Blues hard man Beau Scott has overcome a debilitating groin injury which threatened to bring him down last year and is committed long-term to Newcastle, even if coach Wayne Bennett walks away from the club at the end of the year.
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An off-season groin injury plagued Scott’s first season at the Knights last year, restricting him to 16 appearances. His time on the sidelines saw him forfeit his Blues jersey before returning to the Origin arena this year.
“It wasn’t real pleasant,” Scott said. “I had an operation in pre-season which didn’t fix it fully. I struggled through the pre-season and hurt it again in round three. I had a more intensive operation after that and I think I got on top of the problem.
“You can’t sit up in bed and stretch. It’s not a nice injury. It’s a very complicated area to nail down what’s going on there.
“It was my most serious injury since I’ve been playing.”
Now injury and pain free, the 30-year-old has returned to his best this year in a struggling Knights side.
He will reprise his role as the Blues enforcer, lining up on the right hand side alongside Josh and Brett Morris and Josh Reynolds. Scott hasn’t played Origin since the 2012 series decider.
“I try and bring the aggression week in, week out,” Scott said. “It’s part of my game. It won’t be any different on Wednesday.
“We have a halves combination that I’ve never met before, let alone played with. By Wednesday, we will be on top of things.”
Entering the Blues camp has allowed Scott to get away from the Newcastle set-up. The Knights had a heartbreaking one-point loss to Manly on Monday after it emerged about 20 people had not been paid on time this month.
That led Bennett to question his future at the club with the Knights coach unsure if he will remain beyond this year. Scott, who joined Bennett after winning the 2010 premiership together at St George Illawarra, does not have a get-out clause in his four-year contract. Scott said he was among the players paid on time when payment was due on May 15.
“There’s been a lot written about it,” Scott said. “I know some people didn’t get paid last time but it’s all sorted itself out now. It’s not something the players can control. You don't get told much. It’s just part and parcel with everything that’s going on at the moment.
“We can’t let things like that impact us.”
