HE had to overcome a broken wrist, a bout of gastro and a hint of FOMO, but Apisai Koroisau will make his return at hooker for the Penrith Panthers this Saturday at Carrington Park.
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After breaking his wrist in the opening round of the NRL season, Koroisau has sat on the sidelines watching on as the Panthers have strung together seven successive wins.
He was close to making a return last week before illness extended his stint on the sideline, so he's excited he will get to wear the number nine jersey in Saturday's match against his former club Manly.
"I've been itching to go since round two actually, so I'm ready to go," Koroisau said.
"Anything is better than what I was doing last week, I can tell you that.
"I spent most of the day last Tuesday on the toilet, had gastro I think, picked it up off the kids, yeah that pretty much kept me out of last week's game.
"I'm just so keen to get back. Watching the boys play so well and win games, you just want to be part of that as well.
"Honestly it's a bit of FOMO [fear of missing out], you want to get out there and know you should be out there, it's just one of those things, it's part of the game of footy that you get injured. You have that in the back if your mind that your time will come."
READ MORE: Penrith keep the winning bug over Knights
When the 28-year-old runs out onto Carrington Park he will add more potency to a Panthers side already in form.
Not only does his presence take some of the pressure off halves Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai and provide another kicking option, but his speed around the ruck is also a huge asset.
Experience is another factor that the Fijian star brings to the Panthers. In his rookie year he was a member of the South Sydney outfit which won the 2014 grand final and he played a key role in helping Penrith reach last year's decider.
Naturally given the Panthers' strong start to 2021 there is already talk of a premiership, but Koroisau says it is a week by week focus.
"No-one talks about the game before last unless we're reviewing it," he said.
"I think it's pretty humble around here, everyone's making sure that they're learning even though we won."
The return of Koroisau means Mitch Kenny drops to the reserves for the clash, that the only change from the side which beat the Knights last week.
The number nine is eager to play in front of Bathurst fans after the city was unable to host its annual Panthers fixture last year due to COVID-19.
"I can't wait, it's going to be fun. I know a lot of the people there at Bathurst are waiting for something like this, they love their rugby league out there and I'm looking forward to getting out there," he said.
Meanwhile Manly coach Des Hasler has named an unchanged 17 from the line-up which trounced the Wests Tigers 40-6 on ANZAC Day.
After a winless first month the Sea Eagles have now won three games in a row, the return of fullback Tom Trbojevic making a huge difference.
Trbojevic was missing when the Panthers beat Manly 46-6 in round four and he is determined to help Manly make amends in Bathurst.
"It was tough [for the first month] but we're lucky enough that we've shown our resolve to fight out of that. We're still not sitting on the table where we want to, we've got a long way to go," he said.
"We've really improved as a side and I think it's probably surprised a few people, but we knew we were a good footy team and we just needed to turn it around.
"You take any fullback out of any side, they're not going to be as good as they were before. I knew that I could help out the team."
He's a player that Koroisau thinks will be a major threat to the Panthers' unbeaten record.
"I don't know how he does it. He just knows how to inject himself so well," he said.
"It's not just one touch and he's pretty good here, and another touch there. He's in the game constantly.
"And I think that picks everyone else up. It's not just him playing well one week, everyone steps up. He takes a lot of pressure off the halves as well.
"They are playing like they are a top-eight team. They are playing good all over the park, their defence is great.
"You pretty much just wipe out the five five weeks. Leading into this week that changes our perception of how we play them from the first time around."
Kick-off at Carrington Park is 3pm Saturday.
PENRITH PANTHERS: 1 Dylan Edwards, 2 Charlie Stanies, 3 Stephen Crichton, 4 Matt Burton, 5 Brian To'o, 6 Jarome Luai, 7 Nathan Cleary, 8 Moses Leota, 9 Apisai Koroisau, 10 James Fisher-Harris, 11 Viliame Kikau, 12 Kurt Capewell, 13 Isaah Yeo. Interchange: 14 Tyrone May, 15 Spence Leniu, 16 Matt Eisenhuth, 17 Liam Martin. Reserves: 18 Scott Sorensen, 19 Mitch Kenny, 20 Robert Jennings, 21 Brent Naden
MANLY SEA EAGLES: 1 Tom Trbojevic, 2 Jason Saab, 3 Brad Parker, 4 Morgan Harper, 5 Reuben Garrick, 6 Kieran Foran, 7 Daly Cherry-Evans, 8 Taniela Paseka, 9 Lachlan Croker, 10 Martin Taupau, 11 Haumole Olakau'atu, 12 Josh Schuster, 13 Jake Trbojevic. Interchange: 14 Cade Cust, 15 Josh Aloiai, 16 Sean Keppie, 17 Toafofoa Sipley. Reserves: 18 Zac Saddler, 19 Tevita Funa, 20 Christian Tuipulotu, 21 Ben Trbojevic.
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