After a week on the sidelines, Dyldam Parramatta Eels hooker Nathan Peats says he’s more than ready to hit the field for Monday night’s match against the Cronulla Sharks.
Peats admitted he’d been carrying some mild injuries in recent weeks, and aggravating a slight injury to his knee against the North Queensland Cowboys in Round 8 was enough to rule him out of the City Origin side for the annual Country v City clash.
“I don’t really like Monday night games,” Peats said, admitting that the extra day or two between matches was enough to have him missing the feeling of running out on game day.
“It’s been a long two weeks, but it was good to get the week off.
“It’s been a tough start to the season, and I’ve been carrying few niggles for a couple of weeks so the week off has done me a world of good.”
“I’d like to play for City again but I think I needed the week off. I was struggling the last couple of weeks and I re-hurt my knee in the Cowboys game.”
And when it comes to the slightly reshuffled Sharks line-up, including the return of Luke Lewis, Peats says he’s expecting a challenge.
“The Sharks are always a good battle,” Peats said.
“Just because they’re on four [Premiership] points doesn’t mean anything, they’re a great side. A lot of their stars are back now so they’re looking for a good win and we are too.”
“The top 8’s pretty congested and so is the bottom 8, and all it takes is 2 or 3 good wins together and you’re back in contention.”
“We’re not really worried about where we’re sitting, we’re just worried about this week’s game.”
