Centre goes through the pain barrier during epic NRL grand final.
They have been the best team all year and much of that has come down to toughing it out in defence.
But Sydney Roosters centre Shaun Kenny-Dowall has written himself in the NRL grand final folklore after breaking his jaw in the first five minutes – yet played the rest of the game.
The New Zealand representative suffered the injury in one of the first tackles of the game but said he did not want to let his teammates down.
“It happened on one of my first hit ups,” he said.
“My whole tooth came out and my mouth kept filling-up with blood.
“I didn’t want to tell anyone. I didn’t want people to think that I was injured or struggling.”
“It was pretty painful.
The injury could spell an end to Kenny-Dowall’s hopes of playing with the Kiwi side in the Rugby League World Cup later this year.
Kenny-Dowall also played six weeks of the season with rib cartilage damage, recovering from poor form to play a vital role in Sunday night’s victory, scoring the second half try which put the Roosters back in front.
Roosters doctor John Orchard said the most likely scenario was a hairline fracture.
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