BY DAN

The Canberra Raiders dropped the bad kind of surprise on us, with today’s team list revealing that Hudson Young would be missing this Friday’s match against the Newcastle Knights.

This absence is related to the osteitis pubis he described in the post match interviews after the Wests match. As the the club has put it:

“it has been decided that it’s best to manage his workload during what has been a demanding period for him with both club football and State of Origin commitments.”

From NRL Physio’s recent description of Young’s management of osteitis pubis, it’s essentially a pain management issue. With his Young’s coming workload likely to be quite heavy recently, taking the opportunity to give him a week off now to ensure he’s capable of giving his all later is a good example of delayed gratification.

In his place Simi Sasagi is starting, and Noah Martin comes on to the bench. Both outcomes are indicative of the surprising depth Canberra has at the position. For this game the Raiders will be missing their starting second rowers, and they have three capable replacements. I wouldn’t like to test that depth further, but it’s pleasing that it’s management in the medium term. The Raiders are getting closer to Matty Nicholson returning, so that depth is going to get bolstered soon too. Even in the darkness the Raiders are prepared.

It’s exciting for Sasagi and Martin to be getting more time in first grade. Sasagi has been tremendous this season (late flick pass last Friday aside). He provides critical flexibility in the roster, and the sooner we can get him back to doing that, the better for the club. Martin just needs minutes. Each week in Cup he looks better than the competition, and another chance to test himself against the best is good for the club now, and into the future.

There will be a temptation for some to say the Raiders are taking the Knights lightly by making this decision now, but I would think the decision was made regardless of who the opposition was. Presuming he’s picked for Origin, Young will only play the rep game over the next three weeks, sandwiching this rest around forced rest next weekend, and a bye following Origin. If he’s carrying something like osteitis pubis the best management is rest, so it makes sense.

Further the opposition in this game actually makes it a highly risky decision. The Knights have inexplicably hit a patch of form, and have some bruising edge players that the Raiders would love to have Huddo on board to face. A loss this week isn’t the end of anything, but it would contribute to a sense of lethargy that was present last week. It would also mean that the Raiders would be going into a ‘really should win’ game the next week, again without Hudson. This isn’t to say the decision is wrong but rather than it’s not without risk.

Hopefully Canberra can get it done without Young. While they need him whenever they can get him, you can’t win finals games in June. Ensuring that Young is rested and ready for later in the season is key challenge for this Origin period. This seems like a good step towards that.

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