Boas inks new deal with Dons

By PARKER TAMBUA
PAPUA New Guinea Kumuls halfback Watson Boas has re-signed with Doncaster which will see him remain at the third-tier English rugby league club until the end of 2024.
The 26-year-old told The National yesterday from the United Kingdom (UK) that he was recovering from surgery after suffering a season-ending anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Although he won’t be available for his club for the rest of the Betfred League One season, Boas said he was grateful that Doncaster had faith in re-signing him.
“I’m really grateful for Doncaster for believing in me and extending my stay here for three more years,” the Queensland Intrust Super Cup premiership-winning halfback said.
“My injury is serious and it will keep me out for more than 10 months. “But for this club to have faith in me is heart-warming.
“They have looked after me well despite my injury.
“They have been very supportive since day on and I can’t thank them enough.”
The former Rabaul Guria said his goal was to help Doncaster earn promotion to the Betfred Championship, the UK’s second-tier rugby league competition.
“My immediate goal now is to get through my recovery,” he said.
“But going into the future, I want to help the side win the premiership and earn promotion.”
Doncaster chief executive Carl Hall said on the club’s Facebook page that the owners of the club deserved credit for securing Boas’ future with club.
“They have shown a lot of faith in the player and recognised just how important he is to what we are trying to do at the club,” he said.
“We are looking forward to supporting Boas through his recovery and can’t wait to see him back on the field.”
Meanwhile, Boas said he had been playing with the injury for a while.
“It was an ongoing problem and I didn’t know it was that serious,” the former SP PNG Hunters halfback said.
“After some scans and going through surgery last week, I was not happy, knowing that it could have cost me my career if no-one had identified the problem.
“The good thing is that doctors say they can fix it.
“I stayed for two nights at a hospital here, had the surgery and now I’m resting at home.
“My knee and the leg is swollen with an accumulation of blood but the doctors have given me a two-week rehabilitation programme.
“I will try to move my leg within that period and see how I go.”
Boas said the deferral of the World Cup to next year would allow him time to recover and push for selection in the Kumuls squad.
“I definitely would have missed the World Cup had it gone ahead in October,” he said.