Melbourne Storm rocked as teammate joins Papenhuyzen in brutal injury development
Sua Fa'alogo has joined Ryan Papenhuyzen in being in major doubt for round one after leaving the Melbourne Storm's trial-game loss to North Queensland on Sunday with a hamstring issue. Papenhuyzen is unlikely to play the Storm's opener against Parramatta due to ankle and knee niggles, with a round two bye giving the star fullback a good chance to freshen up.
Fa'alogo had been shaping as Papenhuyzen's replacement and played both of the Storm's trial games at fullback. But the 21-year-old left Sunday's game early and was seen with ice on his hamstring on the sidelines.
The Storm said it was simply hamstring 'tightness', but they might opt to play it safe with him as well. 'NRL Physio' Brien Seeney wrote on social media: "It did enough to cause a limp. If there is a minor strain present - often 2-4 week return."
Sua Fa'alogo was off early for the Storm after suffering a reported hamstring injury. Finished the game wrapped with ice on the bench.Initially Storm indicated it was just tightness, but it did enough to cause a limp. If there is a minor strain present - often 2-4 week return. pic.twitter.com/0LZJXcDXjw
— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) February 23, 2025
As was the case against the Warriors two weeks ago, Fa'alogo was found a bit lacking in defence against the Cowboys. The young gun is dynamite with ball in hand, but can be found out on the defensive side.
He overcommitted while sliding in the first half and let Scott Drinkwater stroll right past him for the Cowboys' first try, and then missed a key tackle on Jeremiah Nanai that led to Drinkwater's second. The Storm are in a tricky position with their two star fullbacks.
It's a Drinkwater double! ✌#NRLStormCowboys pic.twitter.com/1gd9rHGADk
— NRL (@NRL) February 23, 2025
Fa'alogo has a 'handshake agreement' with the club that he can look elsewhere if Papenhuyzen signs a long-term extension. Late last year Papenhuyzen agreed to a one-year deal (for 2026) with a mutual option for 2027.
On Saturday, Storm coach Craig Bellamy told AAP he could look to keep Papenhuyzen on ice until they face the Panthers in round three. "Paps is probably most doubtful for round one," Bellamy said.
"It's just a little bit with his ankle and his knee, he's obviously had some bad injuries. There's nothing too serious but we'll just wait for things to settle down and get a couple of weeks training under his belt."
Bellamy has never lost a game in the opening round of an NRL season, with the remarkable streak currently at 21-straight wins. If Papenhuyzen and Fa'alogo are both out, Nick Meaney will likely slot into the fullback role with Grant Anderson playing centre.
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In better news, Cameron Munster has declared he's feeling good after his first hit-out on Sunday following double hip surgery in the off-season. Munster said his hips "locked up" a few times, but he otherwise had no pain in his troublesome groins.
"I know fans are probably wanting to see grand final footy, but we're just going out there to get the cobwebs out and get Ks (kilometres) in our legs," Munster said after the 36-24 loss to the Cowboys. "For me it was just to go out there and get the confidence in my head and make sure I can come out there and play the footy that I know I can play.
"I wasn't expecting to reinvent the wheel, just wanted to get out there and run the ball and just connect with my left edge. We had a nice little set play there with Blory (Shawn Blore) and Means (Meaney). I know the scoreline didn't help us in a way, but I pretty happy with the way the boys dug deep in the last 15 minutes."
with AAP
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