Robbie Farah’s battle to play Leichhardt blockbuster
Robbie Farah is desperate to face Cronulla this weekend and push his club into the NRL finals. So much so, the Wests Tigers legend held a private training session in a bid to deliver one last miracle.
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A clandestine training session at a suburban park in Sydney’s inner west will determine whether Wests Tigers star Robbie Farah makes a remarkable recovery from a broken leg to play against Cronulla at Leichhardt Oval on Sunday.
Farah ran at a private session on Monday afternoon, well away from the prying media, in a desperate attempt to prove his fitness for a game which will determine whether the Tigers play in the finals. Farah also visited his specialist and had scans.
The Tigers shifted Farah’s training session to a nondescript suburban ground to avoid the media circus that would have engulfed Leichhardt Oval or Concord Oval.
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The move was reminiscent of Sydney Roosters halfback Cooper Cronk having a private training session at a suburban ground on Sydney’s lower north shore before being cleared to play with a shoulder injury in last year’s grand final.
Farah, who fractured a tibia against Canterbury in round 21, will decide on Tuesday morning whether he can play on Sunday based on how he pulls up after Monday’s training run.
He will meet with Wests Tigers coach Michael Maguire before the team is formally announced by the club at 4pm.
Maguire is unlikely to play mind games with his line-up before such an important game.
One source close to the club said if Farah hadn’t recovered he wouldn’t be named. If he is a genuine chance to play, Farah will be named in the starting squad, not as a reserve.
“I’m not quite sure where he is at,’’ Maguire said last night.
“I just don’t know. I will get all the information and sit down with him (this morning) and go through it.
“We will have to weigh up a lot of things around where he feels he is at and where the doctor feels he is at.
“I don’t see the point in all that (media games). I may name him and if someone falls apart, then it would be a complete long shot to play him.”
The Tigers are also bullish about their chances against the Sharks, which would mean Farah could return the following week — after another seven days of recovery — for his club’s finals appearance.
Farah said Maguire may not want to change a winning combination.
“Will have to pass all the protocols in place and I’m yet to speak with Madge (coach Michael Maguire) about it, to be honest,’’ Farah told The Daily Telegraph via text message.
“Boys are going well so he might not want to change things!”
The feeling around Concord is that Farah is more unlikely than likely to play.
Most agree a return to the NRL from a fractured leg after just four weeks would be an extraordinary recovery.
Teammate Benji Marshall said at the weekend that “only Robbie can make that decision.”
“If he feels like he can do his job at 100 per cent [he’ll play] and if he doesn’t feel like that, I know Robbie well enough to say that he won’t.”
The equation is simple.
Whoever wins the Wests Tigers-Sharks match at a sold-out Leichhardt Oval will advance to the finals. The loser can start planning Mad Monday.
If ruled out, Maguire may again name Ryan Matterson at hooker although Benji Marshall and Josh Reynolds have been playing dummy half in Farah’s absence.
Reynolds will play his 150th NRL this Sunday.