NRLW Finals: Roosters confident they can win without injured stars as they wait for scans to come back on Isabelle Kelly’s elbow

The Roosters could be without three of their best players on Sunday, but they remain confident that they can still get the job done.

Roosters vice-captain Olivia Kernick is confident that her side will be able to handle the loss of inspirational skipper Isabelle Kelly if the representative superstar is ruled out of the finals series with an elbow injury.

Kelly was helped from the field during Sunday’s win over the Eels with a suspected dislocated elbow in a cruel blow for the Roosters who were fighting for the minor premiership but fell just short to finish second.

It means they’ll host the Knights in a blockbuster semi-final this weekend, but they’re set to be without Kelly, who ran for an absurd 308m back in round 8 and busted 14 tackles in the win over North Queensland.

Isabelle Kelly off early today with a suspected elbow dislocation. Clear mechanism with arm caught up between bodies causing hyperextension.

While recovery (without a fracture) can be up to 6 weeks, in some cases have seen accelerated returns with heavy strapping in 1-2 weeks. pic.twitter.com/qKRueBAaG7

— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) September 22, 2024

“She’s a great leader and a great role model, and another thing she’s really good at is facing adversity, new challenges, injuries and having to overcome them,” Kernick said at the launch of the NRLW finals series in Sydney.

“Not that you’d want to wish that on anyone, but she has a really strong mental health. Our team will definitely get around her whether she’s out there or not, but we’ll find out more details about her injury.”

Injuries have been par for the course for the Roosters who lost Corban Baxter (ACL) and Shawden Burton (hamstring) before the season, while Jillaroos stars Jess Sergis (knee) and Tarryn Aiken (shoulder) are racing the clock to be fit for the finals.

Most teams would crumble without some of their best players, but Roosters coach John Strange has assembled a squad with people capable of switching positions, while veteran Sam Bremner was a crucial late inclusion at fullback.

They’ve fallen short at this stage of the season in recent years, but Kernick has backed whoever comes in on Sunday to get the job done for the best defensive unit in the NRLW.

Olivia Kernick has been in try-scoring form for the Roosters and is confident her side can get the job done if their big-name stars are ruled out this weekend. Picture: Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

“We don’t know for sure if Issy won’t be out there, and the other girls Jess and Tarryn are taking it day by day with their injuries and were back at training last week, but this is something that ‘Strangey’ prepared for earlier this season when he was signing girls,” she said.

“The last few seasons, we had a lot of injuries in key positions and we’ve just fallen short.

“But if you’ve watched us over the whole season, we haven’t had a consistent team. That’s not because we’re inconsistent and players aren’t doing their job properly. That’s because Strangey is preparing for any possibility.

“We’ve had three of our really key positions go down and we’ve had girls step in and own those positions, so if everyone is fit and ready to go then it’s going to be a really tough selection for him.”

Originally published as NRLW Finals: Roosters confident they can win without injured stars as they wait for scans to come back on Isabelle Kelly’s elbow