NRL: Key prop back from serious injury

Sam Rapira hobbled off Mt Smart Stadium during the match against the South Sydney Rabbitohs in round 11. Photo / Getty Images

Sam Rapira thought his season was over when he hobbled off Mt Smart Stadium during a match against the Rabbitohs in round 11.

An initial inspection of his knee indicated the most likely injury was an ACL rupture - the season-ending injury that afflicts so many league players.

Wade McKinnon, Brent Tate (twice), Isaac John and Elija Taylor have all been struck by the ACL curse in recent seasons. Rapira was sure his name was to be the next on that list.

"Doc [club doctor John Mayhew] was telling me it was ACL, so I thought that was it for me," he said.

A scan the next day, however, told a different story. Rapira had dislocated his kneecap, which had then popped back into place.

The damage caused produced symptoms similar to an ACL tear, but the prognosis was much more positive.

Even so, Rapira wasn't sure when he'd play again. The answer proved to be later rather than sooner, with the key prop sitting out 10 weeks as the injury healed frustratingly slowly.

With Steve Price already out of the reckoning, the loss of Rapira could easily have been a dagger blow for the Warriors. But the team shrugged off the loss of both senior props, with Russell Packer, Jesse Royal and Jeremy Latimore forming an effective if unspectacular front row rotation. In fact, the side went so well that Rapira was a bundle of nerves when he finally did return against the Sharks last week.

"I felt a bit weird," Rapira said. "It is hard for anyone to take a spot in a team that is going so well. The last couple of months the boys have been outstanding. But in saying that it has made my job a lot easier coming back.

"The biggest thing was not letting the boys down. That time out, you don't know if you are going to play as well. You were playing well before but you don't know if you are going to meet that standard again."

Rapira was steady in his comeback outing, carving off 86m from 10 runs and making 14 tackles in 42 minutes of action.

Those numbers were well down on his pre-injury stats, but they were impressive enough for a player finding his way back.

"He is going to take some time to get back to full fitness and he has to get some more strength back in his leg yet," coach Ivan Cleary said. "He is certainly a long way from being 100 per cent but he still held his own. He'll get a lot of confidence out of [playing]. It was a pretty big injury.

"He has got through that initial anxiety so he will only get better."

Rapira was happy enough with his comeback.

"I'm just glad I pulled up with no injuries, that was the biggest thing for me," he said. "I'm feeling a lot more confident so hopefully [on Sunday] I just get better."

Rapira looms as a key figure in the Warriors' play-off push. Latimore and Royal performed admirably as stand-ins, but neither possesses Rapira's ability to bend the line or his defensive workrate.

"He is a key guy," Cleary said. " It is certainly a lift [having him back]. And just to know that he is going to continue to get better is a good feeling as well."