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Injury riddled game a first for Gareth Ellis
By Wayne Cousins
Thursday 26 July 2012 12:15 PM
Injury riddled game a first for Gareth Ellis
Gareth Ellis admits he had never played in a game quite like the one against the North Queensland Cowboys on Monday night in terms of injuries.
Ellis was making a welcome return in Townsville from a fractured foot injury that he suffered in round 4 but the experienced Englishman could not believe Wests Tigers luck before and during the game.
Wests Tigers lost full-back Tim Moltzen to a hamstring strain in the pre-match warm up before first half injuries to Curtis Sironen, Blake Ayshford and Chris Lawrence left the side with just two men on the interchange bench after half-time.
Forward Ben Murdoch-Masila capped the night off when he hobbled from the field late in the match with an ankle injury.
Sironen has since been ruled out for the rest of the season with a shoulder injury, Lawrence will miss up to six weeks with an ankle injury, and Murdoch-Masila will also miss Sunday’s match against South Sydney at ANZ Stadium.
“I was saying after the game that when I was younger and was 18th man a lot, I never got a game. It was when I wanted someone to get injured so I could get out there,’’ Ellis quipped.
“The (pre-game) warm up injury has happened a couple times already this year and then when you have injuries during the game, it is something that I have never experienced before.”
For Ellis, he was just pleased to get through his first game after such a long layoff.
“It didn’t go as planned in terms of how many minutes I was going to play. The circumstances that came about in the game meant I had to stay out there as long as possible,’’ he said.
“The pleasing thing was the boys stuck at it and came very close to snatching something out of the game. There was a lot we could take away from it but we are probably a bit battered and bruised this morning.
“Since losing James Tedesco in round one, I don’t think we have fielded a full strength team since then.
“Losing Chris is going to be a massive blow for us. His strike power that he has got on that left edge was something we needed in the run in to the playoffs. We are going to have to manage without him now.”
By Wayne Cousins
Thursday 26 July 2012 12:15 PM
Injury riddled game a first for Gareth Ellis
Gareth Ellis admits he had never played in a game quite like the one against the North Queensland Cowboys on Monday night in terms of injuries.
Ellis was making a welcome return in Townsville from a fractured foot injury that he suffered in round 4 but the experienced Englishman could not believe Wests Tigers luck before and during the game.
Wests Tigers lost full-back Tim Moltzen to a hamstring strain in the pre-match warm up before first half injuries to Curtis Sironen, Blake Ayshford and Chris Lawrence left the side with just two men on the interchange bench after half-time.
Forward Ben Murdoch-Masila capped the night off when he hobbled from the field late in the match with an ankle injury.
Sironen has since been ruled out for the rest of the season with a shoulder injury, Lawrence will miss up to six weeks with an ankle injury, and Murdoch-Masila will also miss Sunday’s match against South Sydney at ANZ Stadium.
“I was saying after the game that when I was younger and was 18th man a lot, I never got a game. It was when I wanted someone to get injured so I could get out there,’’ Ellis quipped.
“The (pre-game) warm up injury has happened a couple times already this year and then when you have injuries during the game, it is something that I have never experienced before.”
For Ellis, he was just pleased to get through his first game after such a long layoff.
“It didn’t go as planned in terms of how many minutes I was going to play. The circumstances that came about in the game meant I had to stay out there as long as possible,’’ he said.
“The pleasing thing was the boys stuck at it and came very close to snatching something out of the game. There was a lot we could take away from it but we are probably a bit battered and bruised this morning.
“Since losing James Tedesco in round one, I don’t think we have fielded a full strength team since then.
“Losing Chris is going to be a massive blow for us. His strike power that he has got on that left edge was something we needed in the run in to the playoffs. We are going to have to manage without him now.”
