Hamstring injury sidelines Hasleby

Northampton forward Paul Hasleby is set to be sidelined for at least the next two outings for the Rams after sustaining a hamstring injury in their loss to Rover at Top Iron Oval on Saturday.

The Fremantle 200-gamer pulled a hamstring early in the third term and did not return to field, but is optimistic it will not be a long-term injury.

“We’re looking at three weeks at this stage, so hopefully I’ll only miss the Chapman Valley and Mullewa games, and be back for Brigades on July 4, ” Hasleby said.

He added that the feeling among the young group was still high, despite their poor start to the year.

“The feeling has been pretty good, we’ve been competitive with the best sides for half to three quarters every week, we just lack that four-quarter effort, but that comes with young players, ” he said.

“My own form has been a bit up and down, I started all right but I’m just trying to contribute as much as I can.

“We’ve just got to stick tight through a rough patch at the moment and try to improve that capacity to play four quarters instead of three.”

Northampton coach Jock O’Malley said the loss of Hasleby was one the club would have to live with.

“He’s a big loss, but we’ve just got to adjust to life without him, ” O’Malley said.

“We played our best quarter on Saturday when he wasn’t on the field, and although he’s a fantastic player and we’d prefer to have him out there, the reality is he won’t be there and we’ve just got to adjust.”

The loss is eased somewhat by the form of Glynn Verbruggen, who kicked four goals on the weekend to follow up from seven against the Blues in round 6, and also the rise of Nathanial Mourambine up forward.

Hasleby kicked nine goals in round 1 against the Royals, though he has struggled to recapture that form with 16 goals so far.