Drew injured in Raiders win

[Steven Gerrard]

Drew injured in Raiders win
February 28, 2004

Canberra 30 Melbourne 20
A STERNUM injury to halfback Brad Drew has soured the Canberra Raiders' NRL trial win over Melbourne at Wagga Wagga's Eric Weissel Oval tonight.

The nuggety half came off the field in the first half and is in doubt for the season kick-off in a fortnight after Raiders coach Matthew Elliott admitted Drew would be "out for a little bit".

There were also niggles for a full strength Melbourne outfit with former Raider Andrew McFadden aggravating a rib injury with a heavy knock in the second half and reserve fullback Robbie Ross limping off early in the second stanza with a hamstring twinge.

While Drew is a concern for the Raiders, a Storm spokesman said both Melbourne players were pulled from the field for precautionary reasons and would be fit for the NRL kick-off.

A victory sealed by winger Joel Monaghan second try in the final minutes made up somewhat for the loss of Drew for Elliott.

A "two strikes and you're out" edict issued by Elliott to his players worked wonders as the Raiders sealed a 10 point win in their final trial hitout before the season proper.

After slumping to a disappointing 30-12 loss to the Bulldogs last weekend at Coffs Harbour, the Raiders outlasted a full strength Storm outfit.

But it seems his budding side's impressive effort has created another problem for Elliott before their NRL first round clash against the St George Illawarra Dragons.

With the likes of backrower Ian Hindmarsh – who missed the match due to a family wedding – as well as injured duo Alan Tongue and Michael Hodgson set to return for the NRL opener, Elliott faces the welcome headache of who to leave out against the Dragons.

"If anything this will make the job harder which is good," Elliott said.

"We've got a couple of players who didn't play tonight who will be right for the first round like Hindmarsh, Tongue, and Hodgson although we might have lost Brad for a little bit with a sternum injury.

"Last week we put pressure on ourselves and we didn't handle it – tonight we put pressure on ourselves and we did handle it so the next match we're going to work on stop putting pressure on ourselves."

Storm coach Craig Bellamy had named his strongest possible 21-man squad for the match, rewarding those who impressed in his 28-strong outfit during last weekend's trial match against the Brisbane Broncos

He said the trial side would closely resemble the side to take on Newcastle in the Storm's season opener on March 21.

Storm prop Robbie Kearns made his first pre-season appearance for Melbourne while Billy Slater started at fullback with Ross coming off the bench.

CANBERRA RAIDERS 30 (J Monaghan 2 J Croker A Mogg M Gafa M Robertson tries; C Schifcofske 3 goals) bt MELBOURNE STORM 20 (G Turner F Moala M King B Slater tries; C Smith 2 goals) at Wagga Wagga.

 

[BradtheRipper]

f**k, woolford will definetly play round 1 now. is davico still better than o'hara or has he surpassed. god then bring on cross and weyman. pray for health, and we'll have a total 80 minute anihilation.

 

[raidersman]

we DEFINATELY have to have cross the BOSS in the round one team! He had such an awesome game yesterday nite coming on from the bench!

 

[greeneyed]

Today's CT story:

Drew vows to fight on

In obvious pain, Canberra Raiders star half Brad Drew winced with every word as he claimed he would fight to be fit for the start of the NRL season. Drew bruised his sternum in last night's otherwise positive 30-20 win against the Melbourne Storm at Wagga's Weissel Oval. The nuggety halfback is now in doubt for Canberra's season opener against St George Illawarra in a fortnight. Drew staggered off the field in the 25th minute clutching his chest, having absorbed an elbow to his sternum while attempting a tackle. He was prevented from flying home with his Raiders teammates last night and had to return to Canberra by car to make sure the injury was not inflamed.

"It's uncomfortable breathing and with every movement there's a sharp pain," Drew said with struggled speech. "I'll have to wait and see how it progresses. I'll go in and have an x ray and see what happens, see if it's broken or just bruised. Either way, it's still pretty painful. I'm optimistic at this stage."

Raiders doctor Ian Murphy also gave Drew a realistic chance of playing against the Dragons.

