Sydney Roosters recruit Dominic Young was forced to exit Central Coast Stadium in the back of an ambulance after his first game for his new club on Saturday.
The giant Englishman was forced from the field in the 54th minute after being the victim of a crusher tackle.
Manly’s Toff Sipley was placed on report and now in danger of missing the trip to Las Vegas.
For Young, he was placed in a neck brace, with Roosters officials taking no risks with their giant flyer, especially with their own trip to Vegas just days away.
He is expected to be cleared of anything serious, but the Roosters did not want to leave anything to chance.
Young scored a try in his first official outing for the Chooks, who won 38-22. One of the real highlights was seeing Young put on the afterburners and mowing don Manly flyer Ray Vaega once he got into open space.
Dominic Young is taken to hospital by ambulance after Saturday’s game.Credit: Christian Nicolussi
Canterbury’s Bronson Xerri said the other night he once clocked 10.8 seconds for the 100m – who knows how much quicker Young could run.
Roosters coach Trent Robinson was certainly happy with the first hitout by Young, but also thinking of his right winger’s health.
“He’s good, but when you’re dealing with the neck, it was precautionary – he’s gone to hospital to get a scan,” Robinson said. “He was good in there talking and sitting up. They want to keep it stable so we know what is exactly wrong with it. He’s in good spirits.
“I thought he was good [during the game]. There are two sides of the ball, his defensive movements improved the longer the half went, and getting used to playing with ‘Su’ [Joseph Suaalii].
Dom Young walks from the field after the crusher tackle in Gosford on Saturday.Credit: NRL Photos
“And his class, we’ve seen it a lot at training, but his ability to get past someone with his speed, it’s different to other players. It was a good start.
“There are a top echelon of those [tall fast wingers]. Jason Saab, [Josh] Addo-Carr, but Dom is possibly the biggest of that crew, and his ability to move that fast … it’s why he is here.”
The more pressing concern for Robinson will be who to leave out in the star-studded, multi-million dollar backline. Six players do not fit into five spots.
Joey Manu started on the bench as Billy Smith and Suaalii started in the centres, with club favourite Daniel Tupou on the left wing. Smith and Suaalii both set up tries.
“It’s a good [problem] to have,” Robinson said. “We’ve made the choice to go with six top-end internationals, and they’ve been really good at training. Some guys will play some weeks, others won’t, but there’s a belief in all of them. It’s not one over the other. It’s on me with the choice. We like the fact we have six there ready to play.”
As for Manu starting on the bench, Robinson said: “There’s nothing to read into that. He’s got a baby coming, the possibility of him being on the [Vegas] trip, the possibility of him not being on the trip. Our belief in all of them is clear. We know how good they are. It’s up to me to manage that.
“Eventually, you have to pick a team each week, but there won’t be somebody missing out for long.”
Robinson said he could easily carry one of the players on the bench as a utility option.
Cogger nails first Knights No. 6 audition
Newcastle recruit Jack Cogger nailed his first No. 6 audition as Jackson Hastings was excellent in his return from ankle surgery. The Knights clawed their way back from 12-0 against Cronulla to triumph 44-18 on a hot afternoon on the Central Coast.
It was a typical February trial with O’Brien happy to see some of the “clap-your-hands moments”, but also conceded “it was a bludger of a game in parts with the amount of errors”.
Cogger helped the Panthers win a third premiership before moving to the Hunter where he is now in a ding-dong five-eighth shootout with Tyson Gamble.
Gamble is the off-the-cuff ball of energy while Cogger is more level-headed with a good kicking game. He scored a try and kicked a 40/20 against the Sharks.
Jack Cogger scores for the KnightsCredit: Getty Images
O’Brien was struggling to name a set of halves not so long ago, and was just delighted he had options heading into the season opener against Canberra.
“We have another trial to work it out, and we’re fortunate we have very capable spine depth,” O’Brien said. “All of them, including Will Pryce, they all had some nice touches – there were some clap-your-hands moments. I’ll use all the time I need.
“‘Cogs’ is a really steady head. He knows to kick you to good field position, hence the 40/20, he knows where to land the ball and set up our defence.
“Jackson has some in-the-moment stuff, some short-game moments, but Jack is more of a long-game player.”
Hastings broke down with an ankle injury in the epic elimination final against the Raiders, and missed the semi-final loss against the New Zealand Warriors.
O’Brien said he had really ramped up his training since Christmas, when finally able to start running again, and enjoyed his halfback’s efforts in the opening 40 minutes.
“He’s in really good nick, he’s worked hard, especially after Christmas,” O’Brien said. “He shed a few kilos. He hasn’t been able to run, which has been hard for him, he’s just been in the gym doing weights, so to see him out the last month training with the team, I thought he was great for us.”
Superstar skipper Kalyn Ponga returns for the second trial in Fiji, while Jayden Brailey, who is nursing a hamstring injury, was likely to be saved for the season proper.
Cronulla played only a handful of first-graders, and will roll out the big guns next Friday against Canterbury.
The weekend highlight for coach Craig Fitzgibbon would have come nearly 24 hours earlier when halves Nicho Hynes and Braydon Trindall helped pave the way for the Indigenous All Stars victory.
Tom Hazelton was sin-binned and placed on report for a high shot on Mat Croker.
Fitzgibbon did not expect the big unit to be in trouble, and can ill afford to lose him to suspension with fellow big bopper Braden Hamlin-Uele already in doubt with a knee injury for round one against the New Zealand Warriors.
Krystian Mapapalangi was knocked out in the first play of the game when he tried to stop Cronulla forward Oregon Kaufusi. But there was some positive news when he was able to brush the stretcher and walk from the field.
