Because of the growing number of injuries for the Canberra Raiders, representative front-rower Brett White will be sidelined for the remainder of the year.
The Raiders’ depth will be put to the test after the former Blues and Kangaroos enforcer tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in last night’s 22-6 loss to the North Queensland Cowboys at Canberra Stadium. NSW fullback Josh Dugan and tireless lock forward Shaun Fensom are already gone.
Joel Thompson, a second-rower for the Raiders, will also be out for the next two to three weeks due to a lateral ankle injury.
After the game, White’s wife comforted him in the locker rooms, and Dallas Johnson, a Cowboys lock and former Storm teammate, also offered words of encouragement.
White last participated for the Blues in 2010. However, his outstanding performance through the first four rounds of the competition was sufficient to persuade Raiders captain Terry Campese that White was prepared to make a comeback to the State of Origin arena.
Warriors’ prop White’s death was ”shattering,” according to Dane Tilse, and the remaining members of the forward pack must fill the vacuum.
Whitey is a fantastic leader for us, according to Tilse, both in terms of what he says and does on the field. We other front-rowers will need to go forward to cover him, so do that. He was playing his best football ever at the time.
Everyone will need to step up because he was making 15-meter charges.
In round 10, Dugan is anticipated to return from a shoulder ailment, and Fensom hopes to recover from a torn bicep in a month.
Test front-rower David Shillington has a remote chance of playing against the New Zealand Warriors on Sunday after suffering an oblique injury.
Thompson limped off the field shortly after White departed the field in a medical cart in the 20th minute.
The Raiders’ inability to worry the Cowboys’ defense, however, cannot be excused by this. Sam Mataora’s barging over in the 68th minute saved Canberra from going without a goal for just the second time ever at home.
Prior to that, Johnathan Thurston was the star of the show as he continued his move from halfback to five-eighth
Within the first 10 minutes, Thurston expertly led the Cowboys attack and found Brent Tate for the opening score with a beautiful cut-out pass. As the Cowboys led 12-0 at the break, Ashley Graham was the next to profit on Thurston’s deception.
Coach David Furner of the Raiders said that his team was penalized for its subpar completion percentage and failure to apply any kind of pressure on the Cowboys.
I won’t put the responsibility on injuries, Furner declared. ”With a club like the Cowboys, you can’t be in a game with a bad start. In the middle, we lost way too much energy.
Shaun Berrigan of the Raiders was flagged for a swinging arm on Gavin Cooper, while James Tamou of the Cowboys was also flagged for a shot on Blake Ferguson.
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