NRL 2021: Luke Keary, Adam Reynolds, Nathan Cleary — the halves who will decide the premiership

While last year didn’t go according to plan, the Roosters have quicky moved on, with a fresh look at halfback - helped by Cooper Cronk - that is already paying dividends.

The halves who will decide the NRL premiership.

They are the NRL’s intelligence officers — halfbacks who control the action through guile, skill and more than a dash of James Bond flair.

Make no mistake, the NRL’s 007s will go a long way to deciding who will lift the NRL premiership trophy on Sunday, October 3.

On Tuesday, a Sydney Roosters superstar will officially join the No.7 club when he is named at halfback to play against Daly Cherry-Evans’ Manly on Saturday night.

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Luke Keary will officially join the No.7 club. Picture: Richard Dobson

The name is Keary, Luke Keary.

Different number.

Same expectations.

The switch from five-eighth will result in subtle changes for the three-time premiership winner, from game management to taking an ownership of the Roosters’ kicking game.

The Kayo ambassador has shadowed Cooper Cronk during the off-season to master the craft from one of the all-time greats.

Keary has always been an influential force on the field but now he joins the likes of Cherry-Evans, Nathan Cleary and Adam Reynolds with the responsibility of wearing the number that carries the weight of history. Down the years the likes of Johnathan Thurston, Andrew Johns, and Ricky Stuart became the faces of the game wearing the No.7.

Keary will be partnered in the halves by Lachlan Lam, and leads a Roosters side which fell away spectacularly at the back end of last year to limp out of contention after chasing a third straight premiership.

It was an unfamiliar feeling for the glamour club from Bondi, and it stung every player on the roster.

Adam Reynolds warns his team not to get carried away with pre-season predictions.

“We addressed it at the end of the year straight away when it was fresh,” Keary said.

“That was our crew from last year. We didn’t need to speak about last year again.

“We all know what happened. We went over it individually and as a team. Stuff happens. We didn’t finish the way we wanted. We know why. We weren’t at our best. You have to learn your lessons and go again.

“We’re back on already.”

While Keary and the Roosters are used to playing with expectations, no side comes into this season with as much hype as his former club, South Sydney. Rabbitohs captain and fellow halfback Adam Reynolds knows the excitement levels are building around Redfern.

A stellar Charity Shield performance put the rest of the competition on watch. But the premiership window is closing for this Souths side, which has lost three consecutive preliminary finals.

All this as Wayne Bennett coaches for a final year at the club in what may be the end of arguably the greatest mentor of all time.

“It’s all just talk,” Reynolds said.

Can Nathan Cleary lead the Panthers to a premiership?

“We know that. Who knows what the season holds. We know there is a lot of luck involved throughout the season with injuries. We’re not getting too carried away.”

The Rabbitohs face defending premiers Melbourne in the opening match of the season on Thursday night. Some have already predicted it is a grand final preview.

The Rabbitohs have a horrendous record in Melbourne, but with Latrell Mitchell back in full flight, they have the weapons to take down a Storm machine that has finally lost Cameron Smith.

“I’m looking forward to getting down there and improving on our trial form,” Reynolds said.

“We’re not getting carried away with predictions. If we start looking at it that way we will find ourselves down the bottom of the ladder pretty quick. It’s hard enough to win one game in the NRL, let along go through the season and be successful. There is a lot of hard work that needs to go on throughout the year.”

At the other end of the expectation spectrum is St George Illawarra, a team under early fire which, despite having a new coach and captain, was on the receiving end of a touch-up from South Sydney in the Charity Shield.

The performance had all the hallmarks of a wooden spoon team.

Halfback Ben Hunt takes on the task of trying to resurrect the Red V. The newly minted skipper said new coach Anthony Griffin had reshaped the side enormously.

Daly Cherry-Evans is key to Manly’s chances.

The Eels need Mitchell Moses to fire.

“It’s really different,” Hunt said.

“Everything we are doing has changed from last year. The way we are going to defend and attack. The morale and energy of the place, everyone has come in with a different attitude knowing we’ve got a new coach and have to prove ourselves to the new coaching staff.

“There is a real energy about the place. You go through a rollercoaster. When you try your hardest and it’s not happening it is deflating.

“(We want to be) a hard-nosed defensive team. Tighten up our defence and especially our goal line.

“Teams will get down the field easier because of the new rules but you have to stop them getting over the paint.”

This year the game will also farewell one of its most exciting attacking players. The ever-reliable Roger Tuivasa-Sheck will quit the NRL to join rugby, but he said he still had memories to create this year.

“I hold the Warriors close to me,” Tuivasa-Sheck said.

“I’m not at that stage yet of reflection. I’m at the stage where I still have a lot go give.”