‘I shouldn’t have tackled him with my face’: Returning Koroisau blames himself for injury
July 11, 2023 — 2.13pm
Wests Tigers skipper Api Koroisau will return from a broken jaw a couple of weeks ahead of schedule, and still blames himself for
getting injured in a tackle on Tino Fa’asuamaleaui.
“I shouldn’t have tackled him with my face,” Koroisau said on Tuesday.
“That tackle was my fault. I got off the line a bit hard, I didn’t get up square, and he [Fa’asuamaleaui] caught me off guard when he came off his right foot. There are no hard feelings there. It’s footy.
“I can only control what I can control. Everyone has their bumpers up. I missed a few weeks, but I put that on me.
Fa’asuamaleaui flattened Koroisau in round 15 at the start of last month after he led with his “bumpers”, which at the time upset Tigers coach Tim Sheens and NSW coach Brad Fittler.
Fittler, realising he would be without his No.9 for Origin games two and three, said on the night of the incident there needed to be a duty of care shown by Fa’asuamaleaui, who had done something similar to Canterbury’s Reed Mahoney a few weeks prior.
During the five weeks Koroisau was sidelined, the Tigers’ mid-season form surge halted, and the Blues lost game two at Suncorp Stadium.
Koroisau required two plates and four screws, but only shed half a kilo after eating ice-cream and soup for three weeks. A friend also recommended putting popcorn chicken and gravy through a blender, but “while it tastes great, the texture was horrible”.
“It was easily the worst pain I’ve ever had,” Koroisau said.
“Once the contact happened, the sharp pain that hit me in the face, I finished the tackle, I started to get back but my teeth weren’t touching. That’s when I was like, ‘It’s probably broken, I might have to put my hand up here’.
“The normal time [for a return] is around six weeks. I started training last week, I got through some contact, and I had no issues. I put my hand up [to return].
“I got hit in the jaw a few times today, it felt good, I was surprised. It’s a confidence thing. Unless something happens the next couple of days, I expect to run out on Friday.”
Koroisau’s return is a huge boost for the Tigers, who play in Newcastle on Friday night.
Will Smith and Brandon Wakeham trained in the halves, David Nofoaluma (shoulder) ran with the reserves, while John Bateman was restricted to light duties due to a shoulder injury, but is expected to play.
The Wests Tigers skipper is back early from a broken jaw but believes he was the one at fault in the tackle on Tino Fa’asuamaleaui that led to the blow.
www.smh.com.au
www.nrl.com
