North Queensland officials have asked the NRL for a “please explain” after star prop Jason Taumalolo was allowed play in a Pacific Championships final for Tonga with an undiagnosed broken foot.
The Cowboys workhorse could now miss the opening month of the NRL season after under-going Lisfranc surgery.
Sources with knowledge of Taumalolo’s situation not authorised to speak publicly confirmed to this masthead the Cowboys contacted the NRL, asking them how Tonga failed to identify the injury when it occurred a week earlier in a Test against New Zealand.
The same sources confirmed the Cowboys asked why they should release players for international duty in the future if they run the risk of not being looked after to an NRL standard.
Clubs can receive up to $350,000 in salary-cap relief if a player misses at least 12 weeks through an injury suffered while on representative duty. Because Taumalolo, a $900,000-a-year marquee player, will be sidelined through the summer, and only miss a handful of games, the Cowboys will receive zero compensation.
Jason Taumalolo will miss up to the opening month of the season after playing the Pacific Championships’ final with a broken foot. Credit: Rhett Wyman/SMH
Cowboys coach Todd Payten confirmed Taumalolo suffered the injury against the Kiwis, and was naturally disappointed he would be missing his forwards leader the first few rounds, which includes Manly away, Cronulla – and fellow Tongan prop Addin Fonua-Blake – at home, then the blockbuster Broncos’ Queensland derby at Suncorp Stadium in round three.
“I don’t know if his injury was handled well, at all. It was only diagnosed after the Championships, and once he had been in Townsville for over a week – to only find out then was really disappointing,” Payten said on Friday.
“Jase knew he was sore, and I still don’t know how he played the way he did with that injury. He wasn’t even strapped up. His toughness is unbelievable.
“It’s a shame because Jase has worked really hard to get his body right, I thought the back end of last season was really strong, and his form in the Pacific Championships was great.
“To lose someone like him with his influence for us, it’s really disappointing. It’s important he gets himself right post-Christmas. He won’t be out for an extended period, but he’ll miss at least the first few games of the season.”
Taumalolo and Fonua-Blake were fantastic for the Tongans during their 20-14 loss to Australia in front of a packed-out CommBank Stadium.
Meanwhile, Payten said new recruit John Bateman could play backrow or middle, and his experience would be even more crucial with Taumalolo to miss the start of the season, not to mention the exit of senior trio Chad Townsend, Kyle Feldt and Jake Granville.
Bateman still had two years to run on his deal at the Wests Tigers, with the Sydney club to still bankroll a healthy portion of his Townsville move.
“What he does is bring competition for sports,” Payten said.
“And I just love the way he plays his footy. He’s abrasive, competitive, and through my conversations with him, the over-riding feeling I’ve got is that he wants to win – and he’ll almost do anything to get win. He’ll be a good fit for our group.”
