StormFans.club

In summary;

Cameron Smith - No concerns at all. Really haven't been since he was first assessed.
Sandor Earl - Cork to knee (opposite to the one he did his ACL in). Back this week.
Sam Kasiano - Back this week! Playing for the Tigers. Frank insinuated he would play a few games there.
Kelma Tuilagi - Concussion recovery. Back this week.

On Sam Kasiano - Given what we dished up against Souths, he may find his way back into the first grade side pretty quickly unless our big boys turn things around immediately.

So we basically have zero injuries? Incredible!

This must mean we're at 'extra-strength' now since we were 'full strength' last week with a couple of the lads injured!

As much as I have wanted Stimson in the team over Hoffy, he doesn’t deserve to go out like that... Hopefully it’s not as bad as it looked but it really didn’t look good at all and I doubt he plays again. Poor bloke...

Thank you for your years of wonderful service, champion.

Hoffy out for up to 8 weeks with a ruptured central tendon in his hamstring (ouch!). He will be trying to get back sooner than that in order to appear in the finals.
Puts things in perspective for me as a fan: Billy is also one decent injury away from playing his last game. Champions don't always get the farewell they deserve so I hope the boys consider each game as potentially the last for one of the best players and ambassadors the club has ever seen.

NAS, B Smith and Suli having scans today. All are expected to miss the rest of the regular season at least, with scan results determining who we may get back.

The club will provide a further update this evening.

Cam Smith showed promising signs today. The club are hopeful he will be right to travel to the Gold Coast.

https://www.melbournestorm.com.au/news/ ... erral=true
Good news on Cam and Hughes. Just a couple of weeks for Suli and at least 4 for Nelson. The two QCup hookers are looking at 6 weeks each.

Such a shame about Brandon and NAS both being out (likely) until week 2 of finals. Fingers crossed we find a couple of blokes who are willing to dig deep in Week 1, get the job done and then not require them until Week 3.

Hopefully Big Sam Kasiano can step up

This is a big reason to get a double chance

so we can give NAS and Brandon every chance to get up

So it's basically Kasiano or Tui until NAS gets back. If Kasiano can't keep TK out of the side then he'll go down in the same category as Learoyd-Lars, George Rose and John Kite in my books

bula wrote:So it's basically Kasiano or Tui until NAS gets back. If Kasiano can't keep TK out of the side then he'll go down in the same category as Learoyd-Lars, George Rose and John Kite in my books

Albeit 7 times more expensive...

Ryan Hoffman hamstring ‘miracle’ stuns Melbourne Storm as veteran poised to get NRL swan song

Gilbert Gardiner
Herald Sun
August 29th 2018

MELBOURNE Storm coach Craig Bellamy couldn’t disguise his surprise that Ryan Hoffman has been medically cleared to face Penrith Panthers on Friday night.

SURPRISED Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy says it is a “miracle” Ryan Hoffman has been medically cleared to face Penrith Panthers on Friday night.

The initial prognosis had Hoffman, 34, missing 10-12 weeks with the hamstring tendon damage he sustained 18 days ago against Cronulla Sharks.

But in a surprise twist, the retiring two-time Storm premiership second-rower appears to be on the brink of an extraordinary comeback, having “ticked all the boxes” this week.

“He was running a week after that (injury) and I thought what’s going on here,” Bellamy told the Herald Sun.

“I wasn’t expecting him to run for three or four weeks or even be jogging.

“He’s ticked all the boxes this week and the physio is quite happy for him to play too.”

Hoffman damaged the semitendinosus muscle, the lesser in terms of functionality, of the three muscles that make up the hamstring.

The 325-game veteran, reduced to tears in the sheds after breaking down late in the loss to the Sharks, has worked diligently on the recovery ever since.

He completed full contact drills — away from the main group — this week and must successfully complete Thursday’s final session to get the green light.

Bellamy said a decision would be made Thursday on whether or not to risk Hoffman this week or wait until the finals.

“When I played, when you had a hamstring injury you had a hamstring injury, but apparently there’s three different muscles in your hamstring,” Bellamy said, still somewhat bemused to be even considering a Hoffman comeback.

“The one he’s torn off is painful but it doesn’t really matter functionally apparently … that’s how I believe the physio described it to me.”

Bellamy hailed the veteran Hoffman’s attitude towards rehabilitation, despite being told of the difficulty he faced to get back in the side at all — let alone before the finals.

“He kept saying to me ‘I’ll do everything I can to get back’ and I’m thinking ‘Yeah, I know you will’, I didn’t say it to him, but I’m thinking to myself ‘I don’t know how you’re going to get back, mate’,” Bellamy said.

“I think most people would put their cue in the rack, but he certainly didn’t and it seems a miracle to me, but he did everything required of him, so if he can do that again we’ll think about putting him in the team somewhere.”

The Storm will complete a hat-trick of minor premierships with a win over the Panthers on Friday night. It would the club’s fifth JJ Giltinan Shield after wins in 1999, 2012, 2016 and 2017.

Hopefully we get an Injury Update from Frank today.

In the post match presser after the Panthers game, Craig said that Munster was almost certain, Suli would be a chance but NAS was likely 1 -2 weeks away. NAS not being available is a problem...

Jeez, Smithy looked dejected.