horrific knee injury – Michmutters
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NRL 2022: Lara Pitt reveals ‘hardest part’ of her job, Round 22 preview, premiership dark horse, Sharks, Dragons

The race for the NRL finals is heating up and this weekend will see several tantalizing match-ups that are certain to shape the make-up of the top eight.

The Panthers face the Storm tonight, before Parramatta take on South Sydney on Friday night and the Roosters play the Cowboys on Saturday afternoon.

“I think the top four battle is heating up for sure,” Fox League’s Lara Pitt told news.com.au ahead of round 22.

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“I think the Storm have probably got a tough one to win against the Panthers even though Penrith don’t have (Nathan) Cleary and (Jarome) Luai — they’re always extremely tough to beat at home.

“The Eels-Rabbitohs game is one of the hardest of the round, equally Roosters-Cowboys. Those two games are massive. I found those the hardest to pick but I’ve gone with the Roosters and Parramatta.

“The Parramatta Eels, that’s a huge game against the Rabbitohs, if they win that they’re into the top four.

The Panthers sit three games clear on top of the ladder and are red-hot favorites to win back-to-back premierships, but Pitt believes Cronulla are a “dark horse” heading into finals.

“I’ve been at the last couple of Sharks games on the sideline and been really impressed with how gritty and the style of football they’re playing,” she said.

“They can get into an arm wrestle. They still haven’t hit peak form, there’s still improvement to come for them.

“They’re winning ugly, they’re winning tough, then when they play well they can score points. I’d say the Sharks are possibly the dark horse.

“I think the eight is pretty much settled when I look at the standings at the teams that have kind of fallen over at the wrong end of the season — Manly, Raiders and Dragons unfortunately have left it a bit too late.

“I think the eight is probably the way it is now but everyone will be jostling for where they actually finish in the eight. I back the Roosters and the Broncos to secure their place in finals, it’s just about how high they can finish.”

Gruesome injuries ‘hardest part’ of the job

In her role as Fox League’s sideline reporter, Pitt has witnessed several nasty injuries this season including Stephen Crichton’s mauled ear, Ryan Papenhuyzen suffering a fractured knee cap and Aaron Booth rupturing his ACL last weekend.

Pitt said having to interview players after they’ve suffered season-ending injuries is the “hardest part” of her job.

“The Stephen Crichton one stands out the most,” she said.

“I think even he probably was in shock himself and didn’t realize his ear was hanging off walking around the stadium saying g’day to the fans at the end of the game, then had to head off to hospital and have a plastic surgeon sew his ear together.

“There’s been that one and obviously seeing Aaron Booth go down for the Titans last week, he has sustained the most serious knee injury you can get.

“I spoke to him after the game. He knows he’s got a long road to recovery but I was pretty surprised at how strong he was and how he looked like he was going to take it head on, which is pretty incredible when he’s just sustained a horrific knee injury.

“It’s probably not the best part of the job at all and speaking to players just after they’ve ruined their year or they’ve got that long comeback trail ahead of them, that’s probably the hardest part.

“I don’t like watching the replays of horrendous injuries, that’s for sure. I’ll certainly look away. I’m not too frightened by the blood and the gore of it, but I’m not watching the replays of knees going the wrong way, that’s for sure.”

Dragons need star power around Hunt

St George Illawarra take on the Raiders in a Fox League exclusive game on Sunday and while both sides appear out of the finals race, they will be desperate for a win.

Pitt believes the Dragons need to recruit some star players in the spine to support Ben Hunt, if they are any chance to make finals in 2023.

“The club has made some moves to change the support staff around Anthony Griffin. Clearly they can see it’s not working,” she said.

“The concern is now that they’re not bringing on board any high caliber players into the roster to help Ben Hunt and he desperately needs the help. It’s hard to see how they’ll be any better next year with just some assistant coaching movements.

“If that’s the case, then the pressure will be firmly on the club and the coach early next year if they don’t make any movement in performance on the field.

“Overall, just hugely disappointing that they haven’t improved this year and they’ve failed to make finals.”

