Woolf heaped praise on Taumalolo and his toughness and how he somehow played more than 50 minutes with the broken foot.
“They don’t come much tougher than Jason, and he’s played a number of times now with injuries that other men wouldn’t play with,” Woolf said.
“I’ve never seen a bloke play with injuries like Jason does. I don’t know how he got through the work he did if he was in so much pain and discomfort. What it shows you is how much playing for Tonga means to him. Jason is one of the toughest players I’ve worked with.”
Taumalolo and Woolf have played pivotal roles in transforming Tonga into an international league powerhouse. Tongans made up most of the crowd at a sold-out CommBank Stadium for the final on November 10.
For the Cowboys, losing Taumalolo for any amount of time is a huge blow, especially given the form he was in at the end of last season, and with the experience he brings to a team now missing Chad Townsend, Kyle Feldt, Jake Granville and now Luki.
Adding insult to injury was the timing. Clubs can receive up to $350,000 in salary-cap relief if a player misses at least 12 weeks through an injury suffered while on representative duty. Because Taumalolo, a $900,000-a year-marquee player, will be sidelined through the summer, and only miss a handful of games, the Cowboys will receive no compensation.
Cowboys coach Todd Payten confirmed Taumalolo suffered the injury against the Kiwis, and was naturally disappointed he would be missing his forwards leader the first few rounds, which includes Manly away, Cronulla at home, then the blockbuster Broncos’ Queensland derby at Suncorp Stadium in round three.
“I don’t know if his injury was handled well, at all. It was only diagnosed after the Championships, and once he had been in Townsville for over a week – to only find out then was really disappointing,” Payten said on Friday.
“Jase knew he was sore, and I still don’t know how he played the way he did with that injury. He wasn’t even strapped up. His toughness is unbelievable.
“It’s a shame because Jase has worked really hard to get his body right, I thought the back end of last season was really strong, and his form in the Pacific Championships was great.
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“To lose someone like him with his influence for us, it’s really disappointing. It’s important he gets himself right post-Christmas. He won’t be out for an extended period, but he’ll miss at least the first few games of the season.”
Meanwhile, Payten said new recruit John Bateman could play in the back row or middle, and his experience would be even more crucial with Luki sidelined.
Bateman still had two years to run on his deal at the Wests Tigers, with the Sydney club to still bankroll a healthy portion of his Townsville move.
“What he does is bring competition for spots,” Payten said.
“And I just love the way he plays his footy. He’s abrasive, competitive, and through my conversations with him, the over-riding feeling I’ve got is that he wants to win – and he’ll almost do anything to get win. He’ll be a good fit for our group.”
