Farah faces surgeon's knife if he can't break injury habit Chris Barrett
April 8, 2011
WESTS TIGERS are many things: wonderful to watch, wildly unpredictable and, right now, wounded. They also enter tonight's traditional grudge match against South Sydney as statistical anomalies.
After four rounds of the competition, the Tigers are the only team in the NRL not to have scored a try from a kick. The Rabbitohs, Canberra and St George Illawarra have each notched up six, and Manly have five.
The statistic says much about the adventurous approach employed by Tim Sheens's side, led chiefly by Benji Marshall, and a predilection to go through the hands rather than launch the ball into the air. However, it is also instructive in judging the impact on the Tigers of a chronic groin problem that has hampered captain Robbie Farah.
Usually a leading kicking option, Farah, who has been playing hurt, has rarely kicked this season. He put boot to ball only once in the round-one defeat to Canterbury as a consequence of his injury, and the frequency has not risen greatly since.
The hooker, who is battling osteitis pubis, said yesterday his injury had improved for tonight's showdown at the Sydney Football Stadium but would consider undergoing mid-season surgery if he could not shake it.
After weeks of worrying about his lack of preparation, Farah has finally been able to train this week despite being diagnosed with another tear after Sunday's 24-6 defeat to the Sydney Roosters. ''It's fine. I've actually trained all week this week with the team, so my preparation is good and my injury is fine,'' he said. ''I went for another scan on Tuesday night, and I guess they found something else, which is probably why I felt as bad as I did last week.
''I was at a stage last week where I probably couldn't really walk or get up off the couch, and I felt a bit odd because I had the injury under control for a while and I didn't think it was that big a problem, but last week I really struggled.
''We found that there was another problem there that we didn't know about, so hopefully we can get that sorted out and keep moving forward.''
Sheens said he was confident Farah would not require an operation. ''He's going to be playing and he's training, so I'm positive about him this week,'' the coach said.
Meanwhile, the Tigers remain in the box seat to sign Melbourne and New Zealand forward Adam Blair, with Storm coach Craig Bellamy admitting their hopes of keeping the 25-year-old were diminishing.
The Herald revealed a fortnight ago that the Tigers had approached Blair, whose management is understood to be seeking $500,000 a season for the Kiwis vice-captain.
''We've gone pretty hard to try to keep him but if the rumours are true, we haven't gone hard enough,'' Bellamy said. ''He's a wonderful player, and we'd love to keep him. It's a big decision. We got him when he was about 16, we brought him over from New Zealand, and it's really disappointing if that's true.''
''Adam knows he can come talk to me at any time, and if that's the truth, then I'd imagine I'd hear from him soon. It's his decision, and he'll let me know when he thinks it's the right time.''
