‘Carnage’: Laurie Daley likens injury drama to a Formula One race as Blues sweat on Payne Haas’ scan results
Blues coach Laurie Daley has described last weekend’s injury chaos as like watching a Formula One race as NSW sweats on the fitness of star prop Payne Haas, who is in serious doubt for the Origin opener with a quad injury.
Haas was having a scan in Brisbane as Daley was doing media at the NSWRL Centre of Excellence in Sydney, with the Broncos behemoth injuring his quad during Sunday’s loss to the Dragons.
The 25-year-old is one of the best prop forwards of the modern era and has shown in his 14 Origin appearances that he can churn out huge minutes without dropping his quality.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.If he is ruled out, then Storm forward Stefano Utoikamanu will come into the 17.
“He’s getting a scan this morning,” Daley confirmed.
“Once we find out the results, we can work out where we go from there. It’s in the hands of the scan.
“I think he’s one of the best front-rowers in the game, if not the best (so he’d be a big loss if he’s ruled out).
“Origin tosses up a lot of different things. If he’s ruled out, he’s ruled out. We’re hoping that he can play and we’re hoping that the scan will see nothing there and he’ll be right to come down to Sydney and start preparing.”
Bulldogs skipper Stephen Crichton will also need to be managed throughout the week as he deals with a groin issue, but that doesn’t seem as big a concern given the strike centre has played through the pain for his club.
“I haven’t spoken to him, but the information I got off the medical staff is that he’ll need to be managed,” Daley said.
“We’ll look at doing that throughout the week and then we’ll get a better indication of how he’s travelling.
“Apparently, he’s been dealing with that for the last week or two but he’s managed to play.”
Injuries have wreaked havoc in the lead-up to the Origin opener, with the Maroons losing Tom Gilbert, Murray Taulagi and Selwyn Cobbo over the weekend.
“It’s amazing how it works out,” Daley said, with last year’s NSW skipper Jake Trbojevic knocked out while making a tackle on Saturday night.
“It’s like a Formula One race. Nothing happens, and then all of a sudden something occurs and there’s carnage. That’s exactly what happened yesterday and on Saturday night.
“You expect nothing different and it’s why you have to plan for everything and be comfortable with whatever the outcome is.”
