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Friday, June 28, 2024

Storm stars set to miss clash with Raiders

Luckless fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen is likely to miss Melbourne’s NRL clash with Canberra on Saturday night due to another injury.

Papenhuyzen 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 was a spectator after playing State of Origin.

Papenhuyzen was only one game back having missed 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.

“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 among the reserves, is expected to replace Papenhuyzen as he did before.

Bellamy was cagey on Origin duo hooker Grant, who has a cut on his forehead, and Xavier Coates but given the winger trained, he appears more likely to front the Raiders.

“I think one will definitely play and one probably won’t, but we’ll work it out tomorrow morning,” the coach said.

“Hopefully they’ll both back up but this stage we just need to check them and go from there.

“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. Although that one loss was a

They are also fairly settled with hooker Tom Starling returning from concussion although 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 few 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.”

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