NSW coach Laurie Daley is breathing a sigh of relief with Josh Dugan being cleared of an elbow injury and passed fit for the State of Origin series opener.
Scans have cleared the Dragons’ No.1 of structural damage after he had hyperextended his left elbow when Paul Carter landed on him in the second half of Thursday night’s 34-24 loss to South Sydney.
“There is presently lots of fluid in the joint causing pain and limited range as well as a minor strain to the medial flexor tendon,” Dragons head of performance Tony Ayoub said on Friday.
“Fortunately, there is no structural damage and his elbow should settle down within the next week.”
The fullback stayed down momentarily before playing on and finishing the match.
Daley is set to name his team on Monday for the June 1 series opener, with Dugan, Penrith star Matt Moylan and North Queensland custodian Lachlan Coote vying for the Blues’ No.1 jumper.
The NSW coach would have also been heartened by halfback hopeful Adam Reynolds’ performance after he posted an eye-catching final audition at ANZ Stadium.
In a game-turning performance, the Rabbitohs’ No.7 set up three tries off his boot, and also kicked five goals from seven attempts.
Rabbitohs coach Michael Maguire said Reynolds’ performances, which included a clutch conversion from the sideline last week against Parramatta, had been building since his return in round seven from a jaw injury.
“He’s been great over the last few weeks, obviously came off the back of the jaw and he’s starting to build his game now,” he said.
“You can see the boys get a lot of confidence when he’s up over the ad line and kicking like he is. He builds a lot of pressure on the opposition when he kicks the way he does.”
Rabbitohs captain and Queensland star Greg Inglis said his teammate had peaked at the right time.
George
Guest
I can't support a team with Dugan and Fergo in them. Fergo would have avoided a lot of (self-imposed) grief had Dugan acted like a real mate in Cronulla about this time a few years ago, and put him in a head-lock and taken him home instead of letting him loose to probe his way through the night clubs.
George
Guest
He only whinges when tackled. He gets hurt in every tackle. He looks for the ref (to whinge to) every time he plays the ball. On occasion, he deserves a penalty but after all his whinging the refs reckon he deserves a good whack. Some time in the Army would help him. I don't find him very inspirational.
cecil
Guest
Great news for QLD, Dugans attack is negative. Just let him and Gallen run for 200 metres each add Greg Bird into that and starve your ball players and outside back of quality ball.
Wayne's World
Guest
So 200m a game......And how many points has Dugan and the Dragons scored this year? Think you better stick to the numbers that matter most at the end of 80 minutes: the score board
Red Dog
Guest
Cmon Scott , what happened to the NSW policy of " pick and flick " ? Some of the experts would have you replace Dugan , NSW best 2015 with Crapoate , NSW worst 2015 .
Scott Pryde
Expert
Yeah Dugan has done nothing - only averaged 200 metres a game... But don't worry a squillion other fullbacks do that.
Wayne's World
Guest
Agree. How many tries and try assists had Dugan had this year? And don't get me started that he will play centre ahead of Jennings, Morris, Roberts and Croker. NSW player of the series last year? Yeah, in a team that got pounded.
steveng
Roar Rookie
So Laurie Daley is going to pick 2 players (Dugan and Farrah) that are either not completely 100% and have some scars after their injuries and are recovering some what, when he has got far better players that can replace them e.g. Ennis for Farrah or the squillion other centres or fullbacks that can replace Dugan, who has done nothing this year, that is utter madness if Laurie Daley picks them!!!
Brian George
Guest
Well that's great news...for Kevvie at least ?
Mattty
Guest
This guy always seems injured. -- Comment from The Roar's iPhone app.