Blake Ferguson suffered a broken nose and suspected broken ribs in the same game. Photo / Instagram
Blake Ferguson suffered a broken nose and suspected broken ribs in the same game. Photo / Instagram
WARNING: Graphic
Blake Ferguson won't be looking into too many mirrors for a while — unless he wants to give himself a good fright.
The Parramatta winger was in the wars during Sunday night's 19-0 loss to Canberra, suffering suspected broken ribs that may keep him out for up to six weeks but it was a far more graphic injury that had fans feeling squeamish.
The Eels star had his face rearranged in a brutal head clash with Raiders second-rower John Bateman as blood poured from his nose. Ferguson would be the first to admit his nose wasn't exactly the prettiest one in rugby league before the weekend's game but things became even worse after his collision with Canberra's English import.
The devastating contact saw trainers stuff material up Ferguson's nose to stop the bleeding but when that didn't work he had tape strapped across his face and underneath his schnoz.
It wasn't an attractive look and Ferguson's future modelling hopes copped an ugly reality check when this image of the former Origin flanker was posted to Twitter by Brien Seeney, aka NRL Physio.
It's not for the faint-hearted.
To go with his head clash, Ferguson copped an early blow in the ribs and played on after he was injected with painkillers but took himself out of the game after 45 minutes.
Eels coach Brad Arthur was less than optimistic his star winger would be fit for their Easter Monday clash against the Wests Tigers next week.
"He got a whack in the ribs early in the game and tried to play on for us and got a needle but couldn't do his job properly so we had to make a change," Arthur said.
"He'll need to get X-rays tomorrow but, yeah, he said it's pretty sore. We'll wait and see if he's in or out next week then we'll worry about it."
Blake Ferguson faces a lengthy stint on the sidelines. Photo / Getty
Ferguson has starred for the Eels this season and averaged more than 200 running metres per game since signing from premiers the Sydney Roosters.
But even with Ferguson on the field Parramatta was comprehensively out played in the nation's capital as Canberra equalled its best start to an NRL season in 14 years.
The Raiders improved their record to 4-1 and remain third on the ladder after overcoming a frustrating start and keeping a team scoreless at home for the first time since 2013. Canberra coach Ricky Stuart said the focus this season would be on defence and the club has leaked its fewest points (44) after five rounds since 1990.
"We've got to be consistent. Good footy teams in this competition are consistent," Stuart said.
"You don't see too many perfect performances but that was something we can keep building on and I'll take that effort every week."
Parramatta hadn't won in Canberra since 2006 and was its own worst enemy in the first half, completing just eight sets, missing 27 tackles and making nine errors.
Arthur said he was proud of his side's goal-line defence but conceded his troops put themselves under too much pressure.
"I think we made somewhere around 200 tackles in the first half," Arthur said. "We put pressure on ourselves and contributed to the loss through ill-discipline with the ball but they tried extremely hard in defence.
"They controlled the game really well and built pressure and we didn't build any pressure at all."
The Raiders had all the possession and territory in the opening 40 minutes but only scored one try through Josh Papalii, while Jarrod Croker added a penalty for an 8-0 lead at the break.
The home side clicked into gear in the second half with English internationals Josh Hodgson and Elliott Whitehead combining, the latter scoring from a grubber on 49 minutes.
Raiders fullback turned five-eighth Jack Wighton then flew high to collect a Sam Williams bomb to bag their third try in the 61st minute.
Williams sealed the result with a field goal four minutes from time and will likely keep Aidan Sezer out of the starting side for another week. The Raiders host Brisbane next Sunday and Stuart is expecting a fired-up Broncos outfit after their 1-4 start to the season.
"They've been bashed around personally and as a club and they're a real strong club who will bounce back and unfortunately it's going to be against us," Stuart said.
