AFTERanotherstrong
performanceagainstthe
Titans,SandorEarliseager
tobuildonhisimpressive
startinMelbourne.
Earlcrossedforhisfirsttry
insixyearsduringtheStorm’s
bigwin,showinghe’smorethan
capableoffillinginwhenever
JoshAddo-CarrandSuliasi
Vunivaluareunavailable.
“Ijustwanttoearnthetrust
andrespectoftheboysand
knowthatwhenI comein,I’m
goingtodothejob,”hesaid.
“Therearegoingtobe
opportunitiesallthetimeandI’m
justenjoyingbeingatanawesome
club.I’mbehindtwoofthebest
wingers so it is what it is.” – MGDAMIENCookhasbackedSam
Burgesstorecoverfromillness
intimeforthisyear’sfinals.
Burgess(above)hasbeenout
sinceRound 13 witha shoulder
injurythatlatersawhim
hospitalisedwithaninfection.
TheRabbitohshaven’tputa dateon
hisreturn,butCookestimatedhe
willbebackinthenextfewweeks.
“I’mexpectinghimbackinthe
nextthreeweeks,”Cooksaid.
“KnowingSam,hewalkedout
ofsurgerywantingtoplaytwo
weekslater,soI wouldn’twant
tobethemedicalstaffsayinghe
wasn’treadytocomebackfor
thefinals.He’llriphisdripout
ofhisownarmif hehasto.” – JCITwasn’ttoolongagothat
RobbieFarah’scareerwas
fizzlingoutinreservegrade.
FastforwardtothisFriday,
andtherejuvenatedhooker
willmakehis300thNRL
appearancebackwhereit all
began,ina WestsTigersjersey.
Farahneverthoughthewould
makeit thisfar,revealinghe
almosthungupthebootslast
yearduringhisunsuccessful
stintatSouths.Buthiscareer
camefullcirclewhenhe
returnedtotheTigers,and
he’senjoyingeveryminuteof
hissecondstintatConcord.
“Iwasreadytowalkaway
fromthegame,tobehonest,”
Farahsaid,reflectingonhis
struggleslastyear.
“Itwasprettyhardtofind
themotivationtogooutand
play.I thoughtI wasdone.
“SoI’vejusttriedtosoakit
allinandenjoyeverymoment.
Onceyoulosesomething,
you’regratefulwhenyouget
it back,andI’mjustgratefulto
bebackhereinthesecolours,
playingfooty.”
Despitetheoccasion,
Farah’smainpriorityis
knockingoffNewcastlethis
week,astheTigerslooktosnap
a seven-yearfinalsdrought.
“I’mnottooconcerned
aboutindividualmilestones.
It’sallaboutgettingthewin
thisweek,”hesaid.
“It’dbeevenbetterif wecan
playfinals.That’swhyI’mstill
playing, to make the finals.” – JC28 BIG LEAGUE 2019 Round 19THESydneyCricketGround
scoreboardattendantstillhas
sorehandsaftertheTri-colours
piledon 42 second-halfpoints
inoneofthemostvicious
onslaughtsoftheseason.
TheKnightshadnoanswers
forthedefendingpremierswho
overcamea tightfirsthalftoblitz
theiropponentsintheirmost
completeperformanceof2019.
“Wehaven’tbeenfinishingour
gameswellallyear,sowecame
togetherwithaboutsixminutesto
goandspokeaboutthosemoments
andwantingtocloseoutgames.
Thatwasanopportunitywehad
andwetookit,”JaredWaerea-
HargreavestoldBigLeague.
“Defensivelywehadtoget
uncomfortable,andonceyou
getthere,youhavetoembrace
thatfeeling.Wegrewinthose
toughtimesagainsttheKnights
andthereweresome rewards
there at the end.” – MGFIREWORKScouldbeonthecardswhenthe 2015
and 2016 premiersdobattleatPointsBetStadium
ina gamethathasmassivefinalsimplications.
Theonce-fiercerivalryhassimmereddown
inrecenttimes,butwitha finalsspotontheline,
hostilitieswilllikelyresumeintheShire.
WiththeSharksandCowboyslockedon 16 points
withsevenroundsremaining,victoryonThursday
wouldbea hugeboostforeitherside’sprospects
leadingintothebusiness-endoftheseason.
Thehostsareona five-gamelosingstreakandmust
finda waytohandleNorthQueensland’spowerful
middleforwards;a tasknothelpedbyAndrew
Fifita’ssuspensionfora brainsnapacrosstheditch.
“They’vegota packwhohavebeenplaying
somegoodfooty,andyoungJakeCliffordhas
beendirectingthesideprettywellforthepast
fewweeks,sothisisn’tgoingtobea gamethat’s
woninthefirstminute;it’llbewoninthe
80thminute,”propAaronWoods(pictured)said.
“They’resimilartous,they’vebeenineverygame.
ThisistheNRL,soif weturntheballoverthenthey’re
goingtoputa scoreonus.Wejustneedtofocuson
PHOTOS: ourselves and play the footy we know we can.” – MG
NRLPhotos.com:
Scott
Davis
(Earl,
Green),
Nathan
Hopkins (Burgess), Gregg Porteous (Woods), Keegan
Carroll (Farah), Grant Trouville (JWH), Robb Cox (Norman)