Concern for Andrew Fifita was palpable in the Cronulla camp this week but rather than brush it off, coach Josh Hannay gave the players space to process fears for their teammate. On Monday the Sharks were rocked when Fifita was placed in an induced coma in a Brisbane hospital with his airways closing following a hit to the throat during their NRL loss to Newcastle. The life-threatening situation unfolded rapidly after Sunday night's game and ended with the 2016 premiership hero having surgery for a fractured larynx on Tuesday afternoon. The shock waves rippled through Sharks camp this week but with a must-win game against Wests Tigers on Saturday the last thing Hannay wanted to do was rush players to move on. "Those couple of days were taxing but we had our final session (on Friday) morning and the players have trained really well the last couple of days," he said of the 10th-placed Sharks. "They have been able to compartmentalise Andrew's situation and the need to be really focused for the game this weekend "Looking at training and looking around the hotel they seem in really good spirits and there's no doubt there'll probably be a part of everyone that wants to get out there and do it a little bit for Andrew."
No comments:
Post a Comment