SHE’S been no stranger to injury in recent years but Dragons skipper Sam Bremner said breaking a toe on the steps at home, just a week out from the NRLW season, was a new kind of frustration.
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It wasn’t enough to keep the Jillaroos star out of the Dragons round-one clash with Brisbane, but it forced her to watch her side’s impressive win over the Warriors last week from the stands in a moon boot.
The timing could hardly be worse but, having dealt with much tougher setbacks in recent seasons, Bremner remains positive she can still feature in the Dragons grand final run.
“I just slipped down the steps in my socks and broke my toe, that’s just me I have the most unusual and ridiculous injuries,” Bremner joked.
“I played on it and it just got really inflamed after that game and has taken a while to settle down. You can still play with a broken toe but it’s my big toe and it makes it hard to push off it and sprint.
“At halftime it was killing me but I still wanted to make the most of the opportunity. I got through it, it was just once I finished it blew up.
“I thought my bad run of injuries was gone but it has been a lot easier because I’ve got a game under my belt.
“I’ve had much worse injuries and I saw the specialist [on Tuesday] and, as long as I keep the boot on, it’ll heal no problem. It’s just an unfortunate one.”
Coach Daniel Lacey has named her at fullback for Saturday’s final-round showdown with the Roosters who are still chasing their first win. With a possible grand final berth on the line, he’s likely to give his star No. 1 every chance to make it onto Allianz Stadium.
“We’re just going to see how I go at training for the rest of the week, get to Friday and just go from there,” Bremner said.
“It’s hard to tell just yet, it’s just going to be up to how I’m running and how well I’m running.
“It would be stupid for me to play on it as much as I can now because, when it comes to the crunch and the big games, I’d be totally ruined for it.
“That’s what we’ve got to toss up. I could play this weekend and then be out for the grand final if we get there. We’re trying to be smart with it and manage my training.
“It’s still going to be broken this week, it’s still going to be broken next week, it’s just whether I can bear the pain and run as well as I can.
“I haven’t been completely ruled out of playing, we’ve just got to see how it pulls up. It’s more positive news than I’ve had in the past so I’m OK with it.”
While he’d much rather have Bremner on deck, Lacey had the luxury of shifting Kiwi Ferns star Honey Hireme to fullback last week, with the Test veteran one of the Dragons best in a 22-10 win over the Warriors.
NSW utility Hannah Southwell also laid on a try for Hireme filling in at left centre, with Bremner saying the the performance takes the pressure out of the ultimate call over her fitness.
“It takes so much pressure off you when you have so much faith and trust in your teammates,” Bremner said.
“They did such an unreal job last week which is why I don’t feel any pressure on my shoulders this week. It really helps with the decision we make.
“I’ve got a lot of faith in their ability. I don’t know if they even need me so I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing but I know they’ll do a great job.”