Penrith 2021 vibes as Blues brave litany of injuries
Payne Haas on Wednesday revealed he had a bulging disc in his lower back, which required him to be needled in Brisbane on Monday before flying to Sydney.
Brian To'o is battling a grade-two ligament tear in his knee and won't run until at least Saturday, while Hudson Young (groin) was the third player to sit out NSW's opening training session in the Blue Mountains on Wednesday.
Jarome Luai also avoided any contact due to the chest wound that caused his infection and three-night hospital stay last weekend, while halves partner Nathan Cleary is managing a groin issue.
Penrith built a "climbing Everest" theme around the 2021 premiership win, with Dylan Edwards, To'o and Cleary among a nine-strong injured brigade to feature in that grand final.
So ugly did things get, a 16-year-old Jett Cleary and Cameron Ciraldo's son teenage boy Kai were filling numbers at training.
Close to half of that Penrith side are in NSW camp this week, and Martin said it had served as an inspiration since then that anything was possible with the group.
"That '21 run is probably the most incredible thing. We still talk about it and what we managed to do that year," Martin said.
"This is similar vibes, just the toughness of the group.
"Bizza (To'o) in particular. I've played a few games where he's finished the game and it's turned out he's done his syndesmosis, stuff like that.
"The toughness is incredible, they (all) continue to surprise you. I've got every faith that they'll be right for the game."
No one has typified that toughness more than Haas during this year's Origin series.
The Brisbane prop barely trained in the lead-up to Origin I due to a quad tear, before being man of the match in NSW series-opening win at Suncorp.
The bulging disc in his back has also proven a pain since the start of the season, despite being the Broncos' best forward almost every week this year.
"Every time I get the chance to play with him, I'm in awe of him, he's just a generational freak, just what he can do," Martin said.
"I absolutely love playing with him and can't wait to do it again.
"Game one, didn't train all week, was put on ice. And then he come out and seeing how he played is just incredible."
Haas himself was also adamant there is no risk of him missing next Wednesday night's decider at Accor Stadium, or that the bulging disc would in any way hold him back.
"I'm just resting up now, but I'll be doing some running tomorrow ... No chance (I'll be missing)," Haas said.
"I had a bit of swelling down my lower back, and then got a minor disc bulge.
"I had a needle on Monday ... It's all good."
Liam Martin says there are similar vibes in the NSW Origin camp to Penrith's heroic 2021 NRL premiership, with several players defying injuries to feature in the decider.
Payne Haas on Wednesday revealed he had a bulging disc in his lower back, which required him to be needled in Brisbane on Monday before flying to Sydney.
Brian To'o is battling a grade-two ligament tear in his knee and won't run until at least Saturday, while Hudson Young (groin) was the third player to sit out NSW's opening training session in the Blue Mountains on Wednesday.
Jarome Luai also avoided any contact due to the chest wound that caused his infection and three-night hospital stay last weekend, while halves partner Nathan Cleary is managing a groin issue.
Penrith built a "climbing Everest" theme around the 2021 premiership win, with Dylan Edwards, To'o and Cleary among a nine-strong injured brigade to feature in that grand final.
So ugly did things get, a 16-year-old Jett Cleary and Cameron Ciraldo's son teenage boy Kai were filling numbers at training.
Close to half of that Penrith side are in NSW camp this week, and Martin said it had served as an inspiration since then that anything was possible with the group.
"That '21 run is probably the most incredible thing. We still talk about it and what we managed to do that year," Martin said.
"This is similar vibes, just the toughness of the group.
"Bizza (To'o) in particular. I've played a few games where he's finished the game and it's turned out he's done his syndesmosis, stuff like that.
"The toughness is incredible, they (all) continue to surprise you. I've got every faith that they'll be right for the game."
No one has typified that toughness more than Haas during this year's Origin series.
The Brisbane prop barely trained in the lead-up to Origin I due to a quad tear, before being man of the match in NSW series-opening win at Suncorp.
The bulging disc in his back has also proven a pain since the start of the season, despite being the Broncos' best forward almost every week this year.
"Every time I get the chance to play with him, I'm in awe of him, he's just a generational freak, just what he can do," Martin said.
"I absolutely love playing with him and can't wait to do it again.
"Game one, didn't train all week, was put on ice. And then he come out and seeing how he played is just incredible."
Haas himself was also adamant there is no risk of him missing next Wednesday night's decider at Accor Stadium, or that the bulging disc would in any way hold him back.
"I'm just resting up now, but I'll be doing some running tomorrow ... No chance (I'll be missing)," Haas said.
"I had a bit of swelling down my lower back, and then got a minor disc bulge.
"I had a needle on Monday ... It's all good."
Liam Martin says there are similar vibes in the NSW Origin camp to Penrith's heroic 2021 NRL premiership, with several players defying injuries to feature in the decider.
Payne Haas on Wednesday revealed he had a bulging disc in his lower back, which required him to be needled in Brisbane on Monday before flying to Sydney.
Brian To'o is battling a grade-two ligament tear in his knee and won't run until at least Saturday, while Hudson Young (groin) was the third player to sit out NSW's opening training session in the Blue Mountains on Wednesday.
Jarome Luai also avoided any contact due to the chest wound that caused his infection and three-night hospital stay last weekend, while halves partner Nathan Cleary is managing a groin issue.
