Latest news with #MaxPlath
The Advertiser
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Advertiser
Star duo return for Dolphins, but Stone ruled out
The Dolphins welcome back two key forwards as they take on St George Illawarra with the chance to enter the NRL top eight for the first time. Starting hooker Jeremy Marshall-King returns from a thigh laceration and infection that led to him spending time in hospital, while lock Max Plath is back from a foot injury and is likely to start on the bench in Friday night's clash at Suncorp Stadium. Tough-as-teak forward Ray Stone has bravely carried a shoulder injury into battle with the team down on troops, but he has been rested to give the issue more time to heal. Marshall-King suffered a deep gash to his leg in round six and took the field in round nine, but the wound became aggravated. "He's ready to go," coach Kristian Woolf said. "It's been a long time, but I don't think people realised how serious it was and how big the cut was. "It was just the seriousness of the infection as well. He did a couple of stints in hospital on the IV drip and getting it flushed out. "It's great to have him back. If you look at the last couple of years we haven't won a lot of games without Jeremy. "I've been happy with the group over the last couple of weeks because we've started to learn how to do that." Plath, last season's player of the year, injured a foot in round seven against Melbourne, which has also taken longer to heal than first thought. The 23-year-old was in the frame to make his Queensland debut in game one of the State of Origin series before injury struck. That would appear unlikely in the short term until he gets some footy under his belt, but Woolf said a Maroons jersey was within Plath's grasp. "(The injury) ended up being a lot more serious that we thought it was," the coach said. "He is coming into this having not done a hell of a lot until the last couple of weeks. "We're very confident in what he's going to be able to do for the team. He'll be on limited minutes. "I've got no doubt he's a guy that will feature in the Origin frame at some stage. "It's probably too early to be talking about that now. He needs to get a couple of games under his belt." The Dolphins lost their opening four matches of the season but have recovered well to be on 12 points, just two behind the Dragons, who are in the eight. "We're under no illusions at all," Woolf said. "I know guys like (centre) Moses Suli really well and how dangerous he is. He's a strike player on the edge. "(Second-rower) Luciano Leilua is the same. They have a physical pack and experience with guys like Clint Gutherson and Damien Cook. "They're as dangerous as any team in the comp and we have to bring our best game." The Dolphins welcome back two key forwards as they take on St George Illawarra with the chance to enter the NRL top eight for the first time. Starting hooker Jeremy Marshall-King returns from a thigh laceration and infection that led to him spending time in hospital, while lock Max Plath is back from a foot injury and is likely to start on the bench in Friday night's clash at Suncorp Stadium. Tough-as-teak forward Ray Stone has bravely carried a shoulder injury into battle with the team down on troops, but he has been rested to give the issue more time to heal. Marshall-King suffered a deep gash to his leg in round six and took the field in round nine, but the wound became aggravated. "He's ready to go," coach Kristian Woolf said. "It's been a long time, but I don't think people realised how serious it was and how big the cut was. "It was just the seriousness of the infection as well. He did a couple of stints in hospital on the IV drip and getting it flushed out. "It's great to have him back. If you look at the last couple of years we haven't won a lot of games without Jeremy. "I've been happy with the group over the last couple of weeks because we've started to learn how to do that." Plath, last season's player of the year, injured a foot in round seven against Melbourne, which has also taken longer to heal than first thought. The 23-year-old was in the frame to make his Queensland debut in game one of the State of Origin series before injury struck. That would appear unlikely in the short term until he gets some footy under his belt, but Woolf said a Maroons jersey was within Plath's grasp. "(The injury) ended up being a lot more serious that we thought it was," the coach said. "He is coming into this having not done a hell of a lot until the last couple of weeks. "We're very confident in what he's going to be able to do for the team. He'll be on limited minutes. "I've got no doubt he's a guy that will feature in the Origin frame at some stage. "It's probably too early to be talking about that now. He needs to get a couple of games under his belt." The Dolphins lost their opening four matches of the season but have recovered well to be on 12 points, just two behind the Dragons, who are in the eight. "We're under no illusions at all," Woolf said. "I know guys like (centre) Moses Suli really well and how dangerous he is. He's a strike player on the edge. "(Second-rower) Luciano Leilua is the same. They have a physical pack and experience with guys like Clint Gutherson and Damien Cook. "They're as dangerous as any team in the comp and we have to bring our best game." The Dolphins welcome back two key forwards as they take on St George Illawarra with the chance to enter the NRL top eight for the first time. Starting hooker Jeremy Marshall-King returns from a thigh laceration and infection that led to him spending time in hospital, while lock Max Plath is back from a foot injury and is likely to start on the bench in Friday night's clash at Suncorp Stadium. Tough-as-teak forward Ray Stone has bravely carried a shoulder injury into battle with the team down on troops, but he has been rested to give the issue more time to heal. Marshall-King suffered a deep gash to his leg in round six and took the field in round nine, but the wound became aggravated. "He's ready to go," coach Kristian Woolf said. "It's been a long time, but I don't think people realised how serious it was and how big the cut was. "It was just the seriousness of the infection as well. He did a couple of stints in hospital on the IV drip and getting it flushed out. "It's great to have him back. If you look at the last couple of years we haven't won a lot of games without Jeremy. "I've been happy with the group over the last couple of weeks because we've started to learn how to do that." Plath, last season's player of the year, injured a foot in round seven against Melbourne, which has also taken longer to heal than first thought. The 23-year-old was in the frame to make his Queensland debut in game one of the State of Origin series before injury struck. That would appear unlikely in the short term until he gets some footy under his belt, but Woolf said a Maroons jersey was within Plath's grasp. "(The injury) ended up being a lot more serious that we thought it was," the coach said. "He is coming into this having not done a hell of a lot until the last couple of weeks. "We're very confident in what he's going to be able to do for the team. He'll be on limited minutes. "I've got no doubt he's a guy that will feature in the Origin frame at some stage. "It's probably too early to be talking about that now. He needs to get a couple of games under his belt." The Dolphins lost their opening four matches of the season but have recovered well to be on 12 points, just two behind the Dragons, who are in the eight. "We're under no illusions at all," Woolf said. "I know guys like (centre) Moses Suli really well and how dangerous he is. He's a strike player on the edge. "(Second-rower) Luciano Leilua is the same. They have a physical pack and experience with guys like Clint Gutherson and Damien Cook. "They're as dangerous as any team in the comp and we have to bring our best game."
