NRL Casualty Ward: Damien Cook out with Covid, Panthers set to rest stars
Rabbitohs star Damien Cook was forced to miss his sides clash against the Cowboys due to Covid, and the news only gets worse. See the latest injury news.
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On Tuesday Damien Cook was celebrating the birth of his second child – a son, Jagger. By Saturday he had tested positive to Covid-19 and not only missed the clash against the Cowboys on Saturday night he will also be forced to skip South Sydney’s next game against the Roosters on Friday night.
Cook tested positive on a rapid-test which ruled him out on game day as part of the NRL’s stringent biosecurity protocols.
It is the second time the representative hooker has had Covid-19. He had trained with his South Sydney teammates on Friday. Unless a PCR test comes back negative, Cook will now be ruled out of the Rabbtiohs blockbuster game against the Roosters at the new Allianz Stadium on Friday night.
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Siliva Havili started in place of Cook – as he did during the Origin period when Cook was unavailable - with Kodi Nikorima starting off the bench.
Havili had his game day nap interrupted by coach Jason Demetriou at 1pm to tell him he would be starting at hooker.
“You just have to handle it,” Havili said. “I was stretching and I missed JD’s (Demetriou) call. He messaged me to let me know just before my nap. I was all right with it. I spent a fair bit of time there this week because Cookie had a baby. It worked out well … the back was gone because I haven’t done it in a while.”
He played 49 minutes straight before Nikorima came onto the field and played dummy half. The service out of dummy half was noticeably poorer in Cook’s absence which was highlighted by a Cody Walker last tackle error after a poor pass from Havili.
Nikorima played just 18 minutes before Havili played out the rest of the game. He set up the final try of the game out of dummy half with a pass to Tom Burgess.
Demetriou praised Havili’s efforts.
“I wasn’t glad but I knew the resolve would kick in with the boys when Cookie was ruled out,” Demetriou said. “Siliva was outstanding. He has been the buy of the year for us for what he has brought on and off the field. To do what he did was pretty special.”
‘I CATTED IT’: PANTHERS STAR SHAKES OFF INJURY FEARS
—Martin Gabor
It was party time in the west as Penrith racked up another monster score to rout the Warriors 46-12, and the news gets better with Api Koroisau declaring he’s in no doubt for the finals after limping off with an ankle injury.
While the defending premiers celebrated Jarome Luai’s early return from a knee injury, they’ll be sweating on the fitness of their crafty hooker after Koroisau came off early in the second half with a sprained ankle.
The State of Origin rake was limping badly in the first half but managed to play through the pain before the Panthers made the call to take him off with the game well and truly over.
“I don’t think Api is too bad,” Ivan Cleary said. “He did it early and kept playing. I think half-time wasn’t great for him and in the end I wasn’t going to risk it.”
Koroisau spoke after the game and said his left foot was actually feeling better than it did when he came off.
“I just tripped over myself. It’s actually pretty good,” he said. “They (the doctors) haven’t even checked it. I literally rolled on it a little bit and it wasn’t gone very far so there wasn’t much pressure on it. It literally feels better now than it did before.
“I catted it and went off the field.”
Front-rower Spencer Leniu is in more doubt for the finals after he landed awkwardly and came off immediately with a shoulder injury that forced him up the tunnel for medical attention.
Injuries might be the only thing that can stop the Panthers from back-to-back premierships and it’s why they will likely rest the bulk of their squad next week to avoid a trip to hot and humid Townsville with nothing to play for.
Those who do play next week will live a life of luxury with the club set to pay for a chartered flight to bring them back to Sydney right after full-time.
“I’ve got a few plans, but we’ll just see how everyone pulls up,” Cleary said.
“We’ve been in a good position for a while. We’ll sleep on it and see how everyone pulls up. Then we’ll work out what we’ll do.
“I’ve never been one to necessarily rest people, but every situation is different and every year is different. There are so many factors that go into it.”
MAJOR PLANS
Ivan Cleary’s men were awarded their second minor premiership in three seasons with the potential for a much bigger on the horizon in the coming weeks.
The most dominant team over the past three years started slowly and even found themselves behind when Reece Walsh scored thanks to a dubious pass in the lead-up, but it was one-way traffic after that as the late-season blowouts continued.
Everything they touched turned to gold on Friday night with Viliame Kikau playing a huge role in several tries, but they had to settle for silverware when they received their second JJ Giltinan Shield in three years.
“The Penrith Panthers’ second minor premiership in three years is a massive achievement and testament to the professionalism of everyone at the club,” NRL CEO Andrew Abdo said.
“The players, coaching staff and everyone at the club should feel proud of the consistent and prolific performance throughout the regular season in what has to be one of the toughest professional sports competitions in the world.
“Congratulations to the loyal and passionate fans and club members who have provided such great support throughout the year.”
WINGING IT
Taylan May and Brian To’o went six games without scoring, but the drought is over after both wingers crossed for doubles in the rout.
The diminutive duo didn’t have to do much for their tries, while Kikau was the best player on the field with a couple of assists and a super line to score off a stunning set play.
The Canterbury-bound back-rower was also involved in one of the tries of the season when he offloaded in traffic to Izack Tago who dummied, flicked a pass to May who then turned it inside to Sean O’Sullivan to score on the stroke of half-time.
NIGHTMARE OVER
After spending the best part of three years in Australia due to border closures, the Warriors can return home and enjoy a few months off after next week’s game against the Titans.
It’s been a tough slog for them this season with the Warriors conceding at least 40 points in each of their past three trips to Australia.
They were defensively poor again on Friday with their right edge proving no match for the Panthers. In fact, all of their starters missed at least one tackle in the first half, while Penrith missed just one in the opening 40 minutes.
To make matters worse, veteran Shaun Johnson didn’t return in the second half with a calf injury and is unlikely to play next week.
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