‘Pretty crazy’: Raiders prepare for life without Young
Sebastian Tan |
Despite suffering a season-ending and surgery-inducing ruptured Achilles, barnstorming second-rower Hudson Young is as chirpy as ever.
That’s according to his Canberra teammate Matt Timoko, who witnessed the NSW State of Origin representative’s injury first hand during the Raiders’ 34-24 victory over South Sydney last Saturday.
“We saw him yesterday, and to be honest, he was still cheery and bubbly which is pretty crazy,” Timoko told reporters on Thursday.
“I was speaking to him after the injury. He said he’ll be back at round one.
“It shows the kind of person he is. It shows how much of a leader he is as well.
“He’s been a star player for us for a number of years now. The next person that comes in definitely has a voice to fulfil.”
Young went under the knife earlier in the week and his absence will deal a crushing blow to Canberra’s hopes of reaching the finals.
But the Green Machine must forge on knowing a win against Wests Tigers on Saturday would thrust them further into top-eight contention after a slow start to their campaign.
Canberra have struggled to secure victory without the inspirational and lively Young, losing four of their past five games when he isn’t there.
But Timoko is hoping his replacement Zac Hosking can help keep the Raiders’ three-game winning streak alive, especially after the side only just welcomed back stars Josh Papali’i and Noah Martin from injury.
“We got all our players back, and we’re back on a roll. And then now, we’ve got the suspension (to hooker Owen Pattie as well),” Timoko said.
“That’s going to hurt us a little bit because we’ve seen what he’s been doing for us the last couple of months.
“Everyone’s just got to buy into their own role and play their roles. When everyone does their role successfully, (we can) be a successful team.”
Canberra went down 33-14 to the Tigers in round eight, sparking ugly post-match scenes as hooker Tom Starling got into a melee with Wests outside back Sunia Turuva.
But five-eighth Ethan Strange is looking at the loss in the rear view mirror.
“They’re passionate fans. I’ve got a lot of mates back home who are Tigers fans, so they’ve let me know about it,” Strange said.
AAP