BY DAN

What had seemed a certain downer became a sliver of light, with the confirmation that Zac Hosking’s shoulder injury will not require surgery, as reported by the Canberra Times. This means he could be back this year, recovery and rehabilitation pending.

While it’s a shame he’ll continue to miss time, the promise that he might return is a big deal for Hosking and the club. It’s had been personally an noteworthy start for Hosking, as he quickly established himself as a starter and critical member of the Green Machine. For a guy that had been at the edge of rosters, finding your way into the minds and column inches of the rugby league commentariat must have been a blast.

For the club the loss had been substantial. Hosking was meant to be the solution that allowed the club to rely less on Elliott Whitehead’s ageing frame. Suddenly the Milk have been back exactly where they were before the season. Smell’s performance against the Sea-Eagles last week was inspiring and it showed how much competent defence on the edge can shape the Raiders’ fortunes. But if we’ve learned anything over recent years is that it’s unfair and impractical to assume he can reach back into the past and perform like that every week.

That’s what makes the ray of sunshine so important. It’s still a lot to expect Whitehead to cover for Hosking every week. They still don’t have a plethora of depth under him either. Simi Sasagi is still learning the role. Ata Mariota can provide emergency cover, as Corey Horsburgh has done before. Morgan Smithies is proving very much a big-minute middle. After that it gets even more squinty. Seb Kris? Nic Cotric? Hohepa Puru? They all are the kind of ideas you come up with at 3am and someone just shouted ‘shots’. There’s simply not a lot of depth beyond Whitehead.

But now there’s a clock on the problem. Smelly might not be able to play a full season of full games on the edge. But he may be able cover the next eight-to-ten weeks or so, with three byes amongst it all. Add to the fact that Rapana, Horsbrugh and Fogarty will return in similar, or earlier, timeframes and with any luck the Raiders could be well-placed to make a run at the back end of the season if they can keep pace with the peloton. Hey, a man can dream right?

Hopefully it’s only a problem for now, but it reminds the Raiders of the need to stay in the market for depth at the position. Canberra will still need to go hunting for backrower depth this off-season as Whitehead shuffles off into football mortality. There doesn’t appear to be anything on the roster, or in the pipeline ready for first grade (though I see you Martin brothers). Hosking will be front-and-centre (well, two spots over to the right to be precise) when it comes to the solution for next year. He’s still got two years on his deal after this season so it’s not career threatening issue, just an inconvenient delay that a hopefully inevitable coronation next year.

But for now we wait, and hope that Smell, and the other make-shift options can do enough to ensure the Raiders are well-served until Hosking can hopefully return.

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