Rib injury drives Picker spareUnder-rated Canberra back-rower Joe Picker is in doubt for the Raiders' NRL season-opener because of suspected rib damage.
The 22-year-old will undergo scans early this week to determine the extent of the injury he suffered in Saturday night's 30-18 trial loss against the Canterbury Bulldogs in Tamworth.
Picker copped a hard whack to his chest making a tackle just after the kick-off following the Bulldogs' third try in the first half. He played on for another five minutes before leaving the game.
Having established himself in the Raiders starting side, Picker is desperate to take his place for round one against the Cronulla Sharks at Canberra Stadium on March 13.
''I'm going to do everything I can to play that first game,'' Picker said.
''Now that I've got that No11 jersey, I want to keep it. Once you get a hold of it you don't want to let it go.
''There's a lot of depth in the back row that I don't want to fall behind and give someone else a chance.
''I probably wish this had happened a couple [of] weeks ago, but that's footy.''
Picker is often overlooked in the Raiders' star-studded forward pack. But he proved last year that he more than holds his own down the left-edge, forming a strong defensive partnership with five-eight Terry Campese.
Picker made 20 first-grade appearances for the Raiders in 2010, the majority in the run-on side.
The rib injury is a recurrence of a problem Picker had last year. He missed two games then, but played the final seven weeks of the season with the help of painkillers.
Picker said from first impressions he believed the injury was ''a bit worse than last year''.
NRL ROUND ONE
Canberra Raiders v Cronulla Sharks at Canberra Stadium on Sunday, March 13.
Kick-off at 2pm.
For details on injuries of other players in the Raiders squad, see the print edition of today's Canberra Times.
Source: The Canberra Times
Topic: Rib injury drives Picker spare
