Toe blow puts Hindmarsh out of action
Sydney Morning Herald
Friday September 4, 2009
PARRAMATTA'S seemingly unstoppable momentum has been slowed slightly through the loss of Nathan Hindmarsh for tonight's clash with St George Illawarra, and skipper Nathan Cayless revealed the second-rower has been virtually unable to run with his injured toe for weeks.Hindmarsh was yesterday ruled out of the WIN Jubilee Oval contest due to the flare-up of an injury that has hampered him for several years and coach Daniel Anderson has been forced to rush Broderick Wright into his squad to replace him.Cayless urged his teammates to each lift significantly to shoulder the loss of Hindmarsh, one the front-rower admitted was a "massive" one."I know he [Hindmarsh] has jarred it a couple of times and for the last couple of weeks it's been really affecting the way he's been running," Cayless said. "He hasn't been able to run the last couple of weeks; he's just been playing games, that's about it. Everyone else is just going to have to step up another 5 per cent to cover for Hindy. He's such a massive part of our team. It's a huge loss for us."Anderson said Hindmarsh was only "expected" to be fit for the first weekend of the finals, although his momentum, like his team's, may be stalled. Still, Cayless suggested tonight's game was an opportunity to prove the Eels were a champion team, rather than a team of champions."We've really been playing well as a team," Cayless said. "Hindy's been doing great stuff for us, but everyone's really pitching in."There's a real excitement around the place. You look for signs that guys are getting a bit carried away but the guys' attitude has been great. We've built up a lot of momentum by winning games and we want to keep that going. It'd be pretty tough going into the finals with a loss under your belt. We want to keep that winning momentum going."The importance of the clash, despite the prospect of the two sides playing each other next week regardless of the result tonight, was also confirmed by his opponents, whose coach Wayne Bennett suggested the Dragons would be leaving nothing up their sleeve for their next game."Next week's next week," Bennett said. "I've got to get a team playing with a little bit of consistency back. [The Eels have] been very consistent, the last seven or eight weeks. We're in a bit of a different boat ... Winning's not our priority right now. Just a good performance is our priority."Bennett did find time to criticise the McIntyre system, one which has left the Dragons facing possibly the form team in the premiership next week as reward for their consistency this year."I'm not a fan of it," Bennett said, adding he preferred the AFL's model. "I think this is going to highlight it ... I think it's unfair on the top teams. "At the moment you could finish first and play eighth, and eighth could be a better team right now than two or three is. The reward's not good enough."Moore fulfils Belmore destiny €“ Page 29
© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald
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