Canberra coach Ricky Stuart has revealed backrower Corey Harawira-Naera is facing a medical retirement following his mid-game seizure this year.
Harawira-Naera hasn’t played since collapsing on the field during the Raiders’ clash against the Rabbitohs in Round 13.
The New Zealand Test representative was sidelined for the rest of the season as doctors tried to get to the bottom of what triggered his seizure.
It was expected Harawira-Naera would return in 2024, but Stuart has confirmed the club are all but resigned to the Kiwi never playing again.
“It is really sad for the kid… it’s a tragedy actually,” Stuart told WWOS.
“The medical reports we are getting is that he is very unlikely to play again.
“At 28, that’s tough and he has been good for us.
“But we are supporting him and looking for a pathway for him after football.
“We would like to keep him in the game and in the club.”
Harawira-Naera himself has responded on social media, taking to Instagram to share his side of the story.
“Nothing confirmed yet whanau (family), more to come from my end,” he posted.
“Merry early Xmas to all, big love to those who have reached out.”
The Raiders are exploring their options for salary cap relief for Harawira-Naera, who is contracted until the end of 2026.
WIGHTON SENDS SCARE THROUGH SOUTHS
South Sydney’s star recruit Jack Wighton sent a scare through his new club after reportedly going down at training on Tuesday.
Wighton was running when he hit the deck with what club officials initially feared was a knee problem but was later diagnosed as a calf issue.
The 30-year-old will now rest over Christmas before joining the club’s rehab group when players return from the break on January 9, according to The Daily Telegraph.
Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou told the masthead he was optimistic Wighton could be running freely again by mid-January.
“They didn’t want Jack putting pressure on it when he walked off so they helped him off the field to make sure he didn’t put too much weight on it,” Demetriou said.
“Once they got him inside, it wasn’t as bad as first thought. It’s not a knee injury, it’s a calf injury.
“Jack went to push off and tweaked his calf. The physios are confident it’s not too bad.
“We’ve only got one more day of training (this year) and we hope he will be running probably around the 9th of January when we start back.
“He will be rehab running by then and by mid-January he will be training with the team, I’d say.
“We have two weeks off.”
ARTHUR CHALLENGES BROWN
Eels coach Brad Arthur is expecting star five-eighth Dylan Brown to bounce back in a big way in 2024 and repay the faith the club has shown in him.
Brown’s 2023 campaign was shrouded in controversy with the playmaker suspended for seven games after pleading guilty to two counts of sexual contact without consent at a licensed venue in Double Bay.
Speaking to the SMH, Arthur is confident Brown “will have a big year” for the Eels next season.
“Before Dylan was rubbed out last season, he was one of the best players in the competition. Then look what he did in that last Test for the Kiwis [in November],” Arthur said.
“We just need Dylan to play like that all the time. When you’re getting paid the sort of money he is, we need him in the team every week.
“Dylan is 23 now, and he hasn’t really lived up to his potential yet.
“If you talk about X-factor, Dylan has that, he brings that to our side. It’s what he does for us defensively as well. He’s so important to this team, and he needs to understand that. We’ve had some good conversations about it.
“He wants to repay his teammates for what happened last season, he wants to repay the fans and repay his family. He’ll be very good for us next year.”
2023 was a disappointing season in more ways than one for the Eels, who missed the top eight a year after making the grand final.
Arthur admitted Brown’s suspension didn’t help, although it didn’t make or break the season.
“There’s never one incident you can blame for a whole season, but that did put a real dampener on things,” Arthur said.
STORM-KNIGHTS IN HISTORIC FIRST
The Storm will play the Knights in Fiji in the pre-season in what marks the first NRL-sanctioned rugby league match in the country.
The match will be played on February 24 at Churchill Park, Lautoka, and will be Melbourne’s second trial in preparation for the 2024 season.
Fiji captain and Storm star Tui Kamikamica flew to Fiji with club chief executive Justin Rodski to announce the historic match.
“We are very excited about bringing the first ever NRL match to Fiji,” Rodski said.
“We already have a lot of Fijian talent within our game, and this serves as an incredible opportunity to not only grow the sport we love but help develop the next wave of talent and hopefully give more young men and women the chance to play NRL or NRLW.”
Storm will spend the week leading into the match in Fiji to connect with the local Fijian community, engaging with schools and local rugby league clubs.
Storm will also wear a specially designed training t-shirt during the week and the match ball will carry traditional Fiji artwork to recognise the significance of the match.
WOODS SLAMS CRITICS
Sea Eagles veteran Aaron Woods has told the Las Vegas critics to “pull your heads in” and praised the NRL for having “the balls” to attempt launching the game overseas.
Woods has been in Las Vegas for the past week to promote the NRL’s double-header season opener alongside Spencer Leniu (Roosters), Campbell Graham (Rabbitohs) and Billy Walters (Broncos).
The quartet have been attending NFL and NBA games, walking the glitter strip in full playing kit and posing for photos with fans while explaining what sport they play.
There’s already been 20,000 tickets sold to the games at Allegiant Stadium next March, but there have been plenty of critics on social media.
The fans criticising the audacious play from the NRL argue the money could be better spent, but Woods didn’t mince his words in response.
“There are so many people at home going, ‘Why are they doing that?’” Woods told The SMH.
“Grow up. Get over it. We’re in Las Vegas, we’re trying to promote the game, we’re trying to grow it. Pull your heads in and get behind us.”
However, even the former Kangaroos and Blues prop admits he had his doubts when the concept was born.
“When it was first announced, I thought, ‘It sounds good – but is this really going to happen?’” Woods said.
“They’ve grown some balls, and they’ve come through with it. Look where we are now. They’ve delivered.”
RABBITOHS FLYER ON THE MEND
Rabbitohs star Campbell Graham has revealed he needed a painkilling needle every week to get through last season.
Graham underwent shoulder surgery after the season and then a bone infusion on his sternum last month.
It means the gun centre won’t be doing any contact training until January and is no guarantee to play in Round 1.
That could be a problem for the NRL who have been using images of Graham to promote their Las Vegas double-header to open the 2024 season.
Souths will play Manly before the Roosters face the Broncos at Allegiant Stadium on March 3 (AEDT).
Graham is hopeful of playing in the groundbreaking clash and revealed just how bad his sternum injury got this year.
“I had to needle it to play every week last year bar round one,” he said.
“That was prohibiting it from healing as well. That’s the nature of the sport we play.”
GUS TIPS YOUNG GUN FOR BREAKOUT SEASON
Bulldogs General Manager of Football Phil Gould has earmarked 22-year-old forward Samuel Hughes as a potential breakout star for the club in 2024.
It’s worth noting Gould’s opinion on the issue considering he was dead on the mark last year when naming Jacob Preston as the Bulldogs’ young gun to watch last season.
Preston didn’t just vindicate Gould’s lofty expectations, he smashed them.
Not only did the tough-as-teak back rower win the club’s rookie of the year award but cleaned the pool by collecting the Dr George Peponis Medal as Bulldogs player of the year and the member’s player of the year as well.
While Gould didn’t say Hughes would reach the same heights as Preston in 2024, it’s quite the rap from the astute football mind on the 22-year-old.
Responding to a question from a fan on social media site X asking if there’s any bolters impressing at pre-season training, Gould answered “Sam Hughes…”
Hughes appeared in five games for the Bulldogs last season, making his NRL debut in Round 6 against the Rabbitohs.
He came off the bench in four of those, and started one game at lock forward.
With the Bulldogs losing Luke Thompson, Franklin Pele and Tevita Pangai Junior from their forward stocks, Hughes will be consistently challenging for a first grade spot sooner rather than later.