Cronulla's Kade Snowden Could Make Surprise Comeback
Cronulla's Kade Snowden Could Make Surprise Comeback
BY TIM BARROW
14 Jul, 2011 04:00 AM
Cronulla coach Shane Flanagan has revealed representative prop Kade Snowden could be rushed in to combat St George Illawarra's heavy artillery in Monday night's acid test at Kogarah.
Snowden has struggled with neck and back problems since being dropped from the NSW squad after State of Origin I in May.
The 24-year-old, who will join Wayne Bennett at Newcastle next year, was not named to take on the premiers, but Flanagan said he was prepared to give Snowden every opportunity to play.
"Snowden is a chance," he said.
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"We'll see how he trains and does some other stuff over the last couple of days [before the game].
"If he's not right on Monday, he'll definitely play next week against Newcastle.
"There's definitely improvement, he's up and moving freely.
"He hasn't done any conditioning or strength work for two weeks and playing in the front row without doing anything for a while is a bit of a concern."
Snowden has played three games since Origin I, including a stunning 221m, 65-minute effort against Canterbury, but has been sidelined for the past three rounds as his neck injury developed into a lower back problem.
While Flanagan said he would not risk further injury to Snowden, the Sharks are desperate to prove themselves against a near full-strength Dragons line-up boosted by the return of Origin stars.
On the back of four straight wins, Cronulla have surged to 10th on the NRL ladder, only outside the finals positions on for-and-against.
If Snowden returns, it will put him, Luke Douglas and Paul Gallen head-to-head with the imposing Dragons front-row trio of Michael Weyman, Dan Hunt and Trent Merrin.
Gallen was rested this week after his Origin heroics in a beaten NSW cause, but Flanagan confirmed the captain would play on Monday.
The Dragons will be without skipper Ben Hornby, who will miss three weeks with a broken hand.
Flanagan declared Cronulla could set up their season by toppling their bitter rivals at WIN Jubilee Oval.
"It will be a good test for us," he said.
"We've put ourselves in a situation where we need to win the majority of our games, but not all of them.
"It's a good place to be, but then I'd rather [be] where the [third-placed] Dragons are.
"If we can get away with this one, we'll be in a good position."
Source:http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/...d-make-surprise-comeback/2225994.aspx?src=rss