2 Back Bye Half
Wednesday 20th April, 2005

It was mixed fortunes for Port Kembla this week when the club learned the ramifications of the weekend's win over Wollongong.

Lincoln Hutchison returns to Port's line up after a stint on the sidelines with wisdom teeth problems. He will be joined in the starting line up by Club Captain Michael Cross who returns to the Black's starting side after duty with the Defence Services team last week.

The return of the two forwards was nullified when The Blacks learned they would be without livewire halfback Mark Simon for four to five weeks. Simon came off midway through the Wollongong match with a sore ankle. Although x-rays cleared the 2002 Illawarra Player of The Year of a break, Simon was diagnosed with ligament damage, leaving him no alternative but to watch the rest of the first half of matches from the sidelines.

The loss is a blow for the club after an encouraging performance against The Bulls. Simon was at his usual best, tallying 18 personal points through two tries and five goals. Simon missed the last five competition games of 2004, as well as the whole of the finals series when Port lost to post season perennials Thirroul in the Final.

The loss of Simon opens the door for Ben Carr's elevation to the top grade run on side. Carr has been in great form for the Reserve Grade side and has been a strong contributor when coming off the bench for First Grade. His respect and ability is evident in his peers voting him Reserve Grade player of the Year for Port in both 2002 and 2004.

Saturday night's game against The Tigers at Rex Jackson Oval shapes as a must win for Port, even though the competition is in it's early days. A loss could relegate The Blacks as low as sixth, while a win would keep them in an outright top four position.

With Simon out of action, Port will face at least Helensburgh and Collegians, before a round six bye. Depending on Simon's recovery, he may also miss matches against Wests and University. His absence also rules him out of contention for a possible place in the Illawarra Divisional side.