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Fears 18-year-old prodigy Petaia could have sustained dreaded 'Lisfranc fracture'

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Queensland will cross their fingers for good news as Jordan Petaia awaits scan results following his short-lived return to Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night.

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The emerging centre sent tongues wagging with his powerful display in New Zealand against the Highlanders last weekend but was felled on his first run in the Reds’ 22-12 loss to the Crusaders in Brisbane.

The 18-year-old’s lower leg was awkwardly squashed in a tackle, forcing him to limp off as the Reds battled hard to stay in touch with the back-to-back defending champions.

Coach Brad Thorn wasn’t sure of the extent of the injury, labelling it “possibly an ankle” despite it being labelled a foot sprain during the game.

If diagnosed as a Lisfranc fracture it would all but rule the Wallabies contender out of Japan’s World Cup in September.

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“We’ll find out when they get that checked up,” Thorn said. “He looked a bit ginger though; it wasn’t great losing him early.

“He’s a great young talent, a disappointing night for him.”

The Reds battled on without their young livewire, pushing the Crusaders in what was a record-extending 18th consecutive Super Rugby victory.

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Fullback Bryce Hegarty, who played on despite popping a rib, was used often as first receiver to relieve the pressure on five-eighth Hamish Stewart.

Too often they gifted the Crusaders pressure-free possession though, Thorn admitting their kicking game remained a work in progress.

Crusaders coach Scott Robertson praised the Reds’ toughness, saying there was a “new feel” about them.

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“We’ll all probably answer that question better (how much have they improved) in about six weeks once they’ve got a few more games under their belts,” he said.

“They’ve got a tough start, got quite a tough draw.

“But some good signs, good energy and they worked hard.”

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Nickers 37 minutes ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

I thought we made a lot of progress against that type of defence by the WC last year. Lots of direct running and punching holes rather than using width. Against that type of defence I think you have to be looking to kick on first phase when you have front foot ball which we did relatively successfully. We are playing a lot of rugby behind the gain line at the moment. They are looking for those little interchanges for soft shoulders and fast ball or off loads but it regularly turns into them battering away with slow ball and going backwards, then putting in a very rushed kick under huge pressure.


JB brought that dimension when he first moved into 12 a couple of years ago but he's definitely not been at his best this year. I don't know if it is because he is being asked to play a narrow role, or carrying a niggle or two, but he does not look confident to me. He had that clean break on the weekend and stood there like he was a prop who found himself in open space and didn't know what to do with the ball. He is still a good first phase ball carrier though, they use him a lot off the line out to set up fast clean ball, but I don't think anyone is particularly clear on what they are supposed to do at that point. He was used really successfully as a second playmaker last year but I don't think he's been at that role once this year. He is a triple threat player but playing a very 1 dimensional role at the moment. He and Reiko have been absolutely rock solid on defence which is why I don't think there will be too much experimentation or changes there.

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