Head Coach Garth Brennan believes up and comer Phillip Sami’s future could be in the centres and is that confident in him that he has made the call to name him in the position for the match this Saturday against the North Queensland Cowboys, in Townsville.
The shift comes after Dale Copley injured his hamstring during last week’s loss to the Panthers.
“(Dale) Copley has a hamstring strain and he will miss a couple of weeks,” Brennan said.
“I see his (Sami’s) future possibly being there. He reads very well in defence, he’s aggressive and he trained a lot there in the pre-season where he did a good job.”
Hooker Nathan Peats was another to leave Penrith Stadium with an injury, suffering a rib cartilage fracture in the first half, that will see him miss 4-6 weeks.
“At this stage it will be that length of time. It’s a pain thing, hopefully we can get him back a little earlier. Nathan is a competitor so he’ll be back and raring to go, sooner rather than later.”
The injury to Peats presents Mitch Rein with an opportunity to wear the number nine jersey.
“Reiny will play nine. Whether or not he plays 80 minutes or not, we’ll see. I may need to carry someone on the bench, I’m not sure, or whether there is someone already there that could slip in there to give him a spell. I’ll look at it as the week goes on.”
