Ropati wants to play again
LUCKLESS Warriors centre Jerome Ropati has admitted he may have played his last game of rugby league.
But the injured Kiwi international has vowed to fight with everything he has to make sure that doesn’t become a reality.
Ropati, 27, who has played just 18 games in the past three years, will miss the rest of the season after dislocating his patella (kneecap) against the Roosters in round 10.
He went under the knife last week and was yesterday on the sideline in a leg brace as the Warriors trained at Mt Albert Grammar School in Auckland.
‘‘It is what it is,’’ said a disappointed Ropati in his first interview since the injury. ‘‘I had the operation a week ago and I’m just in recovery mode now.
‘‘I tore the patella tendon and dislocated my kneecap. But I’ve had it stitched back up.’’
After rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his knee early last year, Ropati was sidelined for most of the season and missed the club’s run to the NRL grand final.
It was a bitter pill to swallow for the longest-serving player at the club but he admitted yesterday his latest complaint had left him more devastated than any previous injuries.
‘‘I love the game because I love competing. I love being out there and trying to win. I can’t do that at the moment.
‘‘I’m over it. Well, a part of me is and a part of me is finding it hard to watch the games at the moment because it does hurt a little bit.’’
Less than a week before injuring his knee, Ropati, who had been off contract at the season’s end, put pen to paper with the Warriors on a one-year contract extension.
His intention is to work his way back to full fitness in time for the start of next season but he conceded if his left knee, the one he injured last year, failed to respond sufficiently, his playing career could be over.
‘‘I’ve signed a one-year deal and that was under conditions when I was currently playing,’’ he said.
‘‘I’ve injured my knee and now things have changed. I can’t control that. But what I can control is hopefully getting my knee right, training hard and getting back in the team.
‘‘That [quitting] hasn’t entered my mind. I’m going to see how this knee reacts. If it reacts in a way that is not conducive to playing football, then I’ll have to think about those things. ‘‘But it’s too early to say.’’ On the plus side, Ropati’s latest setback is considered far less severe than the knee injury he suffered last year. He also said the way former Warriors teammate Brent Tate had managed to return to form after three knee reconstructions meant he was confident about his own future.
‘‘It’s probably going to be a quicker healing process this time around,’’ Ropati said.
‘‘Last time, it took about six months and this time I think it’s going to take three months for the tendon to heal properly.
‘‘There’s a bit of metal wiring in there to hold it together and I’ll be able to start running again in three months. It then really depends on how well the knee reacts after that.
‘‘I watched him [Tate] playing Origin recently and he’s come back strongly. I also remember him when he was here, just his work ethic and the fact he just wouldn’t give up after his second ACL injury.
‘‘I can take a bit of motivation out of that . . . and I’ve always been a fighter.’’