As the horror pictures emerged of Elliott Whitehead's shocking facial injuries, so too did the tales of the Canberra Raiders co-captain's selflessness.
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The Canberra Times revealed not only had the Englishman needed plastic surgery on his badly cut lip and damaged teeth, but he'd stopped on his way home from the hospital to come to the aid of an injured cyclist on the side of the road as well.
But Raiders teammate Jack Wighton revealed Whitehead had also been more concerned about the well-being of his fellow forward Ata Mariota - with whom he'd clashed heads in a nasty training accident on Tuesday.
Whitehead was unlikely to play against the Penrith Panthers at Penrith on Sunday, with Hudson Young set to slot straight into the second row after overcoming a toe injury.
That being said, Whitehead was still desperate to play - he's missed just five NRL games in his seven seasons in lime green and forged a career as one of the hardmen of rugby league.
Wighton said they'd prepare for every eventuality with their courageous skipper.
"We've got to prepare for both. 'Smelly's' a very tough character and he'll do everything he can to play," he said.
"It was a pretty crazy cut that he got on his lip and teeth. He's a tough bugger.
"The first thing he did was jump up and check on the guy he had a head clash with. We'll see how we go."
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Raiders halfback Brad Schneider said it all happened so quickly.
"It was a pretty scary thing. It happened pretty quickly, the head clash," he said.
"It didn't look too good, but he's alright now.
"There was a fair bit of blood straight away. You know with head clashes you're always thinking the worst.
"They're never good and when there's a fair bit of blood it's never good at all."
NRL ROUND SEVEN
Sunday: Penrith Panthers v Canberra Raiders at Panthers Stadium, 4pm.
Raiders squad: 1. Jordan Rapana, 2. Nick Cotric, 3. Matt Timoko, 4. Semi Valemei, 5. Xavier Savage, 6. Jack Wighton, 7. Brad Schneider, 8. Josh Papalii, 9. Tom Starling, 10. Joe Tapine, 11. Corey Harawira-Naera, 12. Elliott Whitehead (c), 13. Ryan Sutton. Interchange: 14. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 15. Harry Rushton, 16. Adam Elliott, 17. Corey Horsburgh. Reserves: 18. Hudson Young, 19. Matt Frawley, 20. Jarrod Croker, 21. Emre Guler, 22. Trey Mooney, 23. James Schiller, 24. Peter Hola.
Panthers squad: 1. Dylan Edwards, 2. Charlie Staines, 3. Izack Tago, 4. Stephen Crichton, 5. Taylan May, 6. Jarome Luai, 7. Nathan Cleary, 8. Matt Eisenhuth, 9. Apisai Koroisau, 10. James Fisher-Harris, 11. Viliame Kikau, 12. Liam Martin, 13. Isaah Yeo. Interchange: 14. Mitch Kenny, 15. Scott Sorensen, 16. Spencer Leniu, 17. Jaeman Salmon. Reserves: 18. Robert Jennings, 19. Chris Smith, 20. J'maine Hopgood, 21. Lindsay Smith, 22. Soni Luke, 23. Christian Crichton, 24. Sean O'Sullivan.
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