Canberra coach David Furner has refused to blame injuries for the club’s latest NRL loss and insists that will remain the case for as long as the Raiders have to make do without their key men.
The Raiders’ injury curse has hit again early in 2012, with star fullback Josh Dugan, lock Shaun Fensom and forward Trevor Thurling all going down in Canberra’s 14-8 defeat to the Sydney Roosters on Sunday.
Fensom will miss six weeks after partially tearing a biceps muscle, while Dugan is out for the same amount of time with a torn AC joint, although the injury is better than was first feared and won’t require surgery.
Furner has moved winger Blake Ferguson into the important role at fullback for the Raiders’ game against Wests Tigers, and Josh Papalii to lock to cover for Fensom, who has impressed for the club so far this season.
The coach said the team would particularly miss Fensom, not just for his tackling workrate but his efforts off the ball.
But he denied injuries will excuse the Raiders if they fail to notch vital premiership points in the coming weeks.
“We can’t blame injuries on the weekend,” Furner said.
“They are just unlucky – that’s all I can put it down to.
“It’s just the nature of the game – it’s an aggressive game and, while it’s unfortunate, we’ve just got to move on.”
There was luckier news with Thurling, who will undergo surgery on his knee on Wednesday but is likely to resume his place in the team within two or three weeks.
With just one win from three matches heading into round four, the Raiders have another tough task ahead to beat the Tigers at Campbelltown on Monday, and Furner has urged his remaining squad to rise to the challenge.
“We’ve got players that can take those (vacant) positions up.
“And given the opportunity, they’ll go at it 100 per cent, so it’s just a matter of those 15 or 16 odd players that are around – of them performing.
“They have just got to go hard.”
Former rugby union player Dimitri Pelo has been given the nod on the wing for his first NRL game against the Tigers, while Joel Thompson and Glen Buttriss have been named in the starting 13 for the first time this season.
The latest trio of casualties join Dane Tilse and Reece Robinson on Canberra’s injury list, although Robinson said on Tuesday he could be back sooner than expected from a fractured cheekbone.
“Maybe another week, maybe two – and then hopefully, I’ll be ready to rock’n’roll,” he said.
The winger has just signed an extension with the Raiders that ensures he stays in the nation’s capital until at least the end of the 2014 season.
