By Christian Nicolussi
Wests Tigers recruit Jarome Luai will definitely return from injury in time for round one, but one of his star teammates is no certainty to play.
While Luai revealed on Friday night he was “ready to rock” for the Tigers in a fortnight’s time when they start their latest campaign against Newcastle, fullback Jahream Bula was not as bullish about his return from a summer setback.
Bula underwent shoulder surgery in August and missed the final month of the 2024 regular season. He said on Friday he had only resumed full contact work at training last week.
Then he suffered a fresh knock from back-rower Samuela Fainu at training, and will need to undergo extra testing on his shoulder before being given the green light to pull on the No.1 jersey against the Knights on March 7.
“We’ll see about round one,” Bula said. “Everything went well with the surgery. I’ve been doing my rehab the past six months. I’m getting closer. I started full contact last week.
“‘Moose’ [Tigers head of performance Peter Moussa] has been good, he’s really strengthened it, and he doesn’t like to bring players back too early.
“I copped a knock last week; Samuela came flying in with his shoulders. He’s too strong.
“It was nothing serious – I didn’t need scans – but I’ll need to do another test next week before round one.”
Because of the lack of contact at training, Bula was never expected to feature in the Tigers’ two trials.
Heath Mason started at fullback in both trials and is a fullback option should Bula need an extra week or two to recover. Penrith recruit Sunia Turuva could also fill in at the back if needed.
Bula completes one of the most exciting spines in the NRL with Luai, five-eighth Lachie Galvin and dummy-half Api Koroisau.
As for what he had already learnt from four-time premiership winner Luai, Bula said: “He just makes my job easier; he directs me, tells me where to be, and gives me a lot of space out wide.”
Luai told Fox Sports at half-time during the 30-18 win over Parramatta he would make his club debut in round one.
“Put me in, coach; I can’t wait to get out there,” he said.
Meanwhile, Brent Naden was awaiting scans results on Saturday after hobbling from the field before half-time with a knee injury.
The off-contract outside back said after the game: “The quick diagnosis [from doctors] was my knee popped out but, hopefully, there’s no ligament [damage] and, hopefully, it’s only six to eight weeks.”
Naden refused to exit on a stretcher.
“My nan and pop were watching at home, and I’d probably never live it down if I was stretchered off – I’ve never been stretchered off, and I didn’t want to start on Friday night,” he said.
Three Tigers’ standouts against the Eels were ever-improving prop Fonua Pole, Adam Doueihi and Jeral Skelton, who will be unlucky if he does not start on the left wing in round one.
Moses injury scare as Eels sweat on Brown
Parramatta captain Mitchell Moses has had “every scan under the sun” on a foot injury that kept him out of the game for two months last year, but Eels coach Jason Ryles is confident his star half will be right to play in round one of the NRL season.
Ryles revealed the full extent of the Moses injury saga following the 30-18 trial loss to Wests Tigers on Friday night.
In-demand halves partner Dylan Brown also failed to feature in the club’s final pre-season hit-out at Leichhardt Oval because he was performing best-man duties at his brother’s wedding on New Zealand’s Waiheke Island, which had been flagged with the Eels months in advance.
Ryles would love nothing more than to start his NRL coaching career with a win against his old club Melbourne at AAMI Park on Sunday week, but will now do so with Moses having spent no time on the field during the Pre-Season Challenge.
“Mitch had a bit of soreness with his foot around the screw,” Ryles said. “We’ve had every scan under the sun. He had a really good running session Friday to build him back up for round one.
“Because of where we were in the pre-season, we didn’t want to push him through whatever he didn’t need to. But he’s all clear, he’s happy and he’s training – we expect him to play round one.
Mitchell Moses scores against the Knights in 2024 following his recovery from a foot injury.Credit: Getty Images
“This year he’s probably done the most training he’s done for a long time, and that probably caught up with him the past few weeks.
“If we’re playing NRL games, we’re playing him. It’s a matter of being smart about it while we can be smart about it.”
There will be plenty of interest in Moses’ left foot in the countdown to Parramatta’s road trip to the Victorian capital on March 9, but an even bigger talking point will be what Brown does next with his career.
Dylan Brown has a big decision to make before round 10.Credit: Getty Images
The New Zealand international has until round 10 to activate a get-out clause in his contract, which would allow him to pursue bigger-money offers elsewhere. News Limited reported during the week that Brown’s management had spoken with three rival clubs about deals that spanned up to 10 years and were worth $11 million.
Brown will earn $1.1 million a season on his current Eels deal from next year until 2031. Despite the apparent interest from rival clubs, Brown failed to feature in a list of the game’s top 50 players as voted by experts from the Sydney Morning Herald and Wide World of Sports, including immortal Andrew Johns and Queensland legend Darren Lockyer.
Ryles was diplomatic when asked about the Brown contract situation last weekend, but after another week of headlines, the coach said he would like an answer to bring an end to the media speculation.
“We’ll support Dylan 100 per cent, whichever direction he goes, [but] obviously [a decision] sooner rather than later would be nice,” Ryles said.
“It is important he gets this decision right because it’s an important one for him.
“We’re pretty clear on our position. The club has shown a lot of faith in him offering him a nine-year deal. We’re in the midst of that at the moment.”
Meanwhile, Josh Addo-Carr made his first official appearance in the blue and gold when he played the final 20 minutes against the Tigers on Friday.
Addo-Carr is suspended until round three, but Ryles had nothing but praise for the international flyer and the positive influence he has had on the younger backs.
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