Penrith built a "climbing Everest" theme around the 2021 premiership win, with Dylan Edwards, To'o and Cleary among a nine-strong injured brigade to feature in that grand final.
So ugly did things get, a 16-year-old Jett Cleary and Cameron Ciraldo's son teenage boy Kai were filling numbers at training.
Close to half of that Penrith side are in NSW camp this week, and Martin said it had served as an inspiration since then that anything was possible with the group.
"That '21 run is probably the most incredible thing. We still talk about it and what we managed to do that year," Martin said.
"This is similar vibes, just the toughness of the group.
"Bizza (To'o) in particular. I've played a few games where he's finished the game and it's turned out he's done his syndesmosis, stuff like that.
"The toughness is incredible, they (all) continue to surprise you. I've got every faith that they'll be right for the game."
No one has typified that toughness more than Haas during this year's Origin series.
The Brisbane prop barely trained in the lead-up to Origin I due to a quad tear, before being man of the match in NSW series-opening win at Suncorp.
The bulging disc in his back has also proven a pain since the start of the season, despite being the Broncos' best forward almost every week this year.
"Every time I get the chance to play with him, I'm in awe of him, he's just a generational freak, just what he can do," Martin said.
"I absolutely love playing with him and can't wait to do it again.
"Game one, didn't train all week, was put on ice. And then he come out and seeing how he played is just incredible."
Haas himself was also adamant there is no risk of him missing next Wednesday night's decider at Accor Stadium, or that the bulging disc would in any way hold him back.
"I'm just resting up now, but I'll be doing some running tomorrow ... No chance (I'll be missing)," Haas said.
"I had a bit of swelling down my lower back, and then got a minor disc bulge.
"I had a needle on Monday ... It's all good."
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"In terms of teams like Townsville (North Queensland), the Perth team now, New Zealand (Warriors), they shouldn't really ever be playing short turnarounds, or if you travel you shouldn't be on a short turnaround." Currently, the longest non-stop flight for a team travelling to another's regular home ground is from Auckland to Brisbane at around four hours, with North Queensland flying via Brisbane for that trip as well. But a flight from Auckland to Perth would be almost twice that at seven-and-a-half hours, given prevailing westerly winds makes the trip longer heading east to west. Teams will also face long travel times heading to Port Moresby, with commercial flights from the east coast currently stopping via Brisbane en route to PNG. The NRL has previously entertained purchasing its own jet to facilitate easier travel, but those plans have not yet come to fruition. No team has more than three five-day turnarounds this season, with the 21 scheduled across the league an improvement on the 26 and 30 from the previous two seasons. Cleary said he was unsure how best to accommodate Perth and PNG into the already complex fixturing process. "There's been a few things with the schedule this year, definitely not just for us but for other teams," said the Penrith co-captain. "I think they need to put more consideration into it, particularly for teams like Perth when they're around, Townsville and the Warriors. "I obviously don't know the perfect way to do it but it's going to have to be a consideration for those teams in particular." Star halfback Nathan Cleary has called on the NRL to learn from Penrith's recent travel conundrum before the inclusion of the Perth Bears and PNG outfit exacerbates the issue. NSW representatives Cleary, Isaah Yeo, Dylan Edwards, Brian To'o and Liam Martin all missed the round-16 match against the Warriors in Auckland that kicked off only 67 hours after State of Origin II in Perth, more than 5,300km away. It marked the first time a team had been forced to play in Auckland within a week of an Origin match in Perth. The Panthers determined it would be impractical to rush their Origin stars onto a six-hour flight immediately after their recovery session, particularly given they would have to return to Sydney and back up against Canterbury five days later. The Panthers won both games against the Warriors and Bulldogs, but were privately frustrated by the messy scheduling, which will be avoided in an Origin context until at least 2028 when Perth next hosts. But managing tight turnarounds from long flights will soon become a much more regular issue for the NRL as teams from Perth and Port Moresby enter the competition in 2027 and 2028 respectively. It's left Cleary to call for the NRL to pay particular attention to situations like the one the Panthers faced this Origin period. "That's probably going to be something that needs to be looked into, just the scheduling," Cleary said. "In terms of teams like Townsville (North Queensland), the Perth team now, New Zealand (Warriors), they shouldn't really ever be playing short turnarounds, or if you travel you shouldn't be on a short turnaround." Currently, the longest non-stop flight for a team travelling to another's regular home ground is from Auckland to Brisbane at around four hours, with North Queensland flying via Brisbane for that trip as well. But a flight from Auckland to Perth would be almost twice that at seven-and-a-half hours, given prevailing westerly winds makes the trip longer heading east to west. Teams will also face long travel times heading to Port Moresby, with commercial flights from the east coast currently stopping via Brisbane en route to PNG. The NRL has previously entertained purchasing its own jet to facilitate easier travel, but those plans have not yet come to fruition. No team has more than three five-day turnarounds this season, with the 21 scheduled across the league an improvement on the 26 and 30 from the previous two seasons. Cleary said he was unsure how best to accommodate Perth and PNG into the already complex fixturing process. "There's been a few things with the schedule this year, definitely not just for us but for other teams," said the Penrith co-captain. "I think they need to put more consideration into it, particularly for teams like Perth when they're around, Townsville and the Warriors. "I obviously don't know the perfect way to do it but it's going to have to be a consideration for those teams in particular."
