Heilum Luki suffers suspected ACL injury as Cowboys see off Dragons
North Queensland Cowboys fear Heilum Luki could be out for the rest of the 2022 NRL campaign after suffering a suspected ACL in Friday night’s win over the Dragons in Townsville.
The Cowboys continued their impressive campaign with a 31-12 win over the Dragons. However it came at a cost with Luki picking up the injury in the 15th minute of the game.
The 21-year-old was struggling after making a tackle and appears to have damaged his ACL. Speaking after the game coach Todd Payten could not confirm how serious the injury is.
Heilum Luki set for scans
However scans will be needed on his right knee and Payten was fearing the worst.
“He is definitely going for scans, but it does not look great,” Payten said. “Fingers crossed for him but we will know more in the next 24-48 hours.”
There was some better news on the injury front for the Cowboys. Jeremiah Nanai has played down his ankle injury and hopes to be back soon.
Nanai picked up the injury playing for Queensland in State of Origin on Wednesday. It forced him to sit out the win over the Dragons but he is hoping for good news. The 19-year-old was speaking to Channel 9’s Johnathan Thurston during the half-time break.
“Fingers cross I will find out on Tuesday if I can play next week,” he said. “It is just a minor injury.”
Meanwhile the Cowboys remain in third spot on the NRL ladder after picking up their 10th win from 14 games so far this season.
The win was again built on a solid defence. In the last 14 games the Cowboys have conceded a total on 46 points in the second half. A remarkable record that would have been even better had they not let the Dragons in for a late try.
Cowboys march on
Even so Payten saluted the team spirit in his side and was delighted with the way they competed.
“That was the difference tonight, I thought we out-competed them,” Payten told reporters after the game. “I thought for the most part we looked pretty comfortable. I thought we knew what was coming and everyone just did their job.
“We held another team to 12 points or less. That is not a bad stat to have and just shows how hard we are working for each other.”
The Cowboys are back in action when they travel to take on Manly on Friday. Before then they will be keeping their fingers crossed for Luki.
