Manly officials have no concerns about responding to an NRL enquiry about why Jayden Hodges was allowed to play on for 35 minutes after his head contacted Greg Inglis' hip in last Friday night's loss to South Sydney at Allianz Stadium. They expect the rookie hooker to play this weekend against Canterbury after he resumed training on Tuesday.
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Hodges was among a number of surprise selections in teams named on Tuesday for this weekend's sudden death semi-finals, which included: Sydney Roosters hooker Jake Friend being named to return against North Queensland after being rushed to hospital two weeks ago when his lungs filled with blood; veteran forward Reni Maitua, the only survivor of Canterbury's 2004 premiership-winning side at the club, being called onto the bench following the loss of Pat O'Hanlon with a broken leg; and rookie back-rower Ethan Lowes becoming the seventh former Roosters player in the Cowboys side to face their former club after being chosen to replace the suspended Tariq Sims.
Hodges received attention after his attempted fifth-minute tackle went wrong. He appeared in distress on a number of occasions during the first half but stayed on the field until half-time, when he was replaced and taken to hospital in an ambulance with his neck in a brace and arms strapped down to prevent movement.
He was released the following day after being cleared of a serious neck injury but the NRL wants to know what process the Sea Eagles followed in deciding that he was OK to remain on the field for so long when he was clearly injured.
However, Manly officials are comfortable with the action their staff took on the night. They say there was never any suggestion Hodges had suffered a concussion that would require him to come off for a sideline assessment by the club doctor.
The Sea Eagles trainer even took the unusual step of calling over his Rabbitohs counterpart to look at Hodges after he was initially injured near the Souths tryline.
After the injury was initially diagnosed as a "stinger" in his left shoulder, Hodges said he was OK to play on. But he suffered two further blows in the area before half-time and the pain gradually got worse with each one.
With Hodges complaining after the third incident, about five minutes before half-time, that the pain had gotten stronger and was not going away, it was decided to send him to the nearby St Vincent's Hospital for precautionary scans.
While there were obvious concerns about Hodges' welfare because of fears he may have suffered a neck injury, there are no rules against players ignoring injury. Brett and Josh Morris were honoured at last week's NSWRL awards for playing on with a fractured shoulder and posterior cruciate ligament injury respectively in the Blues' series-opening Origin win.
South Sydney great John Sattler is lauded for his courage in playing with a broken jaw in the 1970 grand final, while Sydney Roosters centre Shaun Kenny-Dowall broke his jaw in the first half of last year's premiership decider against the Sea Eagles but played on.
Manly coach Geoff Toovey named Hodges to start at hooker against the Bulldogs on Saturday night, but the 21-year-old will need to prove he is fit to play at the team's final training session the day before.
Regular hooker Matt Ballin also ran lightly on Tuesday in a bid to make an earlier than expected comeback from a fractured tibia suffered just three weeks ago. However, he is considered an outside chance of playing at best.
Should neither Hodges or Ballin be available, Toovey may call up former Penrith and Wests Tigers hooker Masada Iosefa, who has been playing halfback for Manly's NSW Cup team.
With Jamie Buhrer having undergone knee surgery after being injured in the same match as Ballin, the Sea Eagles have no other genuine hooking options. They are also running low on forward depth following Glenn Stewart's ankle injury and Anthony Watmough's decision to accept a one-match ban for his lifting tackle on Inglis.
As a result, Tom Symonds will start in the second row, with Dunamis Lui moving to lock and James Hasson returning to the interchange after being replaced by Cheyse Blair last week.
Meanwhile, Roosters officials expect Friend to be able to play on Friday night after he was cleared to take part in contact training. A final decision will not be made until the eve of the match.
