Slater to miss season opener
DARIUS Boyd has given his troublesome hamstring the allclear but the Brisbane skipper admits he’ll be battling “mental demons” over the injury in the NRL season opener.
Boyd missed the entire preseason after tweaking his left hamstring in January — the same muscle that disrupted his NRL finals campaign last year and forced him to miss Australia’s World Cup campaign.
However, he trained comfortably on Monday and has been given the green light by Broncos medicos to face St George Illawarra at Jubilee Oval on Thursday.
“It feels really fresh, to be honest,” Boyd said.
“I’ve had three good days of training in the last six days and I’ve been doing a little bit less in the gym, which has freshened me up so I’m really looking forward to the game.
“I don’t think it’s an ongoing problem. I hope it’s not.” SETTLED: Cowboys fullback Lachlan Coote is hoping to extend his stay with the Cowboys beyond this season. MELBOURNE’S star fullback Billy Slater is out of the Storm’s Round 1 NRL clash with the Bulldogs due to a shoulder injury.
The 34- year- old was set to play his 300th NRL game in Perth on Saturday night. The Storm say he has no structural damage in his troublesome shoulder but has had soreness since jarring it in their World Club Challenge win last month.
He completed training last Friday, which included contact, but pulled up sore. “While I was very close to playing this weekend, I wanted to ensure I was ready and prepared to step on to the field for an NRL match and for what is a long and rigorous season, taking this precaution is the best course of action,” Slater said.