Three injuries in three nights. It was a tough weekend for the NSW Blues coach
It was a nightmare weekend for NSW Origin coach Laurie Daley, who watched Blues’ contenders Tom Trbojevic, Mitch Kenny and Payne Haas each suffer serious injuries within 48 hours.
Daley, who will be in Melbourne on Monday to help launch this year’s interstate series, joked he might have to dust the boots off if the casualty ward continued to grow.
Trbojevic is facing up to six weeks on the sidelines with a hamstring strain after hobbling from the ground in the first half on Thursday night.
Panthers No.9 Kenny suffered a leg fracture against the Dolphins on Friday in Darwin, and should scans on Monday confirm the ligament damage to his ankle, Penrith medicos expect him to be out for up to three months.
Also on Sunday, Broncos officials confirmed Haas was facing up to six weeks out after injuring his left knee in the gritty win over the Wests Tigers. He was due to undergo scans on Sunday, but the early prognosis was a grade two to grade three MCL injury.
Kotoni Staggs, another NSW contender, has been playing with plantar fasciitis the past few weeks, and is being monitored on a week-to-week basis.
While Haas and Trbojevic were always going to be leading contenders for NSW jerseys, Daley on Sunday said triple premiership winner Kenny had also been part of his plans for 2026.
“It’s really unfortunate news for Mitch because I’ve always been a massive fan, and his playing style looks like he would be suited to Origin football,” Daley said.
“He’s tough, he leads the line speed, he’s aggressive and gives good service. He’s a player who looks like others love to play with.
“Seeing Tommy [get injured] on Thursday night was absolutely shattering, and he was close to being selected. We would have had him in the squad somewhere.
“He looked like he had his confidence back, and what I was liking about Tommy and what he was doing was he was accelerating into and through the line, and really pushing through tackles. He looked like he was back to his best getting into first receiver, taking the tough carries when Manly needed him to … he was doing everything you would expect from someone of that class.”
When Haas came from the field, Daley said he found himself pulling out a piece of paper and jotting down the list of players a chance to be unavailable.
Even if Haas makes a rapid recovery, Daley and his selectors would need to decide if he was worth picking and playing first-up against Queensland without playing for five weeks.
A two-week suspension for Hudson Young also means he will have just one match before taking on the Maroons due to Canberra having a bye.
Liam Martin is out for up to six weeks with a knee injury, Newcastle’s Bradman Best is struggling with a groin injury but is slated to return in the next fortnight. The same timeframe applies to Canterbury captain Stephen Crichton and his shoulder complaint. Crichton’s Dogs’ teammate Max King has a broken jaw and is also uncertain to be fit.
The goods news for Daley is the form of Nathan Cleary and Latrell Mitchell, who bagged four tries against the Dragons on Saturday – along with lock and captain Isaah Yeo, and Cameron Murray, who gives Daley the option of playing in the middle or an edge, where he started for Souths on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Daley would not buy into Moses Leota’s availability, and whether NSW should seek dispensation to play him, especially considering he arrived in western Sydney only four months after his 13th birthday, which is the Origin cutoff.
“He’s not available right now,” was all Daley would say.
Billie Eder is a sports reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.