‘Being a sook’: Panthers duo shrug off injury worries ahead of Broncos showdown

2 hours ago 2

Penrith’s Liam Martin and Casey McLean insist they will be fit to play in Sunday’s grand final qualifier against Brisbane after being forced from the field in the Panthers semi-final thumping of Canterbury.

Martin was in obvious discomfort after he was tackled by former teammate Viliame Kikau, with the NSW and Kangaroos star staying down and struggling to breathe late in the contest.

The 28-year-old came from the field and struggled to make his way up the Accor Stadium tunnel at one point, but he was in good spirits soon afterwards and said he was not concerned about any recurrence of a rib cartilage injury he carried through last year’s finals.

“They’re all right now,” Martin said of his ribs after full-time.

“There was a bit of carry-on there. It’s a bit sore at the moment, but they’re all right.

“I landed on the ball, and ‘Kiks’ is a pretty big man, and he landed on me. I was a bit winded, but I’m all right now.

Liam Martin is helped from the field at Accor Stadium.

“It crossed my mind at first [that a serious injury may have occurred], but after a while I was like ‘it’s all right, I’m being a sook again’.”

Martin won last year’s Clive Churchill medal against Melbourne despite playing through the pain of a popped rib cartilage in the 2024 grand final.

He also required painkilling injections for almost the entire season to manage an ongoing AC joint injury in his shoulder, which he has battled again in recent weeks.

McLean, meanwhile, also dismissed concerns over separate hip-pointer and shoulder complaints that saw him come off after 65 minutes against the Bulldogs.

The teen centre was untroubled in Penrith’s dressing rooms afterwards, though and doesn’t expect to miss any training or be in doubt for Sunday’s clash with Brisbane.

Utility Brad Schneider was also placed on report for a cannonball tackle on Canterbury’s Sitili Tupouniua, with the match review committee to review the tackle on Monday morning.

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