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Melbourne’s star fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen has suffered a lower leg fracture in a nailbiting 22-20 win over the gallant Gold Coast.
The rugby league world held its breath at Robina on Saturday when the dazzling Storm No.1 clutched at his right ankle while making a tackle late in the first half.
It was the same one he broke in week one of the finals against Brisbane last year, after he missed 13 months with a shattered kneecap.
The 25-year-old was in a moon boot and on crutches after fulltime after setting up two tries and scoring one of his own.
Papenhuyzen went immediately for scans and made a post on Instagram, referencing the plate he had inserted after the break last year.
“Thank for the love. Little fracture above the plate, be back soon,” Papenhuyzen wrote.
On Sunday, Storm’s director of football Frank Ponissi gave an update on the No.1’s prognosis.
“Scans last night showed Paps has a small fracture to the fibula in the same ankle he injured last year,” Ponissi said.
“The injury will likely require surgery, which will keep Paps sidelined between four and six weeks.”
Storm coach Craig Bellamy felt for his in-form star post match.
“I don’t know how much bad luck you can have,” he said.
The Storm are yet to reveal how long Papenhuyzen will be out for but respected Brisbane physiotherapist Brian Seeney, known on social media site ‘X’ as NRL PHYSIO, said the time frame was “often six to eight weeks recovery to allow for adequate bone healing but varies”.
Storm halfback Jahrome Hughes was also injured and wants to play the Sharks next round but said he was unsure whether he would.
“In the first 10 minutes I felt it,” Hughes told AAP after the win at Robina. “I am not too sure exactly what it is, just that it is in my calf. I felt it pop.
“I feel as though I won’t be playing next week but I will get scans and hopefully it is not too bad. I want to play but it is still pretty sore at the moment.”
“I was keen to come off but then the boys started dropping like flies,” Hughes said, when asked why he stayed on the field.
“Poor Paps got injured again and Sua came off. I spoke to the physio and asked if I should stay on and he said so long as it doesn’t get any worse.
“I felt like a bit of a traffic cone out there for a while. I was there, but I wasn’t really there.”
Titans fullback AJ Brimson was incredible and got the hosts back in the match after they trailed by 14 points and lost No.6, and goalkicker, Tanah Boyd to a left arm injury early.
Gold Coast skipper Kieran Foran showcased all his nous, skill and desire to beat four Melbourne forwards to score and give the hosts a 6-0 lead.
Storm five-eighth Cameron Munster, in his 200th NRL game, started and finished a classic try that showcased the skill of Papenhuyzen and much-improved second-rower Shawn Blore.
Munster and Papenhuyzen sent winger Will Warbrick over from a scrum before the Storm fullback finished a Munster/Blore liaison for a classic try of his own.
Dazzling 21-year-old winger Sua Faalogo, in his second NRL game, scored a try from a scrum where the Titans just watched him weave his way over to score with hardly a hand being laid on him to give the visitors a 20-6 lead.
But the Titans weren’t done.
The match turned when Gold Coast winger Phil Sami scored in the corner on 35 minutes when he appeared to bounce the ball over the line. Sami laughed when the bunker awarded it.
After the break, Brimson crashed over next to the sticks and a penalty goal levelled it up at 20-20.
Storm goalkicker Nick Meaney hit the post with one penalty attempt but landed his second from the same spot.
Sami was denied with three minutes to go when he put his foot on the touchline while attempting to score.
The Titans had a tough call go against them at the death when winger Jojo Fifita was ruled to have made a strip in a tackle as the visitors hung on.
“It was disappointing we gave away some soft tries in the first half but showed plenty of character to come back,” Gold Coast coach Des Hasler said.
“You are going to probably ask about the contentious calls. You get some and you lose some. The ones you lose are always the hardest.
“We could talk for half a day about the strip at the end but that doesn’t help.”
© AAP
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