Round nine of the NRL competition saw a number of injuries across the 16 clubs, some serious and season ending, with the Sharks not escaping the carnage with Andrew Fifita likely to be sidelined for around three weeks.
Fifita failed to return to the field following the half time break in his team’s match against the Panthers, his loss coming at the worst possible time after the Sharks had rallied late in the first period with consecutive tries to give themselves some hope of a late revival.
Scans revealed a minor strain, however it is an injury that will potentially see the international front rower missing from the Sharks line-up beginning this weekend against the New Zealand Warriors.
In other Sharks injury news, Siosifa Talakai, Bryson Goodwin and Sione Katoa all suffered head knocks during the Panthers game, with the trio to undergo the NRL’s concussion protocols this week before being cleared to take on the Warriors.
The HIA replacement of Talakai was a body blow to the Sharks on Saturday, with the hard-running utility having considerable impact when thrown into the game midway through the first half, while the loss of the two outside backs for varying periods resulted in positional changes late in the match and a reshuffled backline.
The Sharks hope to have Talakai, Goodwin and Katoa available for the round 10 match up, with the Sunday scheduling and extra day turnaround helping in the recovery and protocol process.
In relation to Matt Moylan, he continues to work through his rehab with no further update on his possible return. The Sharks fullback was last week predicted to be sidelined for around four weeks.
While in some positive news, young gun Ronaldo Mulitalo will be available to play against the Warriors on Sunday after being given an extra week to fully recover from his knee injury.
Mulitalo has been absent since injuring his knee and undergoing minor surgery following the Sharks round four win over the Cowboys.
