The mystery surrounding the return of Valentine Holmes continues with the Sharks young gun named in jersey 19 yesterday when the 21-man squad to face the Dragons was announced.
Holmes has missed the first two games of the 2017 season with a hamstring complaint, however hopes were, and still are, high of him making a return to the field this Sunday afternoon in the big local derby clash.
After training strongly towards the back end of last week and again yesterday, the decision will now be left to the Sharks coaching and medical staff before Holmes gets the final go ahead for this weekend.
Similarly, Gerard Beale has been named on the extended reserves bench as he continues his recovery from injury after being a late withdrawal from the Canberra game.
The Kiwi international was also on the training paddock yesterday with Coach Shane Flanagan having some selection decisions to make should both Holmes and Beale become available.
In other Sharks injury news the 17 players who combined to score a resounding victory over the Raiders all came through the Canberra match relatively unscathed, with only the usual bumps and bruises to show for what was a physical confrontation.
The news however coming from the Newtown Jets match against Mounties wasn’t as positive, with two serious leg injuries suffered by Sharks NRL squad members.
Young prop Malakai Houma was assisted from the field on a stretcher after breaking his leg, while experienced utility Daniel Mortimer injured his knee and while a reconstruction isn’t required, he is expected to also miss an extended period of time.
The full extent of the injuries and the potential time on the sideline for Mortimer and Houma will be determined at a later date.
