Raiders hold back on Campese return - Sports News - Fanatics - the world's biggest events

Raiders hold back on Campese return

By Steve Jancetic and Matt Sadler 31/05/2011 07:39:22 PM Comments (0)

Canberra coach David Furner insists injured five-eighth Terry Campese still has a few hurdles to overcome before making his long-awaited return after leaving the former Test pivot out of Sunday's clash with North Queensland.

Back in full training after undergoing a knee reconstruction late last year, Campese had earmarked the round 13 home game as his comeback almost from the moment his knee went from under him in the semi-final loss to Wests Tigers.

Despite sitting in a share of last spot on the ladder, Furner said he wasn't prepared to rush Campese back into action, particularly with young halves Josh McCrone and Sam Williams impressing in back to back wins before the bye.

"We're confident in the halves we've got at the moment and we don't need to rush Campo back until he's completed a few more training sessions and had all the clearances from our medical staff," Furner said.

"Both Sammy Williams and Josh McCrone have been good for us in the past two weeks and we have stuck with them for the Cowboys game."

Pressed on whether Campese was any chance of being a late addition to Sunday's squad, Furner said:

"... it's going to be a bit of a risk if he can't get through that (Tuesday's) session there to look to pushing forward to this weekend.

"I need to gauge him on that.

"At the moment I'm just going with the side I've named."

The Raiders do however welcome back NSW State of Origin hopeful Tom Learoyd-Lahrs against a Cowboys side unchanged from the one that triumphed over Sydney Roosters on Saturday night.

South Sydney star Greg Inglis returns for Sunday's meeting against former club Melbourne, his recovery from a hip injury offsetting the loss of Dylan Farrell with an ankle injury suffered in Monday night's loss to Penrith.

Wests Tigers are finally getting some relief on the injury front with Lote Tuqiri and Gareth Ellis named to play against Newcastle on Monday night.

Tuqiri hasn't played since breaking his arm against Canberra in round three, while Ellis has been limited to just four games so far in 2011 due to a persistent ankle problem.

The Knights have named skipper Kurt Gidley at halfback to replace Jarrod Mullen (torn pectoral), with Wes Naiqama shifting to fullback and Junior Sa'u returning in the centres.

Parramatta coach Stephen Kearney still couldn't find a spot for dumped playmaker Daniel Mortimer in his side to face St George Illawarra, Mortimer named to play at halfback for Wentworthville in the NSW Cup.

The Dragons have Ratu Peni Tagive in for Brett Morris (hamstring) on the wing, and while Matt Cooper has been named at centre, the results of scans on Wednesday are expected to confirm he will miss up to a month with a fractured cheekbone.

Canterbury will have Josh Reynolds in the No.7 jumper against Manly on Saturday night after Trent Hodkinson was ruled out for two matches after pleading guilty to a dangerous contact charge - the ban robbing Hodkinson of the chance to go up against his former club.

Former outside back Taulima Tautai has been thrown into the front row for Cronulla's home game against Brisbane on Friday night, the Sharks down to their bare bones up front with Luke Douglas (medial ligament) and Josh Cordoba (hamstring) out injured.

The Broncos welcome back Origin stars Darren Lockyer and Sam Thaiday, while fullback Josh Hoffman will play his first game since March after recovering from a fractured leg.

Brought to you by AAP AAP © 2024 AAP

0 Comments about this article

Post a comment about this article

Please sign in to leave a comment.
Becoming a member is free and easy, sign up here.

« All sports news