Parra hooker happy with forced break
PARRAMATTA hooker Reed Mahoney is one player thankful for the disruption caused to the 2020 NRL season by the COVID-19 crisis.
The 22-year-old Nambour product underwent surgery after breaking a bone in his foot in the Eels’ big Round 2 win over Gold Coast in March.
Mahoney will however not miss a match due to the injury, making the best of the coronavirus pandemic-enforced suspension of the season to recover and regain his fitness.
It means Mahoney is set to take to the field on Thursday when the NRL campaign resumes with the Eels facing
Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium.
“I’m very lucky that when I did it the season got called off and the last few weeks I’ve been in and around the boys,” Mahoney told the Sunday Footy Show yesterday.
“I’m pretty excited to be out there on Thursday.”
Understudy Ray Stone was expected to replace Mahoney and despite his return to fitness Mahoney said he expects his fellow youngster to feature in some way against the Broncos.
“We’ll carry him on the bench maybe, because I probably won’t be able to get through a full game. I haven’t done as much fitness as everyone else,” Mahoney said.
The Eels’ strong start to the season, which included an 8-2 win over Canterbury as well as the 46-6 Titans’ thrashing, has catapulted them into premiership discussions. They also have kind rescheduled draw, which includes several games at Bankwest Stadium.
Mahoney says the team has not been looking that far ahead and he is wary of the Broncos who the Eels embarrassed 58-0 in last year’s finals series.
“They’ve won … the first two games so we’ve got to be at our best to compete with them.” Ed Jackson