'Toughest effort of 2022': NRL star's gruesome injury comes to light
Excruciating details have come to light about an injury Warriors star Chanel Harris-Tavita suffered in the 60-point Anzac Day drubbing by the Melbourne Storm.
Warriors coach Nathan Brown has stood by the scathing comments he made about his troops in the wake of the 70-10 humiliation.
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Brown said his players looked for the "easiest way out" and gave up in a second half that saw them concede a staggering 54 points.
One player whose effort and bravery can't be questioned though is Harris-Tavita, after it emerged the Warriors playmaker ruptured a testicle during the contest.
We’ve got the toughest effort of 2022 - Chanel Harris Tavita played 45 minutes after rupturing his testicle in this tackle. Has since required surgery, will require 3-4 weeks recovery. Pain obviously off the charts - thankfully early treatment = minimal risk of complications pic.twitter.com/Oy9peolhme
— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) April 28, 2022
The five-eighth sustained the injury late in the first half, yet played on through what the New Zealand side revealed was “severe discomfort” for the rest of the match.
Harris-Tavita ruptured the testicle during a tackle involving teammate Josh Curran that went awry, with the knee of his fellow Warrior collecting him square in the private parts.
The NRL Physio Twitter page described Harris-Tavita's perseverance as the "toughest effort of 2022", with the Warriors confirming he's since had surgery.
There have been reports the injury could sideline Harris-Tavita for up to a month, however the playmaker was named in the Warriors' starting side for Saturday's match against Canberra earlier this week.
Warriors hoping to turn things around against Raiders
Facing a quick turnaround for the Raiders clash on Saturday, Brown has made a number of personnel changes, some injury or suspension enforced, in an effort to find the form that resulted in three wins in a row earlier this season.
“We can’t ignore what happened and some individuals certainly need to be addressed with what happened, and the group need to understand that second half was not where anyone wants to be as a sporting club or a business,” he said.
“There was obviously some younger players that had some really, really difficult days. You just want them to learn from it.
“Obviously it’s a bad experience but you want them to actually get some good out of it, and some good out of it is there’s obviously things I got wrong understanding what that impact is, I suppose not only on them but on the team.”
One player to pay the price is Edward Kosi, the 23-year-old omitted after a woeful showing on Monday when he was targeted by the Storm's playmakers with their kicks.
"I'd be lying if I said he wasn't disappointed, knocked around a little bit," Brown said of the winger.
"But this is a part of I suppose Ed's journey of being an NRL player.
"Not too many of us play NRL and don't have some sort of performances where we get a kick up the backside of the coaches."
Dallin Watene-Zelezniak will miss Saturday's clash with the Raiders after collecting the knee of Nelson Asofa-Solomona and being concussed.
Curran (knee) and Aaron Pene (suspension) will also make way as Rocco Berry and Viliami Vailea start on the wings and Bayley Sironen moves into the starting side.
Jack Murchie and Eliesa Katoa make the bench, although Harris-Tavita's place is surely under a cloud in light of his gruesome injury.
with AAP
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