Storm stars to miss clash with bogey side Canberra
Ryan Papenhuyzen will miss Melbourne’s NRL match against Canberra on Saturday night due to another injury.
The luckless fullback missed the Storm’s captain run at AAMI Park on Friday after a heel issue kept him sidelined through the week, while skipper Harry Grant will also be rested after playing State of Origin.
Papenhuyzen was only one game into his comeback after missing five NRL matches with a right ankle fracture.
It was the same ankle he broke in week one of the finals against Brisbane last year, after he missed 13 months with a shattered kneecap.
Coach Craig Bellamy told AAP that Papenhuyzen would make the final call on his availability, as Melbourne look to hang on to top spot on the NRL ladder.
On Friday night, the Storm ruled the 2020 Clive Churchill Medallist out of the match against bogey side Canberra.
“He hasn’t done a whole heap of training from last week. He’s been a bit sore as he hadn’t played for a while,” Bellamy said.
“He’s got a little bump on his heel but they (Storm medical staff) expected it to be no problem but there has been a bit of a problem, obviously. It’s not 100 per cent.
“We didn’t want to stir it up again and it be sore again tomorrow so we will see how he is in the morning.
“At the end of the day, it’ll be his decision on how sore it is.”
Sualauvi Faalogo, who was named in the reserves, will replace Papenhuyzen as he did before.
Hooker Grant, who has a cut on his forehead, has been rested but Queensland teammate Xavier Coates trained with the Storm and will face the Raiders.
Melbourne have promoted Bronson Garlick from the bench to starting hooker, opening up a spot on the pine for Kane Bradley.
Bellamy had eluded to the selection call earlier on Friday.
“One (Origin representative) will definitely play and one probably won’t,” the coach said before naming his 24-hour team.
“They’ve both got a couple of bumps and bruises and obviously Harry’s got that cut on his head.”
Canberra sit 10th heading into the round but boast a formidable record in Melbourne, having won five of their past six games at AAMI Park.
They are also fairly settled with hooker Tom Starling returning from concussion although departing winger Nick Cotric is out with an ankle injury, replaced by Albert Hopoate.
“They’ve got a great record down here against us – they always seem to aim up and it’s a bit of an ambush,” Bellamy said.
“They’ve got some really good players and Rick’s (coach Ricky Stuart) brought in a couple of young blokes who have added some real dash to their game, so we know it’s going to be a real tough game tomorrow night.”
