Smoothies and scrambled eggs get Oates back to NRL

Jasper Bruce | April 22, 2023

Corey Oates had to learn to love smoothies and scrambled eggs on the frustrating road back from the broken jaw that forced him out of Brisbane’s hot start to the NRL season.

The veteran winger was on the receiving end of a shoulder charge from North Queensland fullback Scott Drinkwater in round two and spent six weeks in the casualty ward nursing his jaw.

While his teammates surged to their longest unbeaten run to start a season since 1998, Oates began the painful process to recover.

The location of his break meant the nine-time State of Origin representative avoided having his jaw wired shut as is often required for jaw fractures. But the winger could not dodge the notoriously tough diet the injury demands.

“You can’t eat too much. It’s hard,” Oates told AAP.

“The first few weeks, there were just a lot of smoothies, a lot of scrambled eggs and small portions because it takes a long time to eat honestly anything.

“It was pretty frustrating.”

Oates stuck solid with the Broncos through their disappointing 2020 and 2021 campaigns, and their impressive start to 2023 steeled him to return.

“People that know me know I don’t like watching too long,” he said.

“I hate sitting on the sidelines. It gets pretty frustrating so I just made sure I did all the right things.”

Not even a broken jaw could silence the famously chatty Oates, much to the chagrin of his Broncos teammates and coaching staff.

“It was funny how a broken jaw can’t really tone someone down, talking-wise,” coach Kevin Walters said.

Oates made his return for the Broncos in Friday night’s 26-16 defeat of Parramatta in Darwin and was outstanding with 224 run metres and four tackle busts.

“He came back great tonight,” Walters said.

“Particularly in that first half, his carries in yardage were really good and that’s what Corey models his game on.”

Oates was relieved to have his first game out of the way.

“It’s always nerve-racking when you get back from an injury or a little niggle,” he said.

“I got a few tests tonight, nothing illegal, just in tackles I copped a few whacks. It was good to get that feeling and be confident with it all.”

With his first game out of the way, the 28-year-old is poised to lead the young Broncos backline on a tough run of games against South Sydney, Manly, Melbourne and Penrith.

“Everyone’s got their own little role they can play for us. I just keep telling them to do their role,” Oates said of his leadership responsibilities.

“If people do their job for this team, we’re all going to go the right way to winning the game.”