Queensland star Nate Myles has joined a growing number of people voicing concerns over the heavy toll State of Origin takes on players.
Myles was one of several players to pick up injuries during last week’s bruising series opener in Brisbane where NSW claimed a hard-fought 12-8 win.
The Gold Coast forward was subsequently cleared of a broken hand and will be free to play in the Titans round 13 NRL clash against Penrith on Saturday.
While Myles had a bye last weekend with his club team, NSW stars Josh Morris, Brett Morris, Jarryd Hayne, Paul Gallen, Anthony Watmough and Queensland players Billy Slater, Cooper Cronk, Daly Cherry-Evans all missed their NRL matches in the wake of the Origin opener.
Queensland skipper Cameroon Smith, who overcame an ankle sprain to line-up for Melbourne, was one of several to put their battered bodies on the line over the weekend.
“I did watch the guys go around on the weekend and I thought it was silly in some aspects to see some of them and how they were going,” Myles said.
“It’s what we get dealt … you can’t really do much about it, you’ve just got to get on with it. That’s what the boys are doing to their credit.”
Myles said the demand on players needed to be looked at, especially as stars such as Cronk (broken arm), Josh Morris (knee) and Brett Morris (shoulder) are all going to miss Origin II in Sydney on June 18.
“There’s guys there that have been doing it for a number of years and you can see now the toll that it’s taking on them. The game last Wednesday was physical and fast. I think everyone could see that.
“There’s no-one that’s going out of their realms to complain about it but I just think it’s something that needs to be set-up better for the players. It’s the pinnacle of our sport and we just want to make sure the best players are there to play it.”
Jay C
Guest
Sorry but that is your job. Don't play if you aren't up to it. Realistically you are paid upwards of half a million dollars to do something that thousands of people pay to do every weekend. You are expected to perform for between 32 and 40 hours of this work a year. If Origin is so demanding playing the games closer together would surely be harder on athletes bodies. Players get 90k for the Origin series alone.assuming the play 60 minutes per game that is 500 bucks a minute. There is way too much coddling in the world. Storm boy is right. Suck it up. It's not the players whingeing anyway. It's the coaches. Of course, it's a terrible deal for them, oh we are taking your best players for 3 weeks and probably going to injure at least 6 or 7 of them for a good part of the season. Maybe they need something in the cap where if a player is injured on rep duties they can have have some sort of leniency on second tier or something......
Knightblues
Roar Guru
used his head.
Knightblues
Roar Guru
I think if you have done it hard in the origin game, injured or not you should get a week off, but if you hardly do anything except get on the end of a few trys like Princess Boyd you should back up again.
Knightblues
Roar Guru
they're not performing bears for you mate!
Storm Boy
Guest
Suck it up princesses. That's why you get the dollars. Perform.
George Walton
Guest
There would be less injuries, on both sides, if Myles stopped using his head, knees and elbows in tackles. He's married to a beautiful lady too, how did that happen?
up in the north
Guest
Injuries have been happening in Origin since it began. It's just a part of the game. Teams that don't have enough depth to cover for those injuries will always suffer. The Broncos used to contribute the bulk of the Queensland side and they learned how to manage their squad better -they had to- it isn't a perfect system but it's the only way to go.
Josh
Guest
The only way the nrl will listen is if the players boycott the series! I'm pretty sure you'll find just because they are picked doesn't mean they have to play! Imagine if they all walked away! That would really screw the system up!
Vikki Gibbs
Guest
It is too much and to unfair on Players. They put their lives on the line and then are expected to back up two or three days later. It's not fair on Clubs neither. Something 'desperately needs to be done ASAP' about this.