After a training scare, Johnson is in the moon boot; Flanno’s reaction to the injury debacle: Off-season Central
In response to the Ronald Volkman injury scandal, Dragons coach Shane Flanagan has come out and stated that the team would not “shy away” from past errors.
Payne Haas, Anthony Milford, and Shaun Johnson have all experienced near-miss injuries during training; it has been revealed that the latter is wearing a moon boot.
The Titans have provided an update on David Fifita in other places following the star second-rower’s partial pectoral tear.
The premier player for the Warriors, Shaun Johnson, broke his ankle during practice and is currently in a moon boot.
The 33-year-old is in fact in a moon boot and is awaiting scans, the club revealed to SEN NZ.
Johnson, who led the Warriors to a preliminary final, is coming off arguably his greatest season to date. Though Knights fullback narrowly defeated him for the Dally M medal, he was chosen as the RLPA Players’ Champion by his peers.
This season’s contract will expire for him.
FITITA RETURNS TO THE FIELD
Star second-row player David Fifita has returned to the training field, according to the Titans.
For the 23-year-old, it’s a good update following surgery for a partial rupture of his pectoral in December.
Four weeks after the surgery, the club revealed that he started jogging on Thursday and will up his run loads over the following two weeks.
Fifita re-signed with the Titans last year, but the terms of his new contract only guarantee him a spot for 2024—the next two seasons are player options.
VOLKMAN FIASCO ADDRESSES FLANNO
Regarding the terrible circumstances surrounding Ronald Volkman, Dragons head coach Shane Flanagan said that neither he nor the team are “pointing fingers at anyone.”
Two years before to the end of his contract, the up-and-coming playmaker asked to be released from the Warriors in order to join the Dragons.
The Dragons had not yet registered the agreement with the NRL, despite making the announcement public.
Thus, they were allowed to back out of the agreement when Volkman’s shoulder required surgery, as determined by the Dragons medical staff.
The Daily Telegraph was informed by Flanagan that the club “won’t shy away” from the fact that there is plenty to learn from the circumstance.
“I have sympathy for the young man. He has wounded himself. It’s terrible that he failed his physical, but as a club, we had to defend ourselves, Flanagan remarked.
“We made the correct decision by getting all the tests and determining that surgery is necessary for him. He sustained an injury at the Warriors.
“Never in my experience have I had a player flunk a medical exam.
Numerous lessons may be drawn from it. The team won’t back down from it. We took the child to the greatest medical facility for testing and scanning.
“This one will teach all clubs a lesson. We most certainly will.
“We’re not making accusations against anyone. What is fact is fact. He requires surgery after hurting himself at the Warriors.
We know that one of the athletes had a shoulder reconstruction in the past, but based on the scans, it appears that he had two screws removed rather than merely failing the medical exam.
Dragons CEO Ryan Webb states that the team will exercise “cautiousness” in the future when disclosing signing-related information.
According to Webb, “We didn’t follow anything different than what we would have in the past.”
And based on the information we got (from the Warriors), we didn’t need to exercise excessive caution.
“He failed the fitness test, so in the end, the position we went to would have remained the same. We made it very evident that if you pass the medical, you would receive a signed copy.
“He is not one of our players because he failed the medical exam.”
A blow to the elbow injures a dolphins player during training.
According to reports, Dolphins half Anthony Milford had to leave the stadium due to a leg injury he had during preseason training.
Milford was injured, according to Ted Roker of 10 News First Queensland, and he departed the club’s training session.
Due to his bad attitude, Milford struggled to establish himself on the Dolphins roster the previous season. His injury will make it more difficult for him to pass Sean O’Sullivan and Isaiya Katoa as the team’s top playmaker.
In his 11 NRL appearances in 2023, Milford mostly came off the bench to score three tries, five try assists, and five linebreaks.
The 29-year-old, who has played in 217 NRL games, was recently connected to a Super League release to the Leigh Leopards, where he may have teamed up with Lachlan Lam, a former star of the Roosters. However, the deal fell through.
The severity of the injury and the length of time he will be sidelined are unknown as the club has not officially confirmed it.
HAAS SEVERE INJURY RETROACTIVITY
Superstar Payne Haas of the Broncos has experienced a regrettable preseason setback due to a hamstring injury.
News Corp. claims that Haas reported the issue to the Broncos medical staff on Tuesday and was subsequently placed on limited training responsibilities.
It isn’t considered a major injury, though.
The 24-year-old is the latest addition to Red Hill’s expanding list of injured players, which also includes Fletcher Baker (groin) and Jesse Arthars (ankle). Jordan Riki is also limited in his playing time while he heals from shoulder surgery that was done in the offseason.
However, the Broncos are still in a good mood as they get ready for their historic doubleheader in Las Vegas against the Roosters in Round 1.
Corey Jensen, Haas’ teammate, wasn’t really concerned either.
“To be honest, I have no idea what’s wrong with him. I believe he has a minor ache in his leg,” he remarked.
“When he’s practicing, he can pretty much do anything he wants. He’s free to go take care of himself if he’s a little sore.
“Everyone was having difficulties sometimes. It’s catching up to the grind of rugby league and playing 13-on-13.
Kevin Walters, the coach of the Broncos, has discussed the team’s abbreviated preseason on many occasions. Before a number of players appeared in the Pacific Championships, the Broncos competed in the grand final. They have to expedite their preparations because the Pre-season Challenge begins in less than a month.
