Injuries cripple Sharks in gritty 26-22 victory over Panthers in Cronulla
ANDREW Fifita, in the days leading up to this one, was stood on by his old man. Calves. Hamstrings. Back of the knees. Everywhere.
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ANDREW Fifita, in the days leading up to this one, was stood on by his old man.
Calves.
Hamstrings.
Back of the knees.
Everywhere.
“Old school Tongan treatment,” the Cronulla prop revealed last night, only a week after thinking his 2018 season was over.
“As soon as I injured the knee against St George Illawarra, he called me up and said ‘you need to come and see me’.
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“It’s a massage thing he does. It’s not the best.
“He actually stands on you, makes you feel like crying.
“But it got me to play today and I’m grateful.”
Only a week after fearing he had suffered an ACL injury against the Dragons -- and with skipper Paul Gallen and NSW Origin star Wade Graham sidelined -- Fifita tore into Penrith with a performance that included 73 minutes, 130m, six offloads, 35 tackles and no misses.
Despite waking on Sunday morning still unsure if he should even play, the Tongan international made more ground than any other forward while marquee Cronulla signing Matt Moylan also celebrated his first win in the Shire.
Better for Moylan, the result came in the No.6 jersey.
And against his old club Penrith.
And still afterwards, he refused to comment on the performance with waiting media.
On field, however, the new Sharks No.6 confirmed himself ready to embrace life as a five-eighth, after initially alternating between fullback and playmaker.
Orchestrating one try in the opening 40 minutes, he could’ve easily had a hand in four more.
Quizzed on his playmaker’s slow start to the year, coach Shane Flanagan said: “You’ve got to remember Matty had two weeks out with knee and hamstring injuries.
“He played a little bit underdone but he’s over those injuries now.”
Asked if the team changed its structure with Moylan at six, rather than one, Flanagan continued: “Definitely.
“Matty trained 90 per cent of the pre-season at five-eighth so it’s not new to him.
“But our game does change a little bit with him there because he’s more instinctive, eyes up rather than stick to structure and be out the back out shape.
“He would rather be hands on the ball going to the defensive line.”
Initially, billed as a battle between Moylan and Panthers No.7 James Maloney -- who enjoyed an ‘NRL Player Swap’ over summer -- the game eventually had a little of everything including the Panthers, missing seven regular first graders, still seeking a miracle win as the hooter sounded.
“So we never gave up,” Penrith coach Anthony Griffin said. “But we did a lot of things wrong. Got our defence wrong a couple of times and they made us pay.”
Elsewhere, Sharkies backrower Luke Lewis left the field after only 12 minutes with a calf injury, Penrith prop Reagan Campbell-Gillard was placed on report (crusher tackle) and Shire centre Jesse Ramien bagged a double.
Asked about his knee, Fifita said: “I was fearing things this morning. Honestly, I was that scared to take the field with my knee.
“But my physio, he worked night and day. Every day.
“Then with a little help from my dad too, he pushed me over the line from Tuesday night.”
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