"If he's just bruised his sternum it normally settles down in a couple of weeks. For a week or so he may have to limit the contact stuff" Murphy said. "It's really a day by day thing to see what happens. It's hard to tell at this stage. It's an unusual injury to break your sternum, normally it requires a large amount of force. But we'll keep a close eye on him and check him again in the morning."

Prop Luke Davico (ribs) and replacement forward Troy Thompson (knee strain) suffered minor injuries last night but both are expected to be fit for the start of the season. On the positive side for the Raiders, they came back from a 14-8 half time deficit to beat the Storm - their bogey side of 2003. As they did in last week's preseason loss to the Bulldogs, the Raiders made too many mistakes in the first half. This time they made up for them.

"Last week we put a lot of pressure on ourselves and we didn't handle it, this week we put a lot of pressure on ourselves and we did handle it" coach Matt Elliott said. "There were positive things as far as work ethic goes and I felt in the second half we built a bit of a game with our attack. I was really delighted with the mentality of the team."

The Raiders scored six tries to Melbourne's four and the Canberra backline was outstanding in the second half. Elliott's pick was centre Jason Bulgarelli, but Mark McLinden, Joel Monaghan and Michael Robertson all played well.

"Bulgarelli is one player who looks like he's ready for the competition. I rested Boggas then I threw him in the forwards and I thought he did a tremendous job. He was the pick, he played with the most intent in our team."

Raiders speedster Phil Graham also put pressure on for an NRL recall by returning to his game breaking best - in defence as well as attack. He made a crucial try saving tackle on Billy Slater when the Melbourne fullback was already over the try line. The Raiders were trailing 12-14 at the time, 13 minutes into the second half. Ten minutes later Graham set up a runaway try for Robertson with a charge down. Both teams had a player put on report. Raiders centre Adam Mogg was warned for a high tackle on Peter Robinson 30 seconds into the game, while Robbie Kearns was also put on report for a tackle on Canberra prop Ryan O'Hara.

Raiders 30 (Croker, Mogg, Gaffa, Monaghan 2, Robertson tries, Schifcofske 3 goals) d Storm 20 at Wagga. Crowd around 7500.

 

[jed]

At least we have 2 weeks until the Dragons, give Drew a chance to recover.

 

[BradtheRipper]

shit, boogas is on fire as well, who the hell is matty gonna select. FFS, rest drew it's early, were not gonna make him play poorly with injury all year again are we.
drew was the form half for the first 2 months of last season until he hurt his hamstring and played with it all year. He also couldn't train during the week so his fitness sufferd as well. Drew single handedly won us the dragon's game last year after they completely dominated us.
Drew is definetly no. 14. Marty is our future half and leader and i can't believe matty wasted the whole preseason gelling the team with marty at 5/8. matty just won't let go of drew as our halfback. I just hope he only isn't sticking to his year of chasing drew at the eels to be starting half with us. It was elliots decision to bring drew in and maybe he dosn't want to look like it was a mistake. we certainly don't need a backup hooker for the tough captain courageous germ.

 

[Raider_69]

f**k boogas, he is a top back up player but IMO
Graham, Cross and Campo all must make the 1st team

 

[Paullyboy]

So is boogs going for a spot in the forwards now?

 

[Poida_Raider]

haha alls i can say is that i'm glad i'm not the coach, cause i wouldnt have a clue who to pick, and it'd be hard not to have a favourite player, and leave them out if they arent as good as someone else!! i spose i'd have plenty of bias!!
good luck matty, we trust you'll do us well this season, as every other season you've been coach!! good luck!

also, poor brad drew.. i like seeing his legs going so fast, yet him also not going very far!! haha nah i like him.. i like mclinden better at half though.

 

[thickos]

sounds like Elliott is a huge boogas fan. IMHO he's solid, not a world beater but hey if the guy is in top form then good for him, pick a team in form!!!

Hopefully its a bruised sternum only for nugget, those injuries can be nasty. I agree, he can be rested for round 1, we need him for the whole campaign at full fitness, he's vital for our creativity.