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
'Great choice': Billy Slater tipped to hand Origin debut to young Queenslander
Calls are growing louder for Max Plath to be handed his State of Origin debut by Queensland coach Billy Slater this year, with Corey Parker the latest to throw his support behind the versatile Dolphins forward. Plath was the Dolphins' player of the year in 2024 and has carried his impressive form into this season, with teammate and Maroons stalwart Felise Kaufusi touting him as a "smoky" for Origin selection. Plath's importance to the Dolphins was illustrated by his recent one-year contract extension that will keep him at the club until the end of the 2028 season. The 23-year-old's tireless workrate and ability to play on an edge, at lock or out of dummy half would make him a handy player for Slater's Maroons and Kaufusi reckons his teammate is ready for a maiden rep call-up. "I actually think he's a smoky (for Maroons selection), you heard it here first," Kaufusi said about Plath this week. "The way he plays, the way Origin is, he's someone you can trust and someone you'll pick in your side straight away. He reminds me a bit of a Tom Gilbert. You want those guys playing with you and they're often the first picked in the sides." Broncos great Parker - who played 19 games for the Maroons and knows what it means to represent Queensland on the biggest stage - is also a huge fan of Plath's and believes his game is tailor-made for Origin. "He's a great choice," Parker said on SEN radio. "One of his greatest strengths Max Plath is that he just competes. He has a red-hot crack... and the biggest games in rugby league, if you are competing your absolute arse off you're going to be there when it counts. And for Max Plath that is his DNA and that's what we see week in, week out... there's still a lot of footy to be played, there could be injuries, suspensions and the like... (but) I wouldn't have an issue at all if Max Plath went into a Queensland jersey." Slater's Queensland forward pack could have a much different look about it in 2024 compared to last year when the Blues' big men dominated them on the way to a 2-1 series win. As well as Plath's potential inclusion, Tino Fa'asuamaleaui will almost certainly walk back into the side after missing just about all of last season with an ACL injury. The Titans skipper looked back to his menacing best in his long-awaited comeback against the Bulldogs on Sunday. Another forward putting up an irresistible case to earn a Maroons recall is Canberra enforcer Corey Horsburgh, who's started the season like a man on a mission. 'Big Red' has admitted it's his goal to play Origin again after a solitary appearance in 2023 and Raiders coach Ricky Stuart predicted that he would do just that after impressing in the off-season. Horsburgh says he gave up the booze and got himself fit after a lacklustre 2024, and the 27-year-old is already seeing the fruits of his hard work. The Raiders prop was a standout in last week's shock thumping of the Broncos - where he ran for 132 run metres and produced a brilliant try assist - and Slater admits he's been impressed with what he's seen so far. "We saw a couple of years ago he was capable of it," the Queensland coach said on Nine's The Billy Slater podcast. "It just shows you when you commit yourself and you get yourself nice and fit, what you can actually do." Horsburgh helped lay the platform for Canberra's impressive win against Brisbane after playing the first 52 minutes without a break and combining with veteran Josh Papalii to get the better of the Broncos' star-studded forward pack, led by Payne Haas and Patrick Carrigan. RELATED: Daly Cherry-Evans could leave Manly amid 'whispers' of rival interest Michael Maguire's brutal act towards Reece Walsh that could backfire Broncos urged to use risky tactic in negotiations with Selwyn Cobbo "I thought they were fantastic, they actually complemented each other," Slater said about the Raiders props. "Off the first set of six, the Broncos kicked off and they both had carries in that first set and that was noticeable and that set the standard for not only their team but it set the standard for them and they went on to be two of the best players in the game... "And Corey Horsburgh, he played huge minutes... we know he can do that and he's given himself a chance to play his best football because of the work he's put in in the off-season. My coach (Craig Bellamy) always said, it's hard to have a good season when you don't have a good off-season. "It doesn't guarantee you a good season if you have a good pre-season but it certainly sets you up, it certainly gives you an opportunity. And you can see Big Red, he's given himself a great opportunity to have a good season because of the work he's put in before March."
