Injury a huge blow for Sun
Tough road trip for light Bombers Coach tips Roos to rebound hard
GOLD Coast’s ruck stocks are running bare with inaugural Sun Tom Nicholls suffering what the club believes is a serious shoulder injury.
Nicholls flew to Melbourne yesterday to meet a surgeon to determine the extent of the injury as coach Stuart Dew prepared his side for tonight’s Round 4 game against West Coast in Perth.
The 26-year-old hurt his shoulder in a marking contest in the Suns’ NEAFL win over Aspley last week.
“Tom had some instability in his shoulder on the weekend,” Suns football manager Jon Haines said.
“It seems like a reasonably serious issue at this point in time. When we get all the details we will make a decision … and move from there.”
It’s a massive blow to Nicholls’ ambition to earn his place back in the senior side following a disappointing 2017 season that had him questioning whether he wanted to continue playing.
Nicholls fell down the pecking order when Jarrod Witts arrived at the club and a mix of poor form and injuries meant he didn’t play a single AFL game last year.
But a healthy preseason and strong early from had teammate Jack Leslie, who will captain the NEAFL team against GWS today, convinced he was knocking on the door for senior selection.
“It’s pretty hard for Tommy,” Leslie said. “I think he is pretty flat. He was starting to play really well over the past month and he was starting to knock on the door.
“He has been putting in heaps of solid performances.
“Unfortunately Wittsy is there but Tommy was knocking on the door. Hopefully it isn’t too bad for him and he is back this year.”
The departure of Dan Currie and Keegan Brooksby has cut the Suns’ specialist ruckman stocks and put 18year-old Brayden Crossley closer to an AFL debut.
Leslie said the tough, undersized ruckman would hold his own if he were thrown to the wolves early.
“He would hold up all right,” Leslie said.
“He has a great work ethic and provides a contest and that’s all you can ask for.
“He is a bash-and-crash type and you know what you’re going to get 100 per cent of the time with him.”
The Suns NEAFL side play GWS in Mackay today while the Southport Sharks will have a bye. THE Robina Roos QFA division two team will look to regroup against Kenmore today after a tough test against Park Ridge Pirates in the season opener.
The undermanned Roos found themselves outgunned by the home team last weekend, going down 21.17 (143) to 11.7 (73) in the first round of the season.
“We went in with high expectations but Park Ridge played some pretty solid football and were well drilled,” playing coach Mark Vigus said.
“We’ll be better for it. The result is definitely not a reflection of how the season will go.”
The onballer, who has played three intermittent seasons with Robina, returned to the Roo Pen from Victoria in January, signing on as coach for two years.
He said that with a full team available this week, he was confident his side would produce a stronger showing against the Bears.
The Robina reserves side, under new coach Jyhe Pearson, came close in their encounter with Park Ridge, losing 11.13 (79) to 11.5 (71).
The reserves play at 11.45am today and the seniors at 2pm at Western Districts Oval, Kenmore.