A horror afternoon for the Newcastle Knights against the Canterbury Bulldogs has been compounded by a pair of serious injuries to two of its stars.
The Knights lost both Andrew McCullough and Connor Watson, who succumbed to hamstring and Achilles injuries, respectively, as Canterbury prevailed 18-12 in wet conditions at McDonald Jones Stadium.
The Bulldogs started off the game strong by scoring the first three tries of the afternoon which proved crucial when the Knights mounted a late fightback.
Down 18-0, Newcastle responded in the second half when Hymel Hunt (60) and Sione Mata'utia (68) sparked new life into the Knights.
But the Bulldogs proved to be the masters of the wet and slippery conditions as they held for a gritty victory.
Before the club's medical team confirmed the news regarding Watson's injury, rugby league great Greg Alexander conceded he was fearing the worst.
"Let's hope it's an ankle and not an Achilles injury," Alexander said on commentary for Fox League.
"Because he (Watson) just dropped then. It didn't look like an ankle injury."
"I'm worried about Connor Watson here. The way he fell without any contact at all, grabbing the back of his heel, it could be an Achilles injury which would mean the season."
Former Tigers great Steve Roach later confirmed that Newcastle's medical staff had diagnosed McCullough with a "serious" hamstring injury.
"Update on Andrew McCullough, the doctor said it's a serious hamstring injury," he said on commentary.
The win is a massive boost for the bottom-of-the-table Bulldogs, who recently parted ways with head coach Dean Pay.
Meanwhile, the loss is a blow to Newcastle's top-four hopes with the club sitting on sixth position with 13 points in 11 games.
from WWOS https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/andrew-mccullough-connor-watson-injuries-compound-horror-newcastle-outing-against-bulldogs/271613c3-e214-450b-abe9-534b4ad92f4c
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