Injury cloud in trial
Nervous wait for Bond as No.8 Swerling hurt
BOND University are nervously awaiting results of scans on a neck injury to star No.8 Nuku Swerling in the club’s last external trial of the Queensland Premier Rugby pre-season.
Having played their first 40 minutes on Saturday against Sunnybank, the Bull Sharks played their second half against a fresh GPS outfit and it was about 10 minutes into that contest that Swerling was injured.
“He was carrying the football and sort of fell awkwardly in a tackle and got rolled over on his neck,” coach Brad Harris said.
“Hopefully, fingers crossed, it is nothing serious.”
Swerling was put in a brace on the field and was taken to the Princess Alexandra Hospital for scans.
The 25-year-old, who returned to Australia last year after three seasons of French professional rugby at Oyonnax and Grenoble, shapes as a pivotal player for Bond.
Aside from that injury concern, Harris was “really happy” with the trial.
Bond outscored Sunnybank two tries to one in the first half and then competed with GPS before falling away when a series of substitutions were made.
“We played some good stuff and defensively applied a fair bit of pressure, controlled the field position, controlled territory, which was great,” Harris said of the Sunnybank part of the contest.
Joey Fittock showed he will again be an attacking force at fullback in 2019, while scrumhalf Harry Nucifora and Reds-contracted forwards Angus Blyth and Gavin Luka also were good.
“Neither of those boys (Blyth and Luka) have played in the last two or three weeks. They will be a lot better for having a run,” Harris said.
Bond will round out their pre-season with an intra-club trial next Saturday that will double as their season launch, before meeting Brothers in Round 1 at Crosby Park on March 23.