Justin Olam #281

magpies forever said:
Hang on, it
Hang on, it is normal practice to hold major remedial surgery over to the off season. This was done in Olams case WT were just doing what every other club does. Olam does not seem to have been able to recover well and now his other knee is playing up- quite possibly from the extra strain being put on it when other knee out of commission. It would seem his signing was not wise, and his medical clearance having severe doubt cast on it. Having said that, I hope it turns out ok for Olam, I don't wish crippling knee problems on anyone, especially having that myself. If he seeks medical retirement I wish him well and I trust the club is already seeking replacement options. Just predictable bad luck but I still reckon it was worth the chance if the end of season op had turned out well for the club and Olam. Looks like it hasn't though.
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the surgery wasn’t actually conducted in the offseason… it was done in August …. Should have been done much earlier as it was clearly evident by then that whatever processes they were doing to manage the injury was not working ..should have shut him down mid season…
 
SeanT said:
He was signed until next year right? Doubt we will pay for him next year. This year maybe.

Hard to gauge the rules..the top teams get away with it all the time..
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Yeah he was signed this year and next.

Completely agree it seems to be inconsistent. Souths managed to get Burgess and Inglis medically retired and Inglis went on to play a few more games for Warrington afterwards I’m sure.

I can see this being seen as a chronic injury though so by the letter of the law we probably won’t get the exemption. Hopefully I’m wrong though.
 
TigerJunior4 said:
Yeah he was signed this year and next.

Completely agree it seems to be inconsistent. Souths managed to get Burgess and Inglis medically retired and Inglis went on to play a few more games for Warrington afterwards I’m sure.

I can see this being seen as a chronic injury though so by the letter of the law we probably won’t get the exemption. Hopefully I’m wrong though.
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The knee in question is NOT the knee he has been having touble with prior to joining the WT. He injured this knee last year in rd18, had the operation, but its still no good....So I hope our chances of getting a medical retirement are high.
 
lathami said:
Glass half empty much?!?
Doueihi is back from injury
Faatape has a year of nrl under his belt.
Naden was playing better by all reports, also playing fir a contract.
Yes it’s not perfect but if we jag Taylan and have Makaski coming through
It’s not all doom and gloom!
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That sounds doom and gloom to me.

Doueihi and Faatape can't defend.
Naden is a braindead player.
 
Tom Shines said:
Has it taken all off-season to get to this stage where it’s looking like he is finished , but there are no options available now on the market to replace him?

The whole Olam experience has been a head scratcher … even us dopes here knew there were major red flags about his knee injury before he signed … he was clearly hampered by his injuries during his one week in, two weeks out playing career with the Tigers, but apparently they thought he was just going to get magically better on his own..,

They waited until the end of the season to pursue surgery …. Which apparently has been unsuccessful and the Tigers are stuck now with a couple of below average players at the position with Toa and Doobie …

I like Richo … but WTF?
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Mat Ballin 2.0.....
 
Tiger_Yoshi said:
The knee in question is NOT the knee he has been having touble with prior to joining the WT. He injured this knee last year in rd18, had the operation, but its still no good....So I hope our chances of getting a medical retirement are high.
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Correct. People forget this when they go off on a tangent.

The injuries are unrelated people - the knee causing problems now would never have come up in any medical. He hadn't injured it yet. Stop perpetuating the myth that the current injury should have been picked up before signing him.

Whatever happens with Olam, it looks like his career is done.

One way or another, we will be shopping for a new centre.
 
TigerJunior4 said:
Yeah he was signed this year and next.

Completely agree it seems to be inconsistent. Souths managed to get Burgess and Inglis medically retired and Inglis went on to play a few more games for Warrington afterwards I’m sure.

I can see this being seen as a chronic injury though so by the letter of the law we probably won’t get the exemption. Hopefully I’m wrong though.
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GI was not medically retired. He agreed to finish up or retire due to medical reasons with a small payout from the cap of the year he retired. The remaining contract years were whipped off the cap.
 
It will be interesting to see if this does get cleared as a non chronic injury.
Despite rumours of him struggling with his knees all leading up to the signing JO played 13 games for us and played 8 games in a row leading up to our first bye.
A fair indication his injuries came about from season 24.

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Tiger_Yoshi said:
The knee in question is NOT the knee he has been having touble with prior to joining the WT. He injured this knee last year in rd18, had the operation, but its still no good....So I hope our chances of getting a medical retirement are high.
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Fair point. I hope you’re right.
 
Needaname said:
GI was not medically retired. He agreed to finish up or retire due to medical reasons with a small payout from the cap of the year he retired. The remaining contract years were whipped off the cap.
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My bad I misremembered the situation. Looks like the NRL stated $900,000 came out of Souths cap when there was criticism of him signing with Warrington.
 
Could the new knee injury be because of the way he compensated for other knee problems, both playing and training etc?

Hard not to agree that it was always a very questionable decision to take him given the full context.
 
I'm no doctor ,yet, quietly confident Olam will be medically retired, based on the small snippets of info i can find out about players/medical retiring in the Nrl
 
Merlot said:
I'm no doctor ,yet, quietly confident Olam will be medically retired, based on the small snippets of info i can find out about players/medical retiring in the Nrl
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If proven by an independent specialist that he can't play on or in danger of affecting his life going forward why should there be any rules say after the 1st year of his contract, maybe the NRL should look at this.
 
Tiger_Yoshi said:
The knee in question is NOT the knee he has been having touble with prior to joining the WT. He injured this knee last year in rd18, had the operation, but its still no good....So I hope our chances of getting a medical retirement are high.
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Let’s wait and see … I wouldn’t necessarily be believing as gospel the media reports this week which have not been confirmed by the club in relation to the specifics of his injury

The club said at the time of his surgery BOTH his knees were to be operated on…

www.weststigers.com.au

Olam to undergo surgery

Wests Tigers centre Justin Olam requires surgery on both knees and will miss the remainder of the 2024 NRL season.
www.weststigers.com.au www.weststigers.com.au
 
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