Souths lose their most in-form player; Brian To’o to play on with knee injury

CommBank Stadium: Wayne Bennett has been coaching for 40 years, but this year’s shocking and relentless run of injuries at South Sydney surely has to be a first.

Souths’ casualty ward somehow grew again on Friday night when prop Keaon Koloamatangi – arguably the club’s best player this season – hobbled off the field with a right ankle midway through the second half against Panthers.

Koloamatangi reeled out of a tackle against the Panthers, clutched at his right ankle, hobbled back into the defensive line, but was quickly assisted from the field.

Two minutes later, hooker Peter Mamouzelos came from the field for a head injury assessment, which he later failed.

“Pete will be out for a week at least because of concussion and Keaon’s got an ankle problem – we just don’t know how bad it is,” Bennett said.

“It’s just the way it’s going at the moment. We’ll see how long he’s out for.”

When asked who was expected back next week, Bennett smiled and said: “I’m not game to ask. I hate being disappointed.”

Penrith triumphed 30-10 and did well despite resting stars Nathan Cleary and Isaah Yeo. Brian To’o was given a 20-minute early mark after clutching at his left quad, but the winger appeared to be moving freely on the CommBank Stadium sideline.

The Panthers made it six wins on the trot. They have a sense of timing about them. Not only will their strike weapons return, including backrower Liam Martin, in the coming weeks, but the likes of Dylan Edwards, who ran for almost 300m against the Bunnies and bagged a double, is incapable of playing a bad game.

In a complete contrast to Souths, Penrith could be at full strength next weekend.

While Ivan Cleary can dare to dream about a fifth straight title, Bennett will be relieved to get through a game – or training session – without a player going down.

Keaon Koloamatangi has become the latest member of the bulging South Sydney casualty ward.Credit: Getty Images

Souths lost strike weapon Latrell Mitchell to a quad injury at Thursday’s captain’s run. He will miss a month. Bennett did not need reminding he was already without Cody Walker (hamstring), Cameron Murray (achilles), Campbell Graham (back), Brandon Smith (knee), Davvy Moale (wrist), Bud Sullivan (leg) and Jye Gray.

How many rival NRL teams would be seriously in the premiership hunt if they were missing a similar number of players?

Jack Wighton was also placed on report for a high shot on Edwards, which will result in an $1800 fine if hit with a grade-one careless high tackle charge by the match review committee on Saturday morning – but a two-match ban if deemed a grade-two offence.

Dylan Edwards was excellent for the premiers, bagging a double and running for nearly 300m.Credit: Getty Images

Who knows what is behind the shocking number of injuries that have rocked the Bunnies. Some fans are convinced it has something to do with the move away from their spiritual base at Redfern to Heffron Park in recent years.

The club reviewed their training programs earlier this year and were none the wiser.

Good luck trying to work out who will be fit to take the field against Cronulla next Saturday.

The Bunnies are busted. The best thing about them will be whether Alex Johnston can close in on Ken Irvine’s long-standing try-scoring record. Johnston’s try just before full-time moved him to 207 career tries – five short of Irvine’s 212. Johnston was Souths’ main attacking threat in the first half.

In the next three weeks, Penrith meet the Wests Tigers, Gold Coast Titans and Newcastle – all winnable games on paper – before a Thursday-night bell-ringer against old foes Melbourne.

The only knock is their lousy crowds at their makeshift Parramatta home. There were 11,836 fans on Friday night, allegedly. But who cares? At least most of the Panthers’ players are fit.

Brian To’o confident latest injury no concern

Brian To’o, arguably the game’s best winger, suffered a fresh cork to his left knee, but vowed to keep playing for Penrith, and declared: “You’ll always be busted and bruised, but never broken.”

The premiers made it six wins on the trot when they defeated South Sydney 30-10 on Friday night, with the sight of To’o coming from the field with 20 minutes remaining the only concern.

Brian To’o came from the field with 20 minutes remaining.Credit: Getty Images

To’o injured his left hamstring earlier this season, then suffered a grade-two lateral ligament tear in his left knee against the Bulldogs, which limited his preparation heading into Origin III for NSW.

Panthers medical staff were confident To’o the latest scare would not require scans, and he was likely to play against the Wests Tigers next Saturday.

Penrith are one of the few NRL teams that have no players in the casualty ward, with Liam Martin (wrist) and Izack Tago (suspension) to return next weekend, while Isaah Yeo and Nathan Cleary were given the weekend off. Cleary trained at Penrith on Friday morning while being joined by Matildas’ partner Mary Fowler.

As for To’o and concerns about his knee, he said late Friday: “It was a bit of a stir-up. It’s the same injury, there was just a bit of a knee clash.

“It was a bit of a touchy feeling; it was definitely on the right spot.

“I’ll always back myself to keep going.

“It’s part of the job [to keep going]. You’ll always be busted and bruised, but never broken.”

Coach Ivan Cleary said of To’o: “‘Biz’ can’t seem to get through a game without some sort of trauma, but he should be OK.”

As for the remarkable bill of health at Penrith this late in the season, Cleary tapped the table at the post-match press conference and said: “I don’t even want to talk about that. It’s super challenging an NRL season, whether it’s injuries or Origin, you need a full squad to be able to do well.”

Souths could only wish for the same luck as Penrith whe it comes to injuries, with their most in-form player, Keaon Koloamatangi, breaking down with an ankle injury, and Peter Mamouzelos failing a head injury assessment in the space of three minutes against Penrith.

NRL is Live and Free on Channel 9 & 9Now

Michael Chammas and Andrew “Joey” Johns dissect the upcoming NRL round, plus the latest footy news, results and analysis. Sign up for the Sin Bin newsletter.