NRL Casualty Ward: Dane Gagai and Jai Arrow will get green light for South Sydney

Two key Queenslanders are back in contention for Origin II and will take on the Brisbane Broncos when they line up for South Sydney after being cleared of serious injury.

Kobe Hetherington of the Broncos escaped with a fine. Picture: Mark Nolan/Getty Images

South Sydney Queenslanders Dane Gagai and Jai Arrow will play against the Brisbane Broncos on Thursday night after being cleared of serious injuries.

It will be a huge boost for the Maroons who will also be sweating on Cameron Munster who was placed on report in the win over the Warriors on Sunday, while Xavier Coates has a hamstring issue that saw him miss the game against Canberra on Saturday night.

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Both Gagai and Arrow missed Saturday’s win over Newcastle along with NSW stars Damien Cook and Cameron Murray but all will be available against the Broncos.

Cook was simply rested while Murray had a minor AC shoulder injury.

There were early fears that Gagai might have suffered a broken hand that would have ruled him out of Origin II at Suncorp Stadium on June 27.

Arrow has rib cartilage damage but was rested for precautionary reasons.

Cameron Munster was placed on report in the win over the Warriors on Sunday.

GOOD NEWS FOR BRONCO, LESS FOR BEST

The Brisbane Broncos are entitled to ask for a ‘please explain’ over Kobe Hetherington’s send off after the youngster escaped with a fine for his tackle on Canberra’s Corey Harawira-Naera.

The NRL match review committee issued Hetherington with a grade one careless high tackle charge, meaning he will cop a $1150 fine with an early guilty plea.

Not so lucky was Gold Coast’s Kevin Proctor who was hit with a grade two careless high tackle charge for his hit on Joey Manu in the Titans’ dramatic loss to the Sydney Roosters on Saturday afternoon.

Kobe Hetherington won’t miss any games despite being sent off on Saturday night. Picture: Mark Nolan/Getty Images

Proctor, who has loading for prior non-similar offences in the last two years, will miss a game with an early guilty plea and faces a two-game ban if he fights and loses at the judiciary.

Roosters hooker Ben Marschke will miss two to three matches after he was hit with a grade two dangerous contact charge for hitting Jamal Fogarty high.

But it was Hetherington’s tackle which sparked the most debate over what constitutes a send off after it appeared Harawira-Naera was ankle tapped and fell into Hetherington, who became the first Bronco to be sent off since Ben Walker in 1999.

Fox League commentator Braith Anasta slammed the decision by referee Chris Sutton to march Hetherington in the second half of the 38-16 loss.

“I don’t agree with that,” Anasta said during the call.

“Watch this, he gets ankle tapped here so he falls into the shoulder of Hetherington. It’s 10 in the bin, I don’t think it’s sent off.

“I just feel there were circumstances there that if he wasn’t ankle tapped, he hits him around the chest. Because of the ankle tap, he falls immediately. A bit unlucky there for Hetherington to be sent off.”

MAROONS MAY PUT AN X THROUGH COATES’ NAME

There was more bad news out of the match – in fact before the match began -for the Broncos with Origin star Xavier Coates injuring his hamstring in the pre-match warm-up leaving Queensland coach Paul Green with a selection headache.

Xavier Coates out for the Broncos after injuring his hamstring in the warm up. Attempting to back up from Origin may have contributed, increase in load + possible fatigue increases risk of soft tissue strains. If a true muscle strain usual best case return: 10-14 days

— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) June 12, 2021

The Broncos winger strained his hamstring in the warm-up, and could now join Dane Gagai (hand) and Jai Arrow (ribs) in doubt for game two.

Gold Coast winger Phillip Sami and Cronulla flyer Ronaldo Mulitalo are the two most likely to be considered should Coates be unavailable for the Suncorp Stadium clash in 15 days time.

Classic syndesmosis injury mechanism for Bradman Best, now off midway through the 2H after tackle below in 1H. These syndesmosis injuries resulting in surgical repair more & more often; quick recovery (6-8 weeks) sometimes quicker than moon boot & rehab for moderate+ sprains pic.twitter.com/cUUbFdfACR

— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) June 12, 2021

BEST CASE SCENARIO A BAD ONE FOR KNIGHTS

It was a tough night for the Knights on Saturday, blown away by a red-hot Rabbitohs and also losing star centre Bradman Best. The hulking youngster left the ground in a moon boot after he picked up a syndesmosis injury in the first half.

Bradman Best was spotted in a moon boot after the match.

Best attempted to soldier on but was eventually forced off just after halftime.

“There’s some help on its way, but it’s disappointing to lose potentially Bradman,” his coach lamented. “We’ll have to scan him, but it’s not looking good at the moment. It’s heartbreaking, but we’ve got to keep picking ourselves and getting on with it.”

Wade Graham was forced to leave the field after getting his head on the wrong side of this tackle.

GRAHAM TO TAKE A BREAK FROM GAME

The Cronulla captain has declared he will instead take an extended break from playing in the NRL after suffering his fourth HIA this season against Penrith on Friday night.

Despite feeling well within himself, Graham knows that he can’t afford to continue at the current rate of being taken from the field for HIAs that he has this season.

It’s why he wants to momentarily step away from the game, to give his mind and body time out, but also use the opportunity to seek advice from specialists on a suitable return to play plan.

Graham will meet with specialists next week to determine a recovery and return-to-play plan.

At a minimum, the 30-year-old is likely to miss the next month of football.

Originally published as NRL Casualty Ward: Dane Gagai and Jai Arrow will get green light for South Sydney