Fears of a season-ending ankle injury to boom forward Boyd Cordner have overshadowed the Sydney Roosters’ surge to outright top of the NRL ladder for the first time in almost a decade.
The Roosters have one hand on their first minor premiership since 2004, the same season the tricolours last enjoyed sole possession of top spot, after downing Canberra 28-22 at Allianz Stadium on Saturday.
But despite the club saying Cordner has been cleared of a broken ankle, Roosters legend Brad Fittler on Sunday claimed the NSW State of Origin back-rower would undergo surgery on Monday and be sidelined until at least the grand final on October 6.
“It looks like he’ll be operated on tomorrow,” Fittler said on the Nine Network’s Footy Show.
“He’s got the syndesmosis disease, which every player seems to get these days, a high ankle sprain and something to do with ligaments tearing apart.
“(It is) eight weeks, so I think it’s grand final at best.”
The club itself was more positive than Fittler, releasing a statement on Sunday saying Cordner had been “cleared of a fracture and will have further scans tomorrow to determine the extent of injury”.
In the immediate aftermath to suffering the injury, Roosters coach Trent Robinson said he was desperately hoping the 21-year-old wouldn’t be ruled out for the rest of the season.
“He couldn’t weight bear, so it didn’t look good,” Robinson said.
“He’s such a key player for us, Boyd. And for such a young player, he’s such an important part of our team.”
So important that Cordner, who co-captained the side with Jared Waerea-Hargreaves against the Raiders in the absence of injured fullback Anthony Minichiello, was the youngest Roosters skipper since 1944.
Even with Sonny Bill Williams to return from a two-match suspension and Luke O’Donnell from illness for Monday week’s match against lowly Wests Tigers, Cordner’s absence is a major blow for the title favourites.
His left-side combination with halves and Blues teammates Mitchell Pearce and James Maloney has been lethal for the Roosters, with Cordner crossing for nine tries in 18 games to be among the league’s most damaging forwards in 2013.
The Roosters’ seventh straight win vaulted them two points clear of South Sydney with four rounds of the minor premiership remaining.
With a softer run to the finals over the coming month and vastly superior points differential to the second-placed Rabbitohs, the Roosters could conceivably even lose to their inner-city rivals in round 26 at ANZ Stadium and still secure the JJ Giltinan Shield.
