You have skipped the navigation, tab for page content

Wade Graham feared the worst when he turned on an ankle late in the Sharks win over the Manly Sea Eagles.

The tough Sharks backrower thought he heard some sort of crack, with Graham assisted from the field in the dying moments of the match.

As he told Sharks TV straight after the game however, before he had even reached the bench to sit and take the weight off the ankle he knew it wasn’t as serious as it first appeared.

“By the time I had walked across the field I could tell it wasn’t too bad,” Graham offered immediately after the game.

While he has spent the majority of the bye week at training undergoing rehab and keeping off the ankle as much as possible, a return for the Sharks Monday night clash with the Bulldogs is highly likely.

Graham has been in outstanding form for the Sharks through the 11 rounds of the 2016 to date and was considered unlucky by some not to be chosen in the NSW team for State of Origin game one.

“It’s always there as something to strive for,” he told The Australian at a media session yesterday. “The selectors have gone another way, which is sweet.”

The other Sharks ankle issue surrounded exciting youngster Josh Cleeland who was injured in the final 15 minutes of the Newtown Jets match with the Wyong Roos on Sunday.

The Jets scored a 32-16 win over the Roos in Wyong in what was one of their best

In terrific form for the Jets, the half/five-eighth was taken from the field with what at the time seemed a serious injury, however like Graham, diagnosis and treatment following the game has indicated Cleeland will be back in action sooner rather than later.

Earlier today, on a day where the rest of the Sharks NRL squad were enjoying a break, Cleeland was in the gym working on the injury in the hope of missing just one game.

“It’s a syndesmosis injury but it’s not too bad,” Cleeland said. “This week is the bye, I might miss the game after that but hopefully I’ll be back the next week.”

Other than the two ankle problems the Sharks came through another week relatively unscathed, with the Origin trio of Paul Gallen, James Maloney and Andrew Fifita, along with Matt Prior the only one missing from training yesterday.

Prior is progressing well in his recovery from a knee injury, with the Sharks positive about his chances of being available to play the Bulldogs in their next game on Monday, June 6.

The Sharks have Wednesday as a scheduled rest day, will train tomorrow before being given an extended break due to the bye this weekend.

The NRL squad then resumes training on Tuesday in preparation for their next match.

 

Acknowledgement of Country

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks respect and honour the Traditional Custodians of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and future. We acknowledge the stories, traditions and living cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on the lands we meet, gather and play on.

Premier Partner

Major Partners

View All Partners