Watch the St George Illawarra Dragons vs Canberra Raiders at 1pm on Sunday only on Fox League.

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Bulldogs vs Cowboys, Murray Taulagi no-try, Valentine Holmes knock-on, video, result

Just a fortnight after they were gifted a win from a controversial Bunker call, the Cowboys were on the other end with a try being disallowed in their 28-14 win over the Bulldogs.

Although the Cowboys walked away with the win, there’s question marks over a Murray Taulagi try that was disallowed half way through the second half.

Taulagi crossed untouched in the corner to give his side a two-point lead with 20 minutes to go only for the referee to send it up to the Bunker.

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Ricky apologizes for salmon spray | 01:04

“I’m looking for a bat-on, whether it goes forward,” referee Adam Gee said.

The play in question was Tom Dearden’s cutout pass to Taulagi that clipped Valentine Holmes’ shoulder before landing in Taulagi’s hands.

“It’s not a knock-on when it comes off his shoulder,” Fox League commentator Brenton Speed ​​said.

“It goes back anyway,” Steve Roach added.

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SIMS’ RED V CAREER OVER: Dragons veteran handed huge ban for ugly high shot

Speed ​​was confident that “this try will stand”, however, Bunker official Matt Noyen ruled it a no-try saying “the ball touches the upper-arm, shoulder of Valentine Holmes… we’re supporting the on-field decision of the ball traveling forward.”

‘He pretty much saved my life’ | 01:07

Both Speed ​​and Roach were stunned by the call.

“It seems to me that we always find a way of why it’s not a try now,” Roach said.

“He was standing behind him, so how does it go forward?”

Sideline commentator Billy Moore agreed with Roach saying, “for me that was a try.”

The call didn’t mean too much in the context of the game though, with the Cowboys going on to score three more tries to seal the win.

It comes just two weeks after the Cowboys were on the other end of a contentious Bunker decision when they escaped with a controversial 27-26 win over the Tigers.

The Cowboys were awarded an escort penalty and Valentine Holmes slotted a goal on the siren to steal the win. Even coach Todd Payten conceded afterwards that the call was “debatable.”

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Wests Tigers vs Newcastle Knights live score, updates, stream, video, start time, teams SuperCoach scores

The Knights have put their horror week behind them to escape with a 14-10 win over the Tigers, despite a second half fightback from the home side at Campbelltown Stadium.

A galvanized Knights outfit ran amok in the first half, shooting out a three-try lead thanks to a double to Enari Tuala and another to Tex Hoy.

But the Tigers came out of the half time break fired up and tried to Brent Naden and Asu Kepaoa set up a grandstand finish.

But the Knights were able to hang on and end their four-game losing streak… and finally move on from a dramatic week following the David Klemmer saga.

“It seems to have galvanized them, they’ve come with great energy,” Fox League analyst Michael Ennis said of the Knights’ attitude.

MATCH CENTER: Tigers vs Knights live score, video, stats

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61ST MINUTE

The momentum had well and truly swung in the Tigers’ favor after Asu Kepaoa scored to bring his side within four points of the Knights after being completely carved up in the first half.

52ND MINUTE

The Tigers finally got on the board through Brent Naden but it wouldn’t have been possible without Adam Doueihi’s boot. Doueihi put a giant bomb up that Dominic Young let bounce and Naden was there to snatch it and score. Doueihi converted to shorten the scoreline to 14-6.

30TH MINUTE

Star hooker Jayden Brailey took off before the Tigers’ markers were set and sent Tex Hoy over. Hoy converted to extend the Knights’ lead to 14-nil.

The easy try sparked Fox League’s Michael Ennis to take aim at the Tigers’ “turnstile” defense.

17TH MINUTE

Enari Tuala got his second of the day to extend his side’s lead with Jake Clifford and Bradman Best having a hand in the lead-up.

“Finally playing like Adam O’Brien has been telling us they’ve been training,” Fox League commentator Warren Smith said.

