Scans have revealed that Ronaldo Mulitalo has suffered a broken jaw in the victory over the Tigers.
In what was an eventful afternoon for Mulitalo, he copped an accidental elbow in attempting a try-saving tackle, forcing him to be assisted from the field, with subsequent scans revealing the extent of the injury.
Mulitalo is to undergo surgery in a Brisbane hospital today.
The injury aside, it was developing into a memorable day for Mulitalo who scored two tries, could have had a third but handed off a four-pointer to rookie half Luke Metcalf, and was a constant threat throughout the match.
Despite being distraught post game after coming to terms with his injury issue, Mulitalo walked a lap of Browne Park to thank and farewell the Rockhampton fans for their enthusiastic support of the first NRL game to be played at the venue, before giving away his boots to a young fan.
An outstanding ambassador off the field, Mulitalo is the Sharks nominee for the NRL’s Ken Stephen Medal, an award given to recognise a players commitment to community initiatives.
In other injury news, Andrew Fifita is on the improve after surgery to repair a laryngeal fracture following an innocuous incident in the game against Newcastle last week.
Fifita is expected to make a full recovery following a long rehabilitation period. Andrew is in good spirits and is out of Intensive care.
In some positive news on an injury front, Matt Moylan came through unscathed after a 20-minute cameo in the Tigers game, the experienced playmaker showing his class with a late line break and try assist. Moylan had missed seven games with a calf problem.
And with Mulitalo set to be sidelined, the Sharks expect to have Mawene Hiroti available for selection for the game against Brisbane. Hiroti broke his hand in the Sharks round 19 win over the Bulldogs.
Hiroti, the experienced Will Chambers and youngster Jonaiah Lualua would be the players in line to replace Mulitalo for next weekend’s match.
Aiden Tolman will also be in line to return after missing the Tigers game due to a one-week suspension.
