‘On the unlikely side’: Jayden Brailey set to miss Newcastle’s first game of the season, Wiremu Greig racing the clock for round 1

Knights star Jayden Brailey says it’s “unlikely” that he’ll be fit to face the Raiders in round 1, with the luckless dummy-half hoping to be back in the coming weeks after he injured his hamstring on the same leg he tore his ACL last year.

It’s been a brutal few years for Brailey who ruptured his achilles in early 2022 having torn his ACL two years earlier.

The 27-year-old was in good spirits at the NRL season launch on Friday morning and said his body was feeling better than it has in years, but it’s unlikely we’ll see him next Thursday.

“My body is feeling really good with the knee, but I had a little hiccup with the hammy in January,” he said.

“It sort of hung around a little bit longer than I thought it would, but it’s nothing serious.

“Being in January, we had the luxury of really looking after it and not having game pressures to get right for a certain game.

“I’ve really tried to strengthen it and make the body fully bulletproof.

“I’m probably on the unlikely side for next week, but I honestly don’t have a certain date on when I’ll be back.

“If it’s not round 1, then it’ll be somewhere in the range of the first three rounds.”

Phoenix Crossland will slot straight into the No.9 jersey as he did for much of the 2023 season, but he’ll only be keeping it warm for Brailey, who says the latest injury setback was hard to accept given everything he’s gone through.

“It’s definitely frustrating, I’m not going to lie,” he said.

“I didn’t handle it well for the first couple of days, but when you compare it to what I’ve been through, it’s a drop in the ocean and it’s nothing to be too worried about at all.

“It’s a long season and I’m not too far away at all so footy is just around the corner.”

Meanwhile, Eels prop Wiremu Greig remains an outside chance of facing the Bulldogs next Saturday, although the club will likely take no chances given the depth they have up front.

“I tweaked my hammy a little bit. We’ll see what the physio says, but I feel like I’m all right,” said Greig, who had the best year of his career in 2023.

“It happened last Wednesday during an opposed session, but I thought it just tightened up.

“I felt like I was building into round 1 nicely but then this happened.

“I want to play next week, but it’s up to the physios. Fingers crossed.”

Meanwhile, Sharks co-captain Dale Finucane has been given the green light to travel to New Zealand for next week’s heavyweight bout in Auckland after a biceps injury ended his 2023 season, while Titans centre AJ Brimson has cleared concussion protocols after he was smashed high by Eels winger Maika Sivo, who has been banned for three matches.

“It wasn’t ideal. I was pretty sore that night with a sore neck and a bit of a headache, but I’m recovering well,” Brimson said.