NRL 2024, Injuries, suspension, return dates, casualty ward and key information for the 2024 NRL Telstra Premiership season

NRL Casualty Ward: Koroisau succumbs to back injury; Rabbitohs duo go down

Author: NRL.com
Timestamp: Fri 3 May 2024, 03:17 PM

The Rabbitohs were dealt a double blow in their loss to the Panthers on Thursday night with halfback Dean Hawkins and fullback Jye Gray ruled out with injuries.

After scoring an early try for South Sydney, Hawkins left the field in the 25th minute after injuring his quad during a kick off while Gray has suffered a suspected syndesmosis injury.

"It's not good. Jye looks like he's got a syndesmosis and Dean's got a quad strain so not ideal," interim coach Ben Hornby said post match.

There was also concerns for prop Jai Arrow late in the match when he was seen in discomfort in just his second game back from a shoulder injury suffered in Round 1.

"Jai's fine. He got a couple of whacks on it and we thought about taking him off at the back end of the game but he said he was good to stay on so that's usually a good sign for us," Hornby added.

The Wests Tigers have been dealt a blow ahead of their clash against the Bulldogs on Saturday, with skipper Api Koroisau failing to overcome the lower back injury he suffered in Round 8.

Veteran prop Jared Waerea-Hargreaves has had to put celebrations for his 300th match with Sydney Roosters on hold after being ruled out of Friday night's trip to Brisbane to meet the Broncos.

Roosters coach Trent Robinson said Waerea-Hargreaves had an "old man's injury".

"It's really minor but not good enough to play," he said. "He was going to celebrate his 300 games for the Roosters, which is our highest honour. We savour that and you get a gold Rooster to do that but it won't be tomorrow night so we will have to save it for another week."

Veteran winger Daniel Tupou also dropped out on Friday after missing last week's ANZAC Day clash due to a knee injury while Victor Radley dropped off the reserves list after also being sidelined in Round 8 (hamstring).

The Panthers have opted not to play Nathan Cleary against the Rabbitohs in Round 9 as he continues to work back to full strength following a recent layoff with a hamstring injury.

The club said their star No.7 has been rested as a precaution, with no suggestion that there has been another setback with the injury he suffered in Round 3, which sidelined him for just over a month.

The 26-year-old returned to the field in Round 8 for the clash against the Cowboys and played the full 80 minutes.

Meanwhile, Parramatta fullback Clint Gutherson has been ruled out of Origin contention after undergoing knee surgery.

The Eels confirmed that Gutherson had a minor operation on his knee and would be unavailable for up to five weeks.

Gutherson has played four Origins for NSW and was a member of the team that beat Queensland 24-10 in the third match of last year's series.

The Dolphins will be without Kenny Bromwich (concussion) for their trip to Townsville in Round 9, but are boosted by the return of Felise Kaufusi (hamstring) and Connelly Lemuelu (knee), while captain Jesse Bromwich looks set to play despite a calf issue that ended his game last week.

In further good news for the club, prop Tom Flegler is unlikely to need surgery on the shoulder injury he suffered in Round 5, with his return timeframe still indefinite.

The Storm will be without in-form winger Xavier Coates (hamstring) for the match against the Titans, who themselves will be missing enforcer Moeaki Fotuaika due to concussion.

Dragons centre Mosese Suli will also miss Round 9 due to being under the NRL concussion protocol, while the Raiders will re-assess forward Pasami Saulo's lower back injury after their Round 10 bye to see if he is fit to return for Magic Round.

Despite all failing to finish last Sunday's win over the Dolphins, the Knights have named Jacob Saifiti (lower leg), Jed Cartwright (ankle) and Greg Marzhew (ankle) to take on the Warriors.

Storm prop Nelson Asofa-Solomona and Wests Tigers skipper Api Koroisau are also set to shake off hamstring and back concerns respectively to take the field in Round 9.

Raiders skipper Elliott Whitehead (calf), Roosters wing Daniel Tupou (knee) and Warriors back-rower Kurt Capewell (throat) head up the major injury returns for Round 9.

Luciano Leilua (calf) and Jacob Preston (jaw) are a chances of getting back on the field too after being included in the reserves for their respective clubs.

To view the complete NRL Casualty Ward, please visit the hub page.