Murray did not think much of the injury at the time, assuming it was ligament damage that he could treat with a painkiller before kick-off. He got through the game, but scans the next day confirmed he had ruptured the scapholunate ligament.
Cody Walker is upbeat about playing in round one.Credit: Getty Images
Questions were asked at the time about how Murray was allowed to take the field for Australia, but the forward said he had been determined to play.
“I wanted to play and if anybody had told me I couldn’t, I would have pushed hard to play anyway,” Murray said. “It was nobody’s fault except mine. I love playing with those guys, I love representing the Australian jersey, so I wanted to be there.”
Murray said his surgeon had suggested he wait a fortnight, which will be the end of next week, to start full contact training.
“But it’s pretty sore to be honest, and if you were to ask me now, I think starting contact when he told me to start is probably unlikely. It will be touch and go,” Murray said.
Souths open their campaign on the road against Bennett’s former club the Dolphins, then have an eight-day turnaround before facing St George Illawarra in Wollongong.
Campbell Graham is another player racing the clock after picking up a hand injury at training, but the news is more upbeat about five-eighth Walker.
“Without any hiccups over the next few weeks, I should be OK for round one,” Walker said. “I’m positive, I’m pretty certain I’ll play. I’ve just got to tick some boxes before then.”
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Walker said it was unlikely he will be available for any of the pre-season trials, but took umbrage at suggestions he was not prioritising the Indigenous All Stars. The All Stars game will be played on Saturday week.
“As everyone knows, I always put my hand up to participate in those games, it’s important to me and my family,” Walker said.
“To see some reports come out that I withdrew, that is not true. I’m unavailable due to injury. Hopefully, I can be part of the week and help out where I can.”
Bennett spent two years at NRL expansion club the Dolphins, but took Souths to the preliminary final in 2019 and 2020, and all the way to the grand final in 2021.
Murray said the only thing that had changed with the supercoach was “he’s more hungry to win”.
“The last time he was here, we weren’t far off [winning the premiership],” Murray said. “He’s a man of character, he stands for what he believes in, he’s a great role model, and cares about you.
“He has an extremely simple but effective approach with everything he does. I don’t think there are any traits that I’ve seen in any other coach that he doesn’t have that helps players and teams get better.”
