Papenhuyzen scratching adds to Storm’s backline issues
Jasper Bruce and Scott Bailey |
Ryan Papenhuyzen will miss Melbourne’s clash with North Queensland in the latest blow to the Storm’s crisis-hit backline.
Papenhuyzen was on Friday night ruled out of the Townsville match with calf tightness, making him the seventh Melbourne back unavailable for the game.
His absence means Tyran Wishart will move to fullback, with Jonah Pezet now starting in the halves.
The Storm are already without Will Warbrick (concussion), Moses Leo (shoulder), Sua Fa’alogo (hamstring), Jack Howarth (appendicitis), Xavier Coates (Origin) and Dean Ieremia (achilles) in their backline alone.
Coach Craig Bellamy said he was not expecting miracles from an understrength side, but luckless Pezet could be forgiven for thinking his NRL comeback is one.
Melbourne and North Queensland will be without a combined total of nine State of Origin representatives for Saturday’s clash, the most for any game this weekend.
The Storm had already been forced to name Joe Chan in the centres for the first time in his NRL career.
Elsewhere, Penrith junior Ativalu Lisati has been named for only his third game, while journeyman winger Kane Bradley comes in for his second game of the year.
“You don’t expect miracles from them,” Bellamy said of the reinforcements.
“But they’ve been training with us all year, we haven’t got anyone in over the last few weeks.
“It (the Origin period) is always tough but it’s tough for a lot of teams.”
But there is a silver lining in the NRL comeback of Pezet, who had been earmarked as Melbourne’s next halfback before enduring more than a year of knee injury hell.
The playmaker was last seen in the NRL in round three last year, rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament playing reserve grade a month later.
Some 336 days on in March, Gosford-born Pezet returned to the field for feeder side North Sydney, only to injure the same knee and book in for more surgery.
But Pezet has since made it through two games of NSW Cup and, while he was listed on the bench, will now start on Saturday night.
“There’s some guys that are going to get a chance tomorrow, a chance to impress and a chance to play a bit of first grade,” Bellamy said.
“Hopefully they’ll grab that with both hands.”
The Cowboys will need to forge on without Murray Taulagi, who has failed to pull up from a minor knee injury suffered in last week’s win over Gold Coast.
Braidon Burns will replace Taulagi on the wing but the club expects to have the former Maroons utility back on deck for next week’s clash with Canterbury.
“We named him this week in the thought he might improve but he tried to get some running done on Thursday and was no good,” said North Queensland coach Todd Payten.
AAP
