGER ON THE PULSE
The most famous finger in rugby league has been repaired. Melbourne five-eighth Cameron Munster is ready to return to the Melbourne side on Friday night and this is the photo that shows the Storm star is ready for battle.
Munster has missed the past two games for Melbourne after suffering a compound fracture to his finger in Melbourne’s opening round win over Parramatta.
His return was confirmed this week when he had the pin removed from the finger and underwent a fitness test. Munster passed and tackled with no pain, although he will wear a splint against the Tigers.
He has also had the nail glued back on the finger to protect the wound.
TITANS SIGN LEEDS HOOKER
Gold Coast have landed Leeds hooker Kruise Leeming in an early-season boost to their hopes of playing finals football.
Leeming is understood to have agreed terms for the remainder of this season, providing an insurance policy after Sam Verrills underwent surgery for a fractured collarbone this week.
Leeming has been a fixture in the Leeds side for some time, making 187 career appearances for the club.
He was off contract at the end of the season but has fast-tracked his move to the NRL after the Titans tabled a deal, beating late competition from Parramatta for his services.
ALL BLACKS LAUGH OFF CODE SWITCH
All Black officials have laughed off suggestions superstar Jordie Barrett is preparing for a code switch after he was seen training with the Melbourne Storm this week.
Barrett, one of the biggest names in New Zealand rugby union, was spotted by Sport Confidential scouts at Storm training in full club regalia, setting tongues wagging across the Tasman.
He also spent time with AFL side Richmond. However, it emerged that Barrett was merely in Melbourne after asking rugby officials whether he could use his time off to train with the Storm and Tigers.
All Blacks players have an automatic stand down period designed to ease their workload during the season – they are prevented from playing more than five consecutive games of Super rugby.
Barrett, a keen rugby league fan, put his week off to good use as he picked the brain of Storm arch Craig Bellamy and his players.
BREATHING GURU GUEST FOR ROOSTERS
Wim Hof, aka the Iceman, was seen celebrating in the Sydney Roosters shed after their big win over South Sydney on Friday night.
Roosters coach Trent Robinson has met Hof before and it is understood injured star Connor Watson has been working with the breathing expert on the side.
“It was good to have him in the change rooms and see him again,” Robinson said.
“Breath work has been around for thousands of years but he has changed the way it has been seen in the modern day.
“He brought it to the average person. So it was good to have his positive energy in the sheds after the game.”
FLASHBACK
Ben Ross made headlines on this day 15 years ago. The Sharks prop was sent off for elbowing Melbourne Storm halfback Cooper Cronk in the face. Storm forward Brett White was also sent-off after fighting with Ross. The Sharks won 17-16 and Ross was suspended for seven weeks.
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