Jason Taumalolo 'out for six weeks' in horror Cowboys setback

The Cowboys season has gone from bad to worse with star forward Jason Taumalolo expected to miss up to six weeks after an injury on his knee worsened. The Cowboys sit 16th on the NRL ladder and will now need to find the form that saw them reach last year's NRL preliminary final without their star forward.

Taumalolo has been carrying a cartilage issue over the last month. And the Cowboys released a statement confirming the 29-year-old will go under the knife later this week.

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NRL Physio Brien Seeney said Taumalolo will miss between four to six weeks with surgery often requiring keyhole removal of damaged portions of the meniscus. Cowboys fans were left stunned at the news.

North Queensland have just two wins from their opening seven games and were already down on forwards with Luciano Leilua, James Tamou and Griffin Neame all sidelined. Taumalolo will now join the injured on the sideline ahead of the match against the Knights this weekend.

Fans were left devastated at the setback for one of the game's most exciting forwards.

Elsewhere, South Sydney will be without Keaon Koloamatangi for six to eight weeks after he picked up an ankle injury in their win over the Dolphins. Souths say that Koloamatangi's stint on the sidelines could be extended if he has to undergo surgery.

It is a blow for the back-rower, who's been talked up as a contender to play in the NSW pack for the State of Origin opener against Queensland in Adelaide on May 31.

Cameron Murray calls for Rabbitohs to fix attitude

Koloamatangi's injury comes as the Rabbitohs play the Panthers this week. The Rabbitohs have conceded first in their last two matches, before going on second-half blitzes to runaway from their rivals.

Cameron Murray, however, knows that the back-to-back premiers won't let them off the hook if they start in sluggish fashion at Accor Stadium on Thursday. "You can probably come up with a handful of excuses but for us it's an attitude thing," Murray said.

"It's about turning up on the day with a really good intensity and valuing the things that we need to, to make sure that we start on the right foot. They're playing the same style of footy, they front load their energy in the first 20 minutes."

Penrith have won 10 of their last 11 games against the Bunnies. They beat Souths in round two earlier this year when comments from Latrell Mitchell, who said the Panthers "had cracks in the windscreen", inspired Penrith to a 16-10 victory.

Since that win, in which the Rabbitohs took over an hour to score, Penrith have begun to show signs that they are back to their best. "They've called O'Brien's and fixed those (cracks)," Souths hooker Damien Cook said.

"They're going well and they have started hitting good form again. In the last couple weeks, when they've been in some close games, they have found a way to win. That's what the good sides do and that's why they've been the premiers over the last couple of years."

with AAP

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