South Sydney forward Keaon Koloamatangi has been playing with a partial tear in his knee, the same injury which has now forced try-scoring record-holder Alex Johnston out of Magic Round in Brisbane.
The Rabbitohs welcome back Latrell Mitchell from a bulging disc in his back for Friday’s clash against the Dolphins.
But Johnston has been given time off to recover from what club sources, who are not authorised to comment publicly, confirmed was a full tear of his PCL in the back of the knee. Bayleigh Bentley-Hape is his replacement.
Koloamatangi has had his right knee heavily strapped since injuring himself in the win over Canterbury on April 3, and joked Johnston was unable to cope with the same pain.
“He’s got the same issue as me, I’m not sure if he is strong enough mentally to play with the injured knee – he’s a winger,” Koloamatangi said.
“Maybe he’s different because he needs to sprint more. I’ll be giving it to him [for not playing].
“I’ve got a tear in my PCL, the good thing is you’re able to play with it, but it’s pretty painful,” Koloamatangi said.
“It’s getting better each week. In a perfect world, I need some time off. I can’t needle it because it’s a ligament.
“I feel like I’ve got a 50-year-old knee.
“It’s different to the left knee [I had operated on at the end of last season]. You can play without it [the PCL].”
Mitchell was almost reduced to tears because of the pain in his back against the Knights in round nine and missed the win over Cronulla. However, in a boost for NSW and the Rabbitohs, he has been named to line up at Suncorp Stadium.
Koloamatangi said the playing group had taken a lot of confidence knowing they could get the job done without Mitchell against the Sharks.
“Wins are sweeter when you can do it without your big names,” he said.
“It’s more of a team effort. We want Latrell there every week. But there was more urgency because we couldn’t just give Latrell the ball if we were down by a few points, and expect him to create some points. He’s someone who can change a game and win you a game.”
Cronulla are set to receive a huge boost with winger Ronaldo Mulitalo to play his first game of the season against Canterbury on Thursday. Mulitalo ruptured his ACL while on international duty with New Zealand last October.
Cronulla, however, will be without Blayke Brailey for the first time in 139 games after being forced out with concussion symptoms. Jayden Berrell will replace him at hooker.
Brisbane skipper Adam Reynolds (concussion) will make a timely return for Sunday’s clash with the Warriors, while the Dragons have lost rookie halfback Kade Reed to a hand injury for the next few months.
