Dylan Napa was left shattered in the sheds after the tackle that flattened his good friend Andrew McCullough and earned him a three-match suspension on the eve of the finals.
And should the Roosters push deep into September as expected, Napa would not be under-done or a physical liability once he returns, said his high-profile teammates.
High contact: Dylan Napa after being sent to the sin bin.
‘‘He’s an aerobic beast, and this will be a good chance for him to work in the gym and on his strength,’’ Roosters co-captain Boyd Cordner said last night, as the Bondi club officially launched their womens team.
‘‘He’s pretty fit for a big lad and he pushes out some big minutes for us. He’ll train hard and use it as motivation to put himself in the best physical condition if we do go deep into the finals and he’s able to play again.
‘‘He’s accepted his suspension. It was pretty hard to see him like that after the game. When you look back at some of his tapes and highlights, you’ll see most of his tackles are with the same technique. But it’s a fine line, and the couple of ones that have been really bad, that’s enough to stop, have a look and address what he has to do to make sure he’s playing footy for the Roosters, and players’ safety is in check.’’
Cooper Cronk, whose relationship with Napa and McCullough extends to the Queensland Origin set-up, said of the Roosters flame-haired frontrower: ‘‘He’s affected by it, he’s affected by the fact he’s hurt a friend and a close mate he played Origin football with this year.
‘‘I’ve never made a big dominant tackle in my life, so I wouldn’t know what’s right or wrong with technique. We’ve got a defensive coach in Craig Fitzgibbon who works tirelessly on technique and effectiveness. There’s no doubt Dylan was shaken by it. I imagine Dylan was a shoulder-charge type of guy, and he’s had to adjust to that.
‘‘He’s a guy who tackles and moves forward. He puts his studs in and moves forward. Maybe he needs to change things a little bit. Dylan Napa plays the way he plays because of his aggressive nature. Obviously he’s just got to tone it down in terms of technique.’’
Napa landed in hot water for his tackle where he appeared to lead with his head on McCullough. The Broncos hooker played no further part in last Saturday night’s game, won by Brisbane 22-8, and was yesterday left out of the Broncos side to face Manly in the round-25 clash at Suncorp on Sunday having failed to sufficiently recover.
‘Weaponhead’: Dylan Napa’s damaging hit on Andrew McCullough on Saturday night.
Napa spent ten minutes in the sin bin while the three-match suspension split plenty of fans.
Such is the depth at the Roosters, however, international prop Jared Waerea-Hargreaves will slot straight in for Napa after overcoming a rib injury.
Waerea-Hargreaves will be keen to lead the way against Parramatta on Saturday night. Napa broke down with a knee injury in round 16, played four games before his suspension, and could head into the decider with just 131 minutes of first-grade rugby league under his belt for the grand final.
Cordner said of Waerea-Hargreaves returning for the first time since he was injured against Souths: ‘‘He’s been in some really good form for us. It’s a shame we’ve lost him the last couple of weeks, but we get him back for Dylan who we also lost to a medial ligament midway through the season, so we’ve proven we’ve got the depth in the front row and shouldn’t miss a beat.’’
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