Cronulla Sharks rising star Kade Dykes has suffered his third season-ending injury in a row.
In what continues a horror run of luck for the young fullback and five-eighth, Dykes was working his way back through the NSW Cup for the Newtown Jets against the Western Suburbs Magpies at Lidcombe Oval over the weekend when he went down with a non-contact knee injury.
Original fears were for a knee dislocation, however, scans have since shown the 23-year-old suffered a ruptured patella tendon.
The knee injury is serious, and he will be out for the next six to nine months as he recovers.
It has been a horror stretch for Dykes, who made his first-grade debut in 2022 and played an additional game that season, but hasn't been able to add to his tally since.
His 2023 and 2024 seasons were both written off to knee injuries, with the young spine player having only returned to reserve grade in recent weeks from the 2024 injury.
It's another blow to Cronulla's depth at fullback, with youngster Liam Ison also out for the season.
He had been re-signed by the club ahead of the 2025 campaign kicking off, and there were genuine questions around William Kennedy's position.
His form had all but shut those down though before Ison was injured, however, any issues with Kennedy now leaves the Sharks in a position where they could be scrambling for answers in the number one jumper.
The Sharks have also confirmed Mawene Hiroti has been sidelined for a period of between four and six weeks with what has now been confirmed to be a high grade MCL strain.
