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Cronulla coach John Morris cannot believe his misfortune after two more stars joined the NRL club’s high profile injury list following a 29-6 loss to Brisbane.
Cronulla coach John Morris has joked that he may have to pull on the boots again for the Sharks to field a team next week after two more stars went down in their 29-6 NRL loss to Brisbane.
Former NRL playmaker Morris is sweating on the fitness of centre Josh Dugan and star half Shaun Johnson ahead of Friday night’s home clash with Melbourne after both succumbed to hamstring injuries.
Dugan didn’t even survive the pre-match warm-up, forcing Morris to hand Ronaldo Mulitalo his NRL debut on the wing in a hastily reshuffled backline barely 24 hours after the 19-year-old was upgraded to the club’s top 30 squad.
And superstar Johnson lasted just 22 minutes before he limped off.
They joined the likes of stars Matt Moylan, Aaron Woods and Wade Graham on the Sharks’ high profile injury list.
“I will try to find 17 fit players next week. I might have to pull the jersey on again,” Morris said.
“But one of the first words I think of when it comes to the Sharkies, they are a very resilient club – we always find a way to fight back.”
Morris admitted he didn’t even have time to brief Mulitalo before his debut, such was the sudden nature of Dugan’s withdrawal.
“Ronaldo made his debut with a minute’s notice – unbelievable,” he said.
“I couldn’t even get to him (before kick-off). His head was spinning a bit.
“But I had said to him during the week ‘you are 18th man for a reason you have to prepare like you are playing’ – I was glad I had that chat with him.”
Mulitalo then got a rugby league lesson from opposite number, Broncos winger Corey Oates, who ran rampant as Brisbane jumped to a 21-0 half-time lead and didn’t look back to break their four-game losing run.
“He just has to keep his head up. They were very challenging circumstances,” Morris said of the Queensland-born youngster.
Morris kept his fingers crossed Johnson would not be joining their long term injury list.
“He left the field in some discomfort. We have got to get him scanned and hold our breath again,” he said.
“When he walks off with that amount of pain you wouldn’t expect it to be a minor complaint so fingers crossed.”
Morris was hardly writing off the Sharks’ season despite their horror injury toll.
“If you don’t win you learn. This is tough initiation at this level. But this will make them stronger, a bit of a baptism by fire,” he said.
“We can’t wait for those guys to come back (from injury). We have a job to do against the Storm.”
© AAP
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