The spectacle of the burly prop hobbling from training and the words: “Croz has torn a hamstring!” sent a chill down the spines of Forster Tuncurry’s rugby union players at Peter Barclay Field.
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Only a month from season’s kick-off (April 1) in the Lower Mid North Coast rugby premiership, not just any old leg, but the hamstring muscle of the right leg of the Dolphins’ prolific, 1000-point marksman, Lee Crozier - his kicking leg.
Record point-scorer of Lower MNC rugby, the 34-year- old prop will certainly miss the frenetic action of this Saturday’s (March 4) Crescent Head seven-a-side tournament in order to give himself time for recovery, most improbably, for the Old Bar Clams’ Gala Day on March 18.
Engaging in sprint training after almost an hour of warm-up work, Crozier stopped as if hit by a Hornet rifle slug last week, limping off for treatment from the club’s long-time ambulance officer, Adrian Johnson.
“I’m having physiotherapy, but I can’t rush back or I’ll just make it worse,” Crozier observed.
The Dolphins are fortunate that skipper and five-eighth, Matthew Nuku, is an accomplished kicker, but there is only one Crozier, now holder of a 1088-point record in his decade of rugby with the club, a crucial member of the team in its six premierships since 2008.
Crozier has double-barrelled value.
He is also the team’s major thrower into the line-out to lock Jack Woods and backrower “Buka” Naqito.
In Crozier’s absence, the MNC Axemen’s representative prop, Ben Manning, will have additional responsibility at the line-out.
Though it is premature to write off some players as lost to the game, there have been dismaying absentees from the rigorous training sessions of new coach Ron Rae and his forward colleague, the former splendid Warringah (Sydney) club prop, Paul Drake.
Fortunately, there have been reasonable forward numbers enabling Drake to organise hard labour on the scrummaging machine, among whom is a likely new hand, an experienced utility forward from Coffs Harbour in Pat Randall, as well as 18-year-old locks, Tim Daczko and Shaun Jackson.
Coach Rae will take a 15-man squad to Crescent Head for the one-day, seven-a-side tournament in which the Dolphins performed well last year, beaten only by the ultimate champions, Warringah, and winning the plate and $1000 in prize money.
This season, Matt Nuku will again have his inside back partners, Liam Brady and Mark Hagarty, as well as MNC representative wingers, Jesse Logan and Jack Nicholson, utility backs, Mark Colless and Jonathan Paff, and mobile forwards, Naqito, Jack Woods, Troy Haines, James Clarke and Randall, as the nucleus of a strong team.