Price: Vinegar will heal Mortimer
22/09/2009 5:46 PM
Steve Orme
Sportal
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Forget hyperbaric chambers and around-the-clock physio, Parramatta great Ray Price has passed on an old-style remedy to ensure boom five-eighth Daniel Mortimer is fit to play in Friday's grand final qualifier against the Bulldogs.
Mortimer is battling a hip injury thanks to a controversial late tackle from Gold Coast forward Sam Tagataese in the opening minutes of last week's win over the Titans.
The boom 20-year-old, who is rated a 75 percent chance of playing, will receive intensive treatment from the Eels' crack team of medical experts up until kick-off.
But Price, one of several past Parramatta and Canterbury greats on hand at a 1980s reunion at the SCG on Tuesday, says the cure lies in a bottle of vinegar and a brown paper bag.
"It's just an old wives' tale, I hope he uses it because it does work and I've used it a fair few times," Price said.
"All it is is brown paper, soak it in vinegar and then you put it wherever (the injury) is and wrap it up ... for an hour or so."
"You see the vinegar will draw the blood out because that's all a bruise is - blood."
"It helps get the bruise out because if the bruise stays in there it's very soft in that area, but if you get the bruise and all the blood up to the top it just becomes normal again."
Price, who informed Mortimer of his magic potion on Monday, insists the bizarre treatment works every time.
"I've had plenty of corks because doing my Cumberland throw a lot of people used to hit me with my knee," he said.
"There were a couple of times there where I was really struggling to play but, yeah, the old wives' tales they work."
Bulldogs great Steve Mortimer, who happens to be Daniel's uncle, is not convinced.
"I've heard about that. I told 'Pricey' it was a bit of BS but apparently it worked," Steve told Sportal.
"You couldn't deny a legend like Ray Price. You couldn't kill him with anything, he'd just get up and keep going so something must have worked."
But the former Kangaroos half-back remains hopeful his nephew will recover in time for the biggest game of his fledgling career - even though he'll be wearing enemy colours.
"He's (Daniel) not 100 percent but there is hope in the next couple of days he will get to 100 percent," Steve said.
"But if he's not, he won't play. He's on the verge of a long and illustrious career so health does come first."
Meanwhile, Price claimed the Eels panicked in the 2001 grand final loss to Newcastle, but is confident the current squad has the perfect blend of youth and experience to go all the way.
"They panicked and they let far too much excitement drive them past what they're thinking about," he said of Brian Smith's class of 2001.
"I think that's the main thing, Parramatta have got a mixture of old and young players and I think the old players will definitely keep the young players in hand."
"And I think you'll find if they come out and start belting Canterbury with really good defence, then I don't think there's anyone going to beat us."
Photograph Copyright : Getty Images
