The NRL finals are in full swing as the Sydney Roosters face the Cronulla Sharks in a sudden-death elimination final at Allianz Stadium. Roosters coach Trent Robinson confirmed that Angus Crichton, who has been sidelined since round 15 due to a right navicular foot injury requiring minor surgery, will make his long-awaited return from injury. Crichton was a late scratch last week but is now named on the bench for Saturday night's match. Robinson stated that Crichton is 'ready to go' and has no concerns about his readiness for the high-stakes game, emphasizing that the standard of play remains unchanged for Crichton despite his extended absence. Meanwhile, halfback Sam Walker is a strong chance to play in the preliminary final should the Roosters advance, though he remains unavailable for this elimination final. On the Sharks' side, playmaker Braydon Trindall revealed that his shoulder injury has improved during the week, allowing him to play through the pain. Trindall acknowledged that the injury caused him discomfort in last week's win over the Cowboys but feels confident now. He also noted that his halves partner Nicho Hynes gained confidence from last week's victory, which will be crucial for their performance against the Roosters. The Roosters, despite having a talented squad, have been inconsistent throughout the season, leading to the most errors and fourth-most penalties in the league. However, they have shown their attacking prowess with a dominant 82-12 win over North Queensland in July. The Sharks, perennial finals contenders, have not challenged for a title since their 2016 premiership win and have been eliminated in the third week of the finals for the past two seasons. The match kicks off at 7:50pm, with both teams aiming to advance to the next stage of the finals.

Since I wrote about my fly30 ice skates, I'd continued to battle pain around the navicular bone in my feet. The action that seems to have finally fixed it was to perform a "punch out": a very localized remoulding of the area of the boot that presses against the sore area. I basically followed the process from this helpful YouTube video. I narrowed down the exact spot by borrowing some lipstick and transferring it from my navicular bone to the boot lining, then making that more permanent with a sharpie. My punch was a spare part from a radiator valve which I packed with US cents (I couldn't fit any UK coins in). For the receiving-end, I tried another part from the radiator valve but I think it wasn't sufficiently larger than the punch to work well, so I swapped that out for a spoon. take 2 I didn't have a temperature sensor I could use and I used a heat gun rather than a hairdryer, so I YOLO'd it a little. Some of the wrap on one of my boots is now distorted from where I didn't move the heat gun enough. It only took a minute or two to get the boot hot enough to be flexible. I set a 15 minute timer once the clamp was in place. I've only skated one session since I did this but the pain seems to have gone! It's remarkably freeing to be skating without constantly trying to manage pain. Now I can focus on technique.

Navicular stress fracture symptoms, diagnosis, and recovery timeline explained by foot and ankle specialists in South Florida.