It's still a little numb, but Jamal Fogarty is banking on his golden arm to wrestle Canberra back into finals contention.
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The Raiders have sorely missed Fogarty since the experienced halfback ruptured his biceps in their 34-10 loss to Brisbane in April.
After winning four of their opening six, his injury marked the beginning of a slide down the NRL ladder for the Green Machine, who now sit in 11th after four straight defeats.
"There's been parts where we've played some brilliant football but just let the opposition off the hook with our discipline or not putting the ball where we want it to start our sets," Fogarty said.
His return to the starting line-up against the Warriors on Friday, alongside fellow long-term convalescent Zac Hosking, comes at a vital juncture for an inexperienced Raiders outfit.
With back-to-back home games against the Warriors and South Sydney ahead of a difficult finals run-in, it really is getting into must-win territory if they are to revive their top eight hopes.
A silver lining has been the development of young stand-ins Ethan Strange and Kaeo Weekes, who will provide Fogarty welcome kicking and play-making alternatives as he works to get back full mobility in his "T-Rex arm".
"I've still got a little bit of numbness in my forearm so being able to move it in the spiral rotation of the passing ... rolling that wrist is a little bit of a funny sensation," he said.
The 30-year-old has developed a close bond lining up alongside back-rower Hosking on the right edge, something they built on as they progressed through rehab together.
"For me to understand how he thinks and what he likes to see and do in games has been really beneficial for our relationship over the last couple of weeks," Fogarty said.
"I've had some dark days there. There's been a couple of times where I had a pretty crappy day and Zack would pick up the spirit and vice versa."
Hosking didn't shy away from the despair he felt after his season was cast into doubt when he badly dislocated his shoulder in round six.
"It was a pretty horrible feeling," he said.
Remarkably, it was the first long-term injury in the 27-year-old's career.
"Knowing that you can't really do anything to help and becoming a spectator when you've done so much hard work to be out of there and for one injury to put you out for a long time is very frustrating," he said.
"The club was good enough to take me and Jamal on away trips to stay close to the team so we felt like we were a part of it, just without the jerseys on."
Australian Associated Press
