Manly coach Kieran Foran says the club is “shattered” for Luke Brooks after the veteran playmaker suffered a suspected NRL season-ending ACL injury in Saturday night’s 30-4 win over Melbourne. Brooks played on after landing awkwardly in a tackle from Trent Toelau in the first half, but took part after the break and cut a dejected figure as he watched the remainder of the game from the sideline.
The Sea Eagles were dealt another potential setback when Brooks’ replacement Joey Walsh was sent to the sin bin and placed on report for a hip-drop style tackle on Ativalu Lisati that injured the Storm forward. Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy revealed afterwards that Lisati would require syndesmosis surgery and face a stint on the sidelines, with Walsh facing a nervous wait to see if he’ll be suspended over the tackle.
Luke Brooks (R) suffered a suspected season-ending ACL injury in Manly’s win over the Storm, while teammate Joey Walsh was placed put on report for a hip-drop style tackle (L). Pic: Fox League/Getty
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But it was the “gut-wrenching” ACL injury for Brooks that Manly coach Foran was most concerned about after his side’s impressive win. And the league world was quick to wish the in-form veteran five-eighth a speedy recovery after it emerged post-game that his season is likely to be over.
“It’s a suspected ACL (rupture). It’s absolutely devastating for Luke,” Foran told reporters after the game. “We’re all shattered for him. Obviously we’ll wait for confirmation on it but they’re pretty certain it is, which is just gut-wrenching.”
Joey Walsh on report for hip-drop style tackle
Manly young gun Walsh impressed after coming on to replace Brooks but found himself in hot water after being sin-binned for the tackle on Lisati. It wasn’t a typical hip-drop incident as the 20-year-old’s body weight came down onto the turf before making contact with the Storm forward’s ankle.
But if Walsh is suspended it would hand Foran another headache to figure out in his halves. One option could be to hand fellow whizz-kid Onitoni Large his maiden NRL call-up after the 18-year-old recently extended with the club.
Manly young gun Joey Walsh (R) faces a nervous wait after being sin-binned and placed on report for a hip-drop style tackle that injured Storm forward, Ativalu Lisati. Pic: Fox League
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“I’m not going to speculate just yet,” Foran said about the Manly halves situation. “We’ve got a number of players knocking on the door that could potentially fill that hole if Joey’s not there. It’s too early to tell, we’ll just get over this one and then see what damage has been done by tomorrow.”
Manly wrecking ball Haumole Olakau’atu was again instrumental in the win, scoring his side’s first two tries in a dominant first half that saw calls grow louder for his Origin recall. Blues coach Laurie Daley controversially dropped the backrower for the Game 2 loss to the Maroons. But after another dazzling display that also included seven tackle busts and 161 run metres, many agreed Olakau’atu was a ‘must-pick’ for the Origin decider.