Bulldogs' Faitala-Mariner hurt in NZ loss

The Bulldogs' NRL season may have just gotten worse, with prop forward Raymond Faitala-Mariner potentially breaking his hand.

Raymond Faitala-Mariner

New Zealand's Raymond Faitala-Mariner played most of the Test against England with a broken hand. (AAP)

New Zealand's Raymond Faitala-Mariner may have played all but five minutes of his Test debut with a broken hand.

Kiwis staff are concerned over the injury, which came in New Zealand's 36-18 loss to England at Mile High Stadium in the US city of Denver on Sunday.

NRL clubs fought hard against the match taking place because of the potential for injury.

"Ray's got a sore hand," said Kiwis coach Michael Maguire after the match.

If confirmed, the injury to the Bulldogs forward would be the only one.

Meanwhile, veteran hooker Issac Luke reversed a pre-match suggestion that he may retire from representative football, saying: "I'll put my hand up".

Maguire said he wanted the Warriors No.9 around - although he may not be available for the end-of-season tour of England and France.

The coach nevertheless predicted he would take a strong side on tour, with a number of unavailable stars returning to the fold.

"I'm going to take a lot away from that game," he said.

"We've got a lot of experience sitting on the sideline and to bring that experience back in ... you've got to remember, England have got an experienced team.

"They've been playing together for quite some time and the young guys who've come in, they now know the level they've got to go to.

"I think they should take a lot of confidence out of periods of that game, we really challenged them and we actually dominated."

Luke said the altitude was "pretty tough, to be honest" but the Kiwis "rolled them over in the first 20 minutes".

Maguire admitted to being taken aback in his first experience coaching in Test football.

"This is the first time I've been fortunate enough to be around the international game and its actually very special. I always knew it was special but it's right up there in the experiences I've been able to have as a coach and we should bring it together more," he said.

"I hope everybody recognises how special international football is."


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world