ROOSTERS HERO BATTLED INJURY

LUKE Ke Keary h has revealed he played through the NRL finals with a syndesmosis injury that left him needing painkilling injections to face Melbourne and Canberra.

Keary confirmed after Sunday night’s 14-8 win over Canberra his ankle injury was far worse than he had let on, after he’d completed just half a training session in grand final week.

Injured in the week-one finals win over South Sydney, the Roosters five-eighth will now go for full scans to determine if he needs surgery that will rule him out of Australian selection.

But he said if the preliminary and grand final had been normal round games, he would not have run out.

“I just tried to block everything out and get through it,” Keary said. “I’d have been no chance (if it wasn’t finals).

“I knew I got through it in the Melbourne game and I thought I hid it pretty well. I didn’t think I was too bad.

“There were things you probably couldn’t see that I couldn’t do. I couldn’t run from left to right or prop off my right foot. I knew I was going to play (against Canberra in the grand final). It was just worse than I thought it was going to be.”

Keary only trained with the team for half of Friday’s run before the game.

— Scott Bailey