Cronulla recall Will Kennedy for elimination final against the Roosters

Decisions have to be made at Cronulla despite gun fullback Connor Tracey being cleared for the elimination final against the Roosters.

William Kennedy of the Sharks (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

Cronulla’s potential injury crisis has now turned into a genuine battle for spots between fullbacks both Connor Tracey and Will Kennedy with both named in a 22-player squad ahead of Saturday’s elimination final against the Roosters.

There were genuine concerns that the club would have to turn to Daniel Atkinson – a man who has played a grand total of two minutes in the NRL this season – after Tracey limped off with a knee injury in the recent win over Canberra.

Tracey left PointsBet Stadium on Sunday in a knee brace but received the best possible news after he got scans the following day which revealed no damage to his left leg.

“It’s good. I came off with a jar so nothing serious. It was great news with the scan,” Tracey said.

“No damage at all. I literally just jarred the joint a little bit so it was a bit of a precaution to take me off and ice it up. It feels a lot better today.

“There was lots of icing. The machine was icing all night so I didn’t get much sleep because I wanted to ice it. I then had the scan and that was a relief so it’s all good.

“Today was a lighter session so I’ll run tomorrow hopefully.”

Connor Tracey is in some fine form! 👌#NRLKnightsSharkspic.twitter.com/OQJakzzzLp

— NRL (@NRL) August 27, 2023

While Tracey has been cleared to play, there are no guarantees he will actually take on the Roosters with Kennedy a shock inclusion on an extended bench.

The livewire fullback hasn’t played since he suffered a serious hamstring tear in the 28-0 loss to Penrith in Round 22 which opened the door for Tracey to get his crack in the NRL.

He would be a huge inclusion for a Sharks side that is humming in attack.

“Will is a first-class fullback,” halfback Nicho Hynes said.

“I reckon he was in the top three fullbacks in the competition for the first half of the year, so we’re very fortunate to have two great fullbacks at the club right now.”

Hynes was surprised to hear that Tracey was on track to play this weekend, but is stoked for his teammate who has floated in and out of first grade having overcome several serious injuries.

“I thought he had to get through tomorrow, but if he’s in then he’s in,” Hynes said.

“Connor has been playing great footy and he deserves the right to be playing. I just can’t believe how he was playing reserve grade at the beginning of the year and now he’s an out and out NRL player. I’m just really happy for him.

William Kennedy of the Sharks . (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

“It’s just so unfortunate for the calibre of player that he is to miss out on playing such a fair chunk of our season.

“It’s a hard one because I love Will and I love playing with Will, and it was unfortunate it took him to get injured for Connor to get a chance.

“I’m just so proud of Connor because he’s gone through a lot of adversity. To see the way that he’s playing now (is awesome).”

Tracey spent most of the season in NSW Cup but is in line to play his fourth finals game, although this would be his first at fullback.

“It’s pretty cool looking back at that and now I’m playing an elimination final against the Roosters,” he said.

“It’s one of those things when you’re playing that you’re always in the moment and worried about week-to-week stuff, so now I’m more worried about the actual performance. I’m treating it like any other game