Manly fullback Tom Trbojevic has been cleared of a fractured cheekbone, and is keen to play against the Raiders on Friday night.
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Sea Eagles fans feared the worst when their star man clashed heads with teammate Jason Saab in Manly's huge win over Parramatta, but Trbojevic trained on Monday after scans showed no serious facial damage.
Whether coach Des Hasler plays him against the Raiders or gives him a week off in the lead up to finals remains to be seen. It's a decision which could have a major bearing on ninth-placed Canberra's finals charge with the club needing to win this weekend, or risk losing control of their playoff destiny.
Canberra beat Manly in a major boilover last month when Trbojevic was away on State of Origin duty, in a win that helped drag the Raiders out of their mid-season form slump.
But they'll face a tougher assignment at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night, irrespective of Trbojevic's availability, with Manly still pushing hard to overhaul the Sydney Roosters into fourth spot.
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"Tommy's been playing outstanding footy and he's a freak of a player, you don't want to see anyone injured but if he's not there, I daresay it makes the job a little bit easier for us," Raiders winger Bailey Simonsson said.
"They're a great team. We haven't really thought too much about them.
"We've had the Storm [last round] and then I think we've got Manly, Roosters and Warriors to finish the year so three tough games there to finish the year and hopefully sneak into the top eight.
"Every game's a must win for us now. We really want to be winning all three games, put ourselves in a position where we're not relying on other results to sneak into the eight there."
Simonsson made a strong return from a toe injury last Thursday in a 10-point loss to runaway leaders Melbourne, scoring three tries.
It was his first match since the Raiders' heavy home loss to Gold Coast in round 16.
"It [the toe] has been a bit of a niggly injury to be honest," Simonsson said.
"When I first did it I didn't think much of it and then six weeks later I was still just coming back.
"Basically there was a tear in a couple of places underneath my big toe.
"I've never actually had a toe injury before so it was quite a confusing one to get my head around and the whole rehab process was a lot different to a stock-standard injury.
"It probably took a bit longer than I would've hoped but that's all part of it. I got through the game pretty well so fingers crossed it all stays injury free."
James Buckley
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
