Learoyd-Lahrs out for the season
5/07/2011 3:23:08 PM
Canberra Raiders forward Sam Mataora will come into the Raiders line-up on the bench this weekend when the Raiders take on the Sharks at Toyota Stadium, with news today that
Tom Learoyd-Lahrs will miss the rest of the season with a bicep injury.
Learoyd-Lahrs has been in great touch for the Raiders over the past month, but results of a scan on his injured bicep have indicated that hell require surgery and will miss the rest of the 2011 season.
Raiders Coach David Furner said losing Learoyd-Lahrs is a big blow for the team, but said it does give a player like Sam Mataora a chance to make an impact.
Tommys been great for us so losing him for the rest of the year is a big blow for him and the team, Furner said. Hes been one of our best in the past few games and its a disappointing loss so were just hoping he has a good recovery and returns strong next year.
Sam Mataora gets a chance this weekend to take his place in the side and hopefully he can stand up and perform well, he said. Weve got
David Shillington another week or two away as well so its a chance for guys like Sam to come in and make an impact.
Furner said
Josh Dugan was only an outside chance of becoming a late inclusion in the team this weekend, while
Josh Miller has been named as 18th man after he returns from his one match ban in the Queensland Cup.
Josh (Dugan) has only just started rehab running and is yet to train with the full squad so hes still only a slight chance of being available, he said. With the short turn around its tough for him to be right by Saturday but well assess it later in the week.
1 Nathan Massey
2 Blake Ferguson
3 Jarrod Croker
4 Joel Thompson
5 Reece Robinson
6 Josh McCrone
7 Sam Williams
8 Brett White
9 Alan Tongue (c)
10 Dane Tilse
11 Joe Picker
12 Josh Papalii
13 Shaun Fensom
14 Glen Buttriss
15 Bronson Harrison
16 Sam Mataora
17 Trevor Thurling
18 Josh Miller
http://www.raiders.com.au/default.aspx?s=team