Sick Cross tells: I couldn't let the team down

[Pumba]

Sick Cross tells: I couldn't let the team down
BY BRETT KEEBLE

BURLY Knights prop Ben Cross almost withdrew from the team that monstered Manly on Sunday because he was bedridden with a debilitating stomach virus.

The 30-year-old NSW enforcer briefly considered phoning coach Brian Smith that morning and ruling himself out.

But the Knights were already missing Steve Simpson (hamstring) and Cory Paterson (ankle), and Cross said he did not want to leave the team without another experienced forward for such an important match.

"Smithy said if he didn't hear from me on Sunday, he knew I'd be right and I turned up and said I was. I didn't want to ring him on game day and say I'm out," Cross said after yesterday's recovery session.

"The first 15 [minutes] I was just gone, then I felt a little bit better after half-time even though I was still a bit crook there, so I just did as much as I could in that little stint when I was out there.

"I'm still feeling a little bit down today, a bit flat, but I'll be back to normal within a couple of days, I'm sure.

"It was just one of those viruses crook in the stomach, a bit fluey in the head and aches and pains in my joints but the doctor gave me a vitamin B12 shot and, with rest and fluids, I should be right."

Cross, who was physically ill on the field after James McManus's 44th minute try, played just 27 minutes the first 15 of the first half and the first 12 of the second. He made 16 tackles and ran seven times for 63 metres, according to NRL Stats.

"I think Doogs [Adam MacDougall] had the same thing two weeks before and he didn't play against Cronulla. I threw up a bit at training on Saturday, but I just tried to rehydrate for the rest of the day and thought I should be right," he said.

"On Sunday morning, I was a bit crook at home but I just couldn't not play.

"It was maybe a bit detrimental to the side leaving them a man down for a fair bit of the game, but I just tried to work through it the best I could."

Herald

 

[perverse]

well that explains his stats i suppose.

 

[EdLondon]

I actually saw that. It was in the 60th minute though after the Uate try. He was under the goal posts and they cut away just as he started to hurl.

 

[keeney]

I could have sworn I saw that too, but forgot about it in the tension of the game.

 

[roopy]

Makes our win look a lot better if Cross was a virtual passenger.
Tuafua stood up and was counted in the first 20 minutes or so.

 

[keeney]

Not in attack. He has a workrate that would make Wicks blush in attack. We need cross to be fit and firing this weekend, he should be approaching full match fitness.

 

[roopy]

Not in attack. He has a workrate that would make Wicks blush in attack. We need cross to be fit and firing this weekend, he should be approaching full match fitness.

Doing very few hit ups is obviously on coach's instructions.
He is out there to rattle bones in defence for the first 20, and he did well enough to kep the Manly pack quiet - which is a very good effort now that we know that Cross probably wasn't hitting very hard.
In the lower grades Tuafua went very, very well at lock, where he basically popped up in attack all over the field and made some great runs.
I don't know why he is leaving the hit ups to Cross, Houston, Taia etc - apart from the fact that if it wasn't a deliberate thing Smith would have sacked him by now.
My opinion is that he is such a good hit man in defence that they want him to save his energy for that.

 

[keeney]

Fair enough, it's just something I noticed since his debut game. He had lousy runnign style and ran very infrequently.

 

[Pika]

We had no ball in the first 20 minutes.

He was subbed at 23.

Hard to make an impact when you are running at fresh forwards after a stack of defence.

 

[keeney]

Yeah I suppose, but his match stats of 4 hit ups for 34 is a little weak. Considering Cross was there for similar periods and was ill and still managed more than twice that.

 

[Spike]

What was Tuafua's tackle count on the weekend?

 

[Bring it home Knights]

I hope the article on cross has made a number of posters on here eat there words about him not showing pride in playing for the knights.

 

[Serc]

Mid-high 20's from memory.

 

[Frederick]

What was Tuafua's tackle count on the weekend?

Final game stats:
Taufua:
30 tackles
2 missed
0 inneffective
4 hitups
25 metres

Cross:
16 tackles
0 missed
2 inneffective
5 hitups
63 metres

Fa'aoso
24 tackles
1 missed
2 inneffective
10 hitups
122 metres

Wicks:
15 tackles
0 missed
0 inneffective
6 hitups
64 metres

Defensively, Hilder, Houston and De Gois all made 40+ tackles..when was the last time we had 3 players make 40 tackles in a game?

 

[keeney]

I had Taufua at 4 hitups for 34 and 24 tackles.

 

[Johns Magic]

I hope the article on cross has made a number of posters on here eat there words about him not showing pride in playing for the knights.

Or that he's sh*t.

He hasn't been in top form so far this season(apparently for a couple of reasons), but those who think he isn't worth what he's being paid obviously don't remember the back end of last year.

 

[perverse]

he's potentially worth what we're paying him... if he stays on the park and gets back to the form that JM referenced (back end of last year). as yet, we haven't got much value for money though.

 

[keeney]

No we haven't but I'm not going to heap sh*t on him for being injured. He's a guy who needs 5 games to get to top form. We overpaid him yes, but that isn't his fault, he's still a good leader and role model for our pack.

 

[perverse]

No we haven't but I'm not going to heap sh*t on him for being injured. He's a guy who needs 5 games to get to top form. We overpaid him yes, but that isn't his fault, he's still a good leader and role model for our pack.

lol, i wasn't blaming cross.

he's still an important part of our pack... the big unit prop that draws in defenders and runs straight and hard.

 

[Bring it home Knights]

How much is cross on? $400k? Either next week or the week after I think he'll get back to some good form.