South Sydney's playmaking injury toll deepens as young half Ashton Ward goes down
Updated . First published at
South Sydney are facing an even heavier playmaking injury toll than they were prior to round one after young halfback Ashton Ward suffered an ankle injury during his side's 40-30 win over the Dolphins on Sunday.
Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett suspects the 22-year-old will miss two or three games.
The Rabbitohs had little choice but to play Ward, as Jamie Humphreys is not available until round three due to suspension, Jonah Glover has a broken jaw and Jayden Sullivan was battling an infection.
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Ashton Ward is spotted on crutches. Nine
Souths needed an exemption to play Ward given he was not inside the club's top-30 roster, nor in the list of six supplementary players available beyond that.
Ward was limping around on crutches after being ruled out at half-time in Sunday's game.
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Sullivan was substituted on to replace him.
He was unlikely to play on Sunday but the NRL's new bench rule, which allows teams to field six interchange players to ensure they're more versatile, saw Bennett call upon the former Dragons playmaker.
The Rabbitohs will face their arch-rivals, the Roosters, at Allianz Stadium on Friday night, before taking on Wests Tigers in Gosford the following week, when Humphreys will again be available.