5TH MINUTE

Jake Clifford set up Enari Tuala for the first try of the afternoon with a long grubber kick for the winger to dive on.

“Terrific kick, set up perfectly,” Fox League commentator Warren Smith said.

MATCH PREVIEW

The Wests Tigers will chase back-to-back wins for just the second time this season when they take on the Knights at Campbelltown Stadium in the final game of Round 21.

The Knights got the bragging rights last time these two teams faced off but a lot has changed since then.

Both are languishing near the bottom of the table, but the Tigers are coming off an inspiring win over the Broncos last week, while the Knights have lost four consecutive games — and are coming off a dramatic few days for the club.

The Knights will be without David Klemmer after the star prop was stood down from selection due to disciplinary reasons in a storyline that has since blown up in the club’s face.

Jacob Saifiti takes Klemmer’s place in the starting pack, while star center Bradman Best makes a welcome return from a thumb injury.

For the Tigers, Jackson Hastings is out for the season, opening the door for young gun Fonua Pole to start at lock.

Filling Pole’s spot on the bench is 27-year-old debutant Tom Freebairn — captain of the Western Suburbs Magpies’ NSW Cup side.

A win for the Tigers will see them leapfrog the Knights on the ladder and move further away from the wooden spoon. But if the Knights get a much-needed win, they will jump to 13th, ahead of the Warriors.

TEAMS

Tigers: 1. Daine Laurie 2. Brent Naden 3. Starford To’a 4. Asu Kepaoa 5. Ken Maumalo 6. Adam Doueihi 7. Jock Madden 8. James Tamou 9. Fa’amanu Brown 10. Joe Ofahengaue 11. Alex Seyfarth 12 Kelma Tuilagi 13. Fonua Pole 14. Zane Musgrove 15. Austin Dias 16. Thomas Freebairn 17. Tyrone Peachey. Replacement player: 18. Junior Tupou

knights: 1. Tex Hoy 2. Enari Tuala 3. Dane Gagai 4. Bradman Best 5. Dominic Young 6. Anthony Milford 7. Jake Clifford 8. Jacob Saifiti 9. Jayden Brailey 10. Daniel Saifiti 11. Tyson Frizell 12. Brodie Jones 13 Mitchell Barnett 14. Phoenix Crossland 15. Simi Sasagi 16. Pasami Saulo 17. Mathew Croker. Replacement player: 18. Jack Johns

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Re-live the action live in the blog below. If you can’t see it, click here.

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Nicho Hynes tribute, Aaron Booth injury, best mates, Cronulla Sharks win, Gold Coast Titans, knee injury, Justin Holbrook, news

Sharks star Nicho Hynes has vowed to dedicate the rest of his season to his “best mate” Aaron Booth after suffering a gross knee injury against the Storm.

The 26-year-old’s knee buckled in thick scenes, collapsing underneath his weight in right angles while attempting to tackle Storm playmaker Cooper Johns.

Titans coach Justin Holbrook was clearly emotional when speaking about Booth’s injury which will end his 2022 campaign.

Stream every game of every round of the 2022 NRL Telstra Premiership Season Live & Ad-Break Free During Play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >

“I feel for Boothy,” Holbrook said.

“He’s fought really hard to get his shot this year and it’s going to be really nasty for him unfortunately.

“It’s really bad for him.”

Speaking after his side’s big win over the Dragons, Hynes said Booth “pretty much saved my life.”

“I want to try and dedicate the rest of this year to him, he is my best mate and he pretty much saved my life,” Hynes said.

The pair’s bond began when they were teammates at the Mackay Cutters.

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Ricky apologizes for salmon spray | 01:04

Then when both Booth and Hynes were contracted at the Storm they lived together — becoming close mates.

“He’s had a terrible run with injuries and it just breaks my heart to see,” Hynes said.

“He’s worked so hard to get back to where he is each time to play NRL and he unfortunately just has no luck with injuries.

“I love him to death and I can’t wait to see him.”

As it stands, the extent of Booth’s injury is currently unknown — with further scans set to reveal how long the playmaker will stay off the field.

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