Roosters lose stars Victor Radley, Sam Verrills to ACL knee injuries
The Roosters injury woes will also hurt the struggling New Zealand Warriors, with the Sydney side forced to recall Poasa Faamausili from loan just days after extending his stint.
Roosters
Don't miss out on the headlines from Roosters. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Jersey debacle could cost clubs $8 million
- 14 v 14: Rules for All Blacks-Kangaroos blockbuster revealed
The Roosters will recall Poasa Faamausili from loan as the injuries mount for the defending two-time champions with the setbacks continuing to grow for the Warriors.
Just days after agreeing to extend Faamausili’s stint at the Warriors, the Roosters have asked the 24-year-old to return to the club this week. It is a further blow to the Warriors who now face being without inspirational skipper Roger Tuivasa-Sheck for their clash against Brisbane on Saturday. Tuivasa-Sheck has been hit with a grade one shoulder charge and will still miss one game even with an early guilty plea, meaning he needs to beat the charge completely if he is to play.
While the Warriors’ depth is being pushed to the limit, the Roosters are now facing challenges of their own as their casualty ward grows.
Kayo is your ticket to the 2020 NRL Telstra Premiership. Every game of every round Live & On-Demand with no-ad breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >
Scans yesterday confirmed Victor Radley and Sam Verrills will miss the rest of the season after rupturing their anterior cruciate ligaments in the opening 22 minutes of their 26-12 win against the Dragons on Friday night.
Isaac Liu is also expected to be sidelined for up to a month after breaking a rib in the match, throwing the Roosters line-up into disarray ahead of their top of the table clash against arch rivals Melbourne on Thursday night. The Roosters will be given a boost with James Tedesco, Josh Morris and Nat Butcher – who all missed the match against the Dragons – cleared to play the Storm. They are already without centre Billy Smith for the season.
Butcher is expected to wear Butcher’s No. 13 jersey, having started just eight times in his 44 game career.
Faamausili will come into contention for a bench spot and will most likely play against the Warriors when the Roosters play them in round 11. He became the first player to agree to a four-week loan with the Warriors last month. That agreement was due to expire after the Warriors match on Friday night.
He has played four consecutive games for the Warriors and both teams agreed to extend Faamausili’s stint last week. The loan was always conditional with the Roosters able to recall the prop at any time.
Storm fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen said he was looking forward to his clash against Tedesco.
“He would be the best in the game,” Papenhuyzen told ABC Grandstand. “Everyone watches clips on him every week to try and pull his game apart. He has a few strings to his bow. He is dangerous. We have to bring our best game to stop him.”
MATCH REPORT
—Nick Walshaw
In the space of an unfathomable 14 minutes against St George Illawarra, the Roosters lost two young stars and had a giant question mark placed over their hopes of securing a third straight premiership.
Yet despite the chaos, and with a host of wounded troops, the Tricolours still scrapped and fought their way to win coach Trent Robinson described as “incredible”.
Elsewhere, the state of Bankwest Stadium – which will have hosted 11 games in 22 days by Sunday night – will also undergo NRL testing first thing Saturday morning [a test that was subsequently passed].
While no official complaint was lodged by the Roosters, it’s understood a club trainer approached the NRL ground manager before halftime to voice concerns over the state of the playing surface – suggesting the field was “sticky” and therefore causing havoc with boot studs.
Yet when asked about the state of the ground, Robinson said: “I’ve got no idea
“That’s not for me to judge.
“I only found out after the game that someone said we made a complaint which is complete nonsense.
“We didn’t mention it in the box.
“So someone else can work that out … I’ve got to deal with two guys whose season has ended.”
Before the game had even finished, Bankwest Stadium released a statement suggesting that “wear and tear are a result of the winter rye grass not getting sufficient time to grow between events, but pre-game testing indicates the surface is stable and safe”.
MISSING VICTOR
A big issue again is how the Chooks now go without Victor the Inflictor?
During the telecast, eighth Immortal Andrew Johns suggested the loss of Radley would “totally change how the Roosters play for the rest of the year”.
Yet Robinson was giving little away afterwards when asked how the defending premiers would now look without the NSW Origin hopeful.
“You’ll have to see,” the coach said. “Yes, he’s a great player but so is Nat Butcher and Isaac Liu.
“We’ll have to prove what kind of a side we are.”
Asked how Radley and Verrills were in the sheds, Robinson added: “They’re typical young guys. Disappointed but, but that’s life that’s the way they both are”.
TOUGH CHOOKS
Even though they resembled a MASH unit, the Roosters still won.
Incredible.
Apart from coming into the Dragons clash missing star fullback James Tedesco (concussion) and centre Josh Morris (calf), the Chooks had lost two more after 20 minutes while Liu played with a broken rib.
Elsewhere, makeshift fullback Joseph Manu produced a contender for NRL Try of the Year, while Brett Morris also scored a hat-trick despite being unable to sit down in team meetings throughout the week, so sore was his back.
Boyd Cordner also received treatment on a groin injury in the opening minutes but, incredibly, battled on for the full 80 minutes.
ACL DRAMA
The Roosters drama began after only eight minutes when Radley, raced out of the line to put a shot on Dragons Jason Saab. However, before Radley could reach his target, Saab stepped — causing the lock to also try, unsuccessfully, and change his footing.
Then with 22 minutes gone, it was Verrills who dropped after making a scoot from dummy-half.
Elsewhere, honourable mention to Dragons fullback Matt Dufty, who came up with a couple of outstanding plays – including when he a fired long, cut out pass to put Mica Ravalawa over in the corner. The diminutive No.1 also did the same four minutes later to put centre Zac Lomax over.
Originally published as Roosters lose stars Victor Radley, Sam Verrills to ACL knee injuries