Penrith punish rusty Roosters
11 hours ago | Aidan Edgecomb
South Sydney's plight has fallen deeper into crisis following yesterday's 34-8 demolition at the hands of NRL heavyweights and competition leaders the Canterbury Bulldogs.
Talented back-rower Justin Smith (pictured) has been ruled out for 12 weeks after a dislocation to his kneecap in the first minute of the game. Meanwhile hooker Shane Walker will be joining Smith, star recruit Adam MacDougall and local prop Paul Stringer on the sidelines for a month with a quadriceps injury.
The struggling Bunnies are without up to 10 first grade players thanks to an injury toll that is really starting to hurt the clubs' stability. Coach Paul Langmack faces an uphill battle to help his team gain any sort of credibility after starting the season in good form. Yesterday they started competitively, but fell away during the second half and ended up copping another flogging. It's only getting harder as well, with the Rabbitoh's travelling to Newcastle this week to play a resurgent Knight's outfit who are very competitive right now, despite a few losses.
In a further injury blow, the Bulldogs newly crowned Kiwi Test player Sonny-Bill Williams will undergo scans today on an ankle injury which could sideline the talented youngster for up to three months.
Williams sustained the damage just seconds after he entered the field of play in the second half of yesterday's game. The injury is similar to that which has kept his clubmate Johnathan Thurston and Roosters hooker Craig Wing out of action for part of this season.