St George Illawarra Dragons second-rower Tyson Frizell is counting down the minutes until he is able to return to the field and compete for the Club.
The NSW Country Origin representative is presently side lined with a minor back injury which he has been nurturing on-and-off for several weeks now and in the midst of rehabilitating from.
The Wales international admits it has been frustrating not being able to take to the field but has heaped praise on new-signings Mark Ioane and Luke Page for their efforts in his absence.
Both Page and Ioane arrived at the Club mid-last week prior to the fixture against the North Queensland Cowboys and competed in their first outing after just two training sessions.
“It’s not nice sitting on the side lines watching the boys go out and play but injuries are something that every team goes through but hopefully I’ll be able to return soon and play good footy,” said Frizell.
“The new boys in my absence did really well especially considering they only arrived midweek leading into the game against the Cowboys.
“It’s a tough task having to do that but they were professional about it and did themselves proud with how they played.
“The recovery process is coming along nicely but it’s still not where it needs to be at this stage but I’m trying to do everything I can to get it right and return to the field.
“I’ve had this for a couple of week snow and it’s something I’ve had to try and maintain which has been kind of annoying.
“I’m resolved to getting this fixed so I can return to action and play in a couple of weeks.”
The Monty Porter Cup is contested each time the Clubs meet and pays tribute to the achievements of a player with strong associations to both Clubs.
Porter was a second-rower who played 113 first-grade games for the Red V during his eight seasons with the Dragons (1958-65), winning six Premierships during that time (1958-60; 1962-64).
The second-rower left the Dragons in 1965 and went on to become the inaugural captain of the Sharks upon their inclusion into the NSWRL in 1967.
