Monday, April 19, 2004
Eels with injuries woes
Parramatta's depth will be tested next week with a host of Eels under injury clouds.
At the post match media conference, Brian Smith confirmed that Michael Vella had a cartlidge problem in his knee which caused him to come from the field early in the game. Fuifui Moimoi injured his ribs, which restricted his playing time and Chris Armit also had a knee problem. Additionally, Adam Peak almost pulled out of the game during warm up after his asthma flared up.
"Poor old Craig Stapleton was the only fit prop out there," Smith said. Smith said that the shortage of fit staff meant that the Eels had to take a gamble and put Moimoi back into the game despite his rib problem.
"Fui did his ribs but we had to put him back on which was a gamble - his English is better than my Tongan, and I don't really know whether he was saying that he was right or he was busted."
Moimoi made a big impression in his NRL debut for the Eels, with Smith admitted his entry "changed the game".
"The momentum of the game was changed after he came onto the field. He only played 9 or 10 minutes at that juncture but it was a cameo of some note. It will take some beating."
On top of the injuries, Nathan Cayless and Nathan Hindmarsh will both be backing up from representative duties in the Sharks game.
At the post match media conference, Brian Smith confirmed that Michael Vella had a cartlidge problem in his knee which caused him to come from the field early in the game. Fuifui Moimoi injured his ribs, which restricted his playing time and Chris Armit also had a knee problem. Additionally, Adam Peak almost pulled out of the game during warm up after his asthma flared up.
"Poor old Craig Stapleton was the only fit prop out there," Smith said. Smith said that the shortage of fit staff meant that the Eels had to take a gamble and put Moimoi back into the game despite his rib problem.
"Fui did his ribs but we had to put him back on which was a gamble - his English is better than my Tongan, and I don't really know whether he was saying that he was right or he was busted."
Moimoi made a big impression in his NRL debut for the Eels, with Smith admitted his entry "changed the game".
"The momentum of the game was changed after he came onto the field. He only played 9 or 10 minutes at that juncture but it was a cameo of some note. It will take some beating."
On top of the injuries, Nathan Cayless and Nathan Hindmarsh will both be backing up from representative duties in the Sharks game.
