During the Knights’ victory over the Cowboys on Sunday, veteran Blake Green exited the pitch with what is believed to be an ACL injury. Newcastle coach Adam O’Brien admitted he “felt like crying” at the time.
After being contracted till the end of the 2020 season, Green, 33, was injured in his third game wearing the Knights’ colours in what appeared to be an innocent tackle in the 18th minute.
He had hoped to sign a contract with the team until 2021, but given how many injuries the team is dealing with, he could have to retire.
The Knights are currently sixth on the standings, and Souths and Cronulla are just behind them.
Green joins Andrew McCullough (hamstring), Connor Watson (achilles), and Jayden Brailey (knee) as players who have been ruled out for the remainder of the season for O’Brien.
When questioned about the injury following the game, Knights coach Adam O’Brien responded that it “doesn’t look good” but did not provide a diagnosis.
He declared, “He’s shattered.” “I wanted to cry along with him. I’ve had to do it a few times this year, so I’m starting to grow used to it, but it’s still carnage.
It’s not good; it reminds me a little of troops being shot repeatedly; it’s unbelievable.
“I feel for him right now, but we have a group he can work with as a member of the coaching staff for the remainder of the season. The crew is currently too large.
O’Brien acknowledged that Green might face a difficult road ahead but was confident in his ability to recover from the catastrophic injury.
“What he’s done for us straight away, and he’s certainly had a great season what he did with the Warriors, he had an impact with us,” he stated.
“I’m sure he can get through this,” In the same situation is Andrew McCullough. He was excellent for us, so both of those players offer a lot if they decide to go that route.
O’Brien remained upbeat about Green’s future, but Newcastle great Andrew Johns questioned if he could play in the NRL after suffering a catastrophic knee injury into his mid-30s.
According to Johns, who appeared on Wide World of Sports’ The Final Whistle, “He’s 34 next month, coming to the end of his career, and he’s played a lot of footy.” “You’ve got to question whether he’ll go on.”
Mitchell Pearce will be most affected by the departure since he was beginning to forge a reliable partnership with Green and fullback Kalyn Ponga.
Green was brought in to lighten Pearce’s attacking burden so that he could concentrate more on picking his moments and the former Warrior would handle the game management side of
Johns claimed that despite their extensive list of injuries, the Knights will definitely play in the championship game. Having lost another player, he continued, Newcastle would need to diversify their attack in order to avoid relying just on Ponga to score goals.
“They’ll play finals footy for sure, they’ve got a great run in so it maybe a chance of making top four but they’ll have to improve dramatically,” he stated.
They possessed good field position and enough ball to score half a dozen tries despite the difficult circumstances and stormy weather.
“Kalyn Ponga obviously puts the cherry on top towards the end, but he’s probably the man.
“Any spark seems to be emanating from Kalyn, everything. Without a doubt, they need more options for attack.
Leave a Reply