It was a sad day for rugby league when the news broke of Cameron Murray's injury. A ruptured Achilles has ruled the 27-year-old out of footy for at least five months, heartbreak for South Sydney Rabbitohs fans, New South Wales Blues fans, and the NRL community as a whole.
The Souths skipper was gearing up for a return in Round 1 after a wrist injury sidelined him in the backend of 2024. However, with this major injury ruling him out for at least half the season, NRL legend Willie Mason has suggested a different approach to Murray's rehabilitation, one that the Blues lock may not be keen on.
"He has a year off in the game and sometimes that can prolong your career at the end," Mason suggested on his Levels podcast.
"If he misses the whole of 2025, all he does is rehab and work on all his other injuries; he can fix everything like that and come back next year and start fresh.
"You miss a whole year of getting hitโit's the contact and everything like that. He's not a big man; he is giving away 10 or 20 kilos in the middle, and he does not shirk it at all."
Mason assured listeners that he was only posing the idea to ensure Murray is at his best, crediting his game and his work ethic.
"He's such a likeable kid and a great player at all three levels. He's played a lot of football in the last five or six years at the top with Origin campaigns and big runs into the semis.
"He plays big minutes, and sometimes your body just goes, 'Bang, I need a fโ--g break'."
The former prop knows how tough it is to be a forward in the NRL, playing 310 rugby league games across the NRL and Super League.
If Murray can sit tight for the next 12 months, after having played 161 games for the Rabbitohs and 24 representative matches, Mason believes the South Sydney superstar will be better for it.
What Murray decides to do remains to be seen, but with Latrell Mitchell also sidelined with an injury for the next couple of months, it may be a good idea for the Australian lock to take some time to get his body right.
