REVEALED: Injury Harry carried in stellar season with Tigers

Champion hooker completes an amazing award treble.

Central Queensland’s Harry Grant was named the Dally M Rookie of the Year after a stellar season with the Wests Tigers. (Photo by Matt Roberts/Getty Images)

HARRY Grant broke his hand in the first game of his breakout season with the Wests Tigers, his father Paul revealed yesterday.

But the injury did nothing to hold the CQ star back, and on Monday night the 22 year old completed a stunning award treble in winning the Dally M Rookie of the Year.

The coveted award came just 24 hours after he was named the RLPA Rookie of the Year, which is voted by his peers, and three weeks after he was named the Tigers’ Rookie of the Year.

Harry also finished 11th on the Dally M Medal leaderboard with 15 points and was the highest-ranked Tigers player in the count.

He joined the Tigers in Round 3 from the Melbourne Storm on an historic player loan arrangement.

He played 15 of a possible 18 games, starting every game at hooker, and scored three tries, one of them on debut against Cronulla.

Harry Grant talks to media before the Dally M Awards at Fox Sports Studios on Monday night. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

It was in that game that he suffered the hand injury and the fact he continued playing was, according to Paul, testament to his resilience and determination.

“He played the next eight or nine weeks with a broken hand,” Paul said.

“He then hurt his knee and had three weeks off so by then his hand was mended and so was his knee.

“Knowing what the kid went through every week to get on the field was pretty impressive.

“They x-rayed it every week to make sure it hadn’t moved or anything. There were no concerns it would create any more dramas but still, to be able to play with it is pretty good going.

“Harry can be pretty stubborn when he puts his mind to something. He likes to achieve it.”

The Grant family gathered in Yeppoon to watch the Dally M broadcast.

Harry Grant has been named in the Queensland Maroons train-on squad. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Paul said there were cooees of excitement echoing around the lounge room when Harry was named the winner.

“We were quietly confident that he had the runs on the board to get it,” he said.

“The whole family is really happy about what has happened. He’s done a good job.

“I was pretty confident that he would handle first grade, but he probably did go a bit further than most of us did think he would.

“He’s had a great season and hopefully we get another 10, 11, 12 more.”

Harry is now preparing to go into camp with the Queensland Maroons after being named in the train-on squad.

There is plenty of talk in rugby league circles that he will make his State of Origin debut and Paul said that would be the icing on the cake.

For the first time, the series will be played across three consecutive weeks, starting in Adelaide on Wednesday, November 4.

“It’s different circumstances this year, so we’ll just have to wait and see,” Paul said.

“He’s champing at the bit and he’ll be ready to go if he does get a start.”