NRL TEAMS - 2024 Round 3
7 hours ago | LeagueUnlimited Media
With his National Rugby League season officially over injured Melbourne Storm five-eighth Scott Hill has set his sight on a bigger and better return in 2004.
Following MRI scans today Hill will undergo a shoulder arthroscopy tomorrow ruling out any chance the Test lock had of playing a part in the Storm?s push to the finals.
After re-injuring his left shoulder in last Sunday?s win over Parramatta Hill must now watch from the sidelines as his Storm teammates embark on the final three rounds of the NRL home and away season.
In a horror year that has been decimated by injury and misfortune 26-year-old Hill will now miss yet another finals series with Melbourne - he missed the 1999 finals due to reconstructive surgery on his right shoulder.
?I guess it?s really a year that hasn?t been for me,? Hill lamented.
?The only positive that can be taken from this is that at least I can look forward to a full pre-season next year without having to rush back from injury which is something I didn?t have this year.
?Right now my focus is to get the shoulder strong and make sure it?s right for 2004.
?Next year is going to be a good one for the club, with the things (coach) Craig (Bellamy) has put in place and the younger guys that have come through I think I can be a part of some success in the future.?
But the disappointment of potentially missing the Storm?s first post-season appearance since 2000 was obvious.
?It?s disappointing because I feel like I haven?t been a part of the team this year,? Hill said.
?It hasn?t completely sunk in yet, I?ll probably know how much it hurts once the finals start.?
Storm doctor Greg Hickey confirmed that Hill would undergo arthroscopic surgery in an attempt to resolve the rotator cuff injury that first arose in round one this year.
?After looking at Scott?s scans and examining him we still think that his rotator cuff is getting jammed in his left shoulder,? Hickey explained.
?The (arthroscopy) operation is for two reasons with the first to make 110 per cent sure that there is nothing else going on.
?And then Hopefully the curative part of the operation is to clear out the space above the rotator cuff and remove a bit of bone so it doesn?t get jammed again in the future.?
Meanwhile Melbourne has been bolstered by the return of young prop Mitchell Sargent for this Friday?s clash with the Dragons at WIN Stadium.
Sargent comes on to the bench this week after serving a two-match suspension for a grade one dangerous throw and Kiwi forward Glen Turner moves into the starting lock role in Hill?s absence.
MELBOURNE STORM TEAM TO PLAY THE DRAGONS, THIS FRIDAY AT WIN STADIUM, 7.30PM
1. Billy Slater 2. Fifita Moala 3. Steven Bell 4. David Kidwell 5. Marcus Bai 6. Matt Geyer 7. Matt Orford 8. Robbie Kearns 9. Cameron Smith 10. Kirk Reynoldson 11. Peter Robinson 12. Stephen Kearney (c) 13. Glenn Turner
BENCH
14. Danny Williams 15. Ryan Hoffman 16. Nathan Friend 17. Mitchell Sargent
IN: Mitchell Sargent OUT: Scott Hill
STORM TRAINING THIS WEEK Thursday ? 10.30m, TBA