‘He’s touch and go’; Storm star racing the clock to be fit for season opener

The Storm could be without one of their most important players for the start of the new season, as he is still a long way away from full training.

Storm fans may not see Ryan Papenhuyzen in round 1. Picture; Kelly Defina/Getty Images

Storm superstar Ryan Papenhuyzen won’t be rushed back for round 1, with the injured fullback “touch and go” to be available for the season opener against Parramatta.

Papenhuyzen shattered his kneecap while trying to make a tackle on Canberra’s Jack Wighton back in round 18 in a devastating blow to the speedster who had scored 14 tries and 139 points in just 12 matches last season.

Ryan Papenhuyzen hasn’t fully recovered from his injury. Picture: NRL Imagery/Hamish Blair

The injury ruled him out for the year and the Storm never recaptured their attacking prowess, eventually bundled out by Wighton and the Raiders in the first week of the finals.

While the Storm’s World Cup players are still away from the main group, the rest of the squad has been getting ready for the 2023 campaign as the Storm prepare for life without four of their most experienced forwards.

But Papenhuyzen’s progress has been slower than expected, with Storm head of football Frank Ponissi revealing the club will take a cautious approach with their attacking weapon.

It was a frustrating year for Papenhuyzen, who also got injured against the Dragons. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

“Ryan’s probably the player who has a bit of work to do,” Ponissi said during an interview with SEN.

“At this stage he’s going along nicely, but he’s got a lot of work to do before we can count him in for round 1. The plan is that he’ll be available for round 1, but he’s still got a bit of work to get through before now and then.

“It was a major injury where he had multiple fractures in his kneecap, so for the first few months he basically couldn’t do anything at all. He’s just building his leg up now, but he’s nowhere near ready for full training at this stage.

“We’re hoping for the next couple of weeks he can continue a pretty extensive rehab program so come the end of January or early February he can come back to full training and then he can start some contact work.

“We start the season in early March, so it’s going to be touch and go, and we certainly won’t rush him for round 1. If he’s right to play then we’ll play him, otherwise we’ll hold him off until he’s 100 per cent ready.”

Cameron Munster (left) will resume training in early January after a massive season.

While Papenhuyzen is in doubt for the game against the Eels, Ponissi is expecting big things from Cameron Munster, who knocked back huge offers from other clubs to commit his future to the Storm on a massive new deal.

The five-eighth recently helped the Kangaroos win the World Cup and is enjoying a deserved break before he resumes training in early January to help the Storm bounce back from their early finals exit.

“He had a wonderful World Cup where he was one of Australia’s best players,” Ponissi said.

“It finished off an incredible season for him where he won our player of the year quite convincingly, he won a State of Origin series for Queensland, he was the Dally M five-eighth of the year and then he went away to win a World Cup where he was one of the star players.

“It’s been a phenomenal season for him and he’s resting well. He’s had a bit of a break over in Europe but he’s back in Australia and will start again on January 4.

“Speaking to him, he’s very keen to have another big season to get the Storm back in the top four position.”

Originally published as ‘He’s touch and go’; Storm star racing the clock to be fit for season opener