If you watched the Canberra Raiders’ Captain’s Run at Glen Willow on Saturday, you wouldn’t have thought Blake Austin could barely walk just six days ago.
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The 27-year-old needed team trainers to carry him from GIO Stadium against a round 10 loss to Cronulla and Austin said his teammates have given him plenty of stick after being back on his feet so quickly.
“They give you plenty,” Austin said.
“I didn’t make the mistake that BJ (Leilua) made when he got injured and sat on a Medicab.
“I’ve had plenty of ankle injuries in the past and a lot of them you can run out but unfortunately I couldn’t get any weight back through it last week.”
Austin went to great lengths to uphold his toughness with his teammates as he asked the doctors to tell the side he’ll need a pre-match injection.
“I asked the physio if he could tell the boys that I’m getting a needle before the game… that’s how tough I am,” he laughed.
The final diagnosis was ligament tears in the foot but no structural damage to it or the ankle/leg.
Austin didn’t muck around when he was asked about the St George Illawarra Dragons and where their strengths lie.
“They do what every side wants to do well,” he said.
“They let their big boys roll forward and sit back and play their footy on the back of that.
“We have a style that’s very similar to that so if we can get everything together ourselves I think we’re in for a good game of footy.”
Blake hasn’t visited Mudgee before but has been pleasantly surprised with the experience so far.
“It’s been really cool,” he said.
“I’m a massive advocate for games like this and seeing the look on the kids faces when we get into town is great.
“It beats playing in a big empty stadium so it’ll be a blast.”