 

[Montz]

Yeah hopefully it's only brusied, just hope Woolford is okay to start the season.
I'm gald there were only minor injuries to Davico and Thompson. Would of been really bad if Davico got taken out hard.

 

[Raider_69]

i think a good start to the season is vital
i honestly think we can win our first 6 games
it will be tough but like last year if we start well we can afford a small form slump mid year

 

[thickos]

The Raiders never have slumps r_69....we just run out of time to score the required points to win the match!

 

[Poida_Raider]

haha you shouldnt really think of it like that man!! you can never afford a slump! sure they wont really be hurt if they won most games before hand, but a slump is never alright if you ask me..
but i do know what you are saying ofcourse.

 

[Raider_69]

The Raiders never have slumps r_69....we just run out of time to score the required points to win the match!

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
yea, fair call :mrgreen:

 

[DrewBeliever]

So do we know, how serious Brad's ingury is, and how long he'll be on the side lines for?

 

[Evergreen]

He'll have X-rays tonight (Sunday), so you'd imagine we'd know by Monday or Tuesday. I can only hope the news is good - Skippy is out to make amends for his troublesome season last year and a stint on the sidelines will do nothing for his confidence. We all know that a fit and confident Brad Drew can be devastating to any opposition defence, and IMHO he will be integral to our success this year......just keep him out of the centres in defence!!

 

[greeneyed]

From the CT today:

Drew: needle and the damage done
by Ewen Page


Raiders utility Brad Drew will learn today the seriousness of an injury to his sternum, suffered during his team's 30-20 victory against the Melbourne Storm in Wagga on Saturday night.

Drew will have a scan today to determine whether he's suffering from more than bruising - and whether he'll need a cortisone injection to speed the healing process.

"I have hurt my sternum before but I haven't hurt it this bad," Drew said. "I injured it years and years ago and I remember getting a cortisone injection and it was the most painful thing I've ever had.

"I've just spoken to the physio and he's mentioned I might have to. If I can steer clear of that it would be good, but if it means I can get back on the paddock quicker, then I don't mind doing it."

Drew didn't sleep much at all on Saturday night. While his teammates flew home, he shared a car with captain Simon Woolford and gingerly lowered himself on to his bed at 12.30am on Sunday.

He'd taken painkillers, but each time he rolled over he woke in agony.

"I came to the sideline [during the game], but as soon as it cooled down it got worse and worse," Drew said. "I iced it up but by the time I'd showered, even just walking around it was giving me pain.

"When I took deep breaths, it felt like I had a ton of weight on my chest."

He spent yesterday trying to catch some rest on the couch, while explaining to four-year-old Harry Drew that playing tackles wasn't on the agenda.

Drew is resigned to playing on in pain in the early rounds of the NRL premiership, starting on Sunday, March 14, against St George- Illawarra at Oki Jubilee Stadium.

"It comes down to how much pain you can bear, I suppose," he said. "If it's just bruised it will come down to if I can get padding on it and protect it that way. But if I get a knock directly it's going to kill again.

"It's going to be one of those injuries that will need a bit of luck."

Raiders coach Matt Elliott was cautious in his appraisal of Drew's prospects.

"You have to be careful with sternum injuries, because it can take a while to get pain-free," he said.

"If it's close to playing we'll probably inject it and cover it up [with padding] as much as possible. We'll just have to see.

"With sternum injuries, they can prevent you from playing well because you're so sensitive and fragile in the centre of your chest."

Drew's injury aside, Elliott was pleased with the team's performance against the traditionally difficult Storm.

"We got a fair bit out of the trials, in that we turned up with the right mentality to play footy," he said.

"But there's a few things in the execution of our plays that we need to brush up on.

"Defensively, there are a couple of recurring problems. Nothing serious but we want to make sure we're strong. It's not about any individual, but a structure thing that when you work through the off- season you sometimes forget."

 

[DrewBeliever]

Well today has been, any news on Drew's ingury and what's going on?
There was something on the BBC UK about him been out for 6 weeks, but the guy didn't look certain.

Cheers: Mixi