Canberra are facing an NRL forwards shortage following injuries to Iosia Soliola and Emre Guler in Friday’s NRL win over St George Illawarra.
Already without sidelined Josh Bateman (shoulder) and Corey Horsburgh (foot), the Raiders lost Soliola to a suspected fractured eye socket in the first half.
The veteran front-rower was rushed to hospital following a head clash with Dragons prop Blake Lawrie and could be staring at a lengthy stint out.
“Sia’s gonna be out for a period of time now. I think it’s a lot of middles we’re losing at the moment. It’s an issue,” coach Ricky Stuart said after the win.
“I don’t know the exact situation. It’s a fracture of around the face.”
Guler’s injury remains unclear, however the 22-year-old exited the field late in the second half with what appeared to be an ankle injury.
Their crowded casualty ward means experienced forward Dunamis Lui is likely to be recalled for next week’s crunch clash with Melbourne.
It also means Stuart will have to rely on a host of inexperienced big men for the foreseeable future, including the likes of Ryan Sutton and Hudson Young.
Both were immense against the Dragons, with Sutton, the second-year forward from England, in particular earning rave reviews from his coach.
“Emre and Sutto did was exactly what was asked. It was perfect,” Stuart said.
“That was probably Ryan Sutton’s best game for us. Backed up with a young player in Emre doing that tonight was a wonderful start.”
The Raiders, who now rise to fifth, were cruising at 22-0 after an hour only to let in the final three tries of the game and endure a scare in the final minutes.
However, their late collapse was of no concern to their coach, who said their gruelling travel schedule had worn his players out.
“I think we’re the only team that has to go on the bus for three hours, get off and play a game of football,” Stuart said.
“I’ve been very proud of how the boys have handled it, because they had to find a lot of energy there tonight in that last 20 minutes.
“We played extra time last week (against Parramatta). We didn’t get home until last Sunday morning. We had a short turnaround.
“For them to back up tonight with all those injuries in the middle, showed the energy at the back end of the game. Why wouldn’t I be happy?”
