NRL 2021: Josh Morris reflects on year of injury pain for Sydney Roosters

In his many years in league, Josh Morris has never experienced anything like the Roosters’ crazy injury run. Here’s how the retiring champ reflects on the club’s season of pain.

Tom Trbojevic and Kieran Foran celebrate a Manly try. Picture: NRL Photos.

There wouldn’t have been much Josh Morris had seen over this illustrious 15 years in the NRL that made him laugh more than this season.

The champion centre bowed out of the game on Friday after the Sydney Roosters were ruthlessly beaten by Manly in their semi-final clash in Mackay.

The comprehensive defeat finally ended the Roosters’ courageous premiership tilt, where they overcame an insane injury crisis to reach the second week of the finals.

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Lindsay Collins is helped from the field with a knee injury.

With every new injury, senior Roosters players would only look at each other and chuckle.

“We just had to laugh and when we were having conversations, we’re like ‘who have we got?’ and we’d just be laughing that’s how dire it got at some stages,” Morris said.

“But whoever came in did a job, we debuted nine kids this year and they all did the jersey proud.

“While this season didn’t finish the way we wanted it to, we can be super proud of what this group has been able to achieve with the adversity that they’ve had in front of them.”

Roosters coach Trent Robinson lost key playmaker Luke Keary and rising forward Lindsay Collins to ACL injuries earlier in the season.

The Roosters had to cope without playmaker Luke Keary.

Then came the injury-induced retirements of Boyd Cordner and Jake Friend due to concussion, a career-ending ACL injury to winger Brett Morris and the more recent casualties of Joey Manu (facial fracture) and Sio Siua Taukeiaho (calf).

The wretched run of injuries forced Robinson to debut nine players this season, four of whom were teenagers, including whiz kid Sam Walker and prodigy Joseph Suaalii, who himself succumbed to season-ending foot injury.

The Roosters overcame the adversity to finish fifth, only too run out of steam against the Manly Sea Eagles on Friday night.

Joey Manu was then sidelined after a big hit from Latrell Mitchell.

However their brave run signalled that the Roosters’ premiership window remains wide open under a coach all but certain to be in the running to claim coach of the year honours.

The 42-6 defeat drew a curtain on Morris’ 325-game career. Morris ends his career sitting 10th on the all-time scorers list and having represented his state and country. But one thing has eluded the 35-year old, a premiership ring.

“I wouldn’t change anything,” Morris said.

“It’s been a hell of a ride the last 15 years. Some of the best moments of my life. And I got to share that with my brother and my best mate. It was tough [losing on Friday night]. It’s not going to define how I think about my whole career.”

Josh Morris comforts brother Brett after his career-ending injury.

DEPLETED ROOSTERS JUST COULDN’T CATCH TURBO

South Sydney coach Wayne Bennett might have won the mental battle against Penrith’s Ivan Cleary, but the mastercoach’s next target, Des Hasler, won’t be an easybeat.

Like Bennett, who got the wood over Cleary last week in a verbal stoush over illegal blocking tactics, Hasler is a master at playing mind games.

But Hasler is too smart to pick a fight with Bennett.

The Manly coach will spend the week insisting his side are underdogs and shutting any nostalgic comparisons with 2011 – the last time the northern beaches club won a title, with Daly Cherry Evans and Kieran Foran in the halves and a fullback-and-backrow siblings combination in the Stewart brothers.

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Injuries finally took their toll on the Roosters. Picture: Matt Roberts/Getty Images

The Sea Eagles booked a spot in the preliminary final after a dominant 42-6 performance against a Roosters outfit that had simply run out of steam after an injury-ravaged season.

Superstar Tom Trbojevic showed that you cannot keep a true champion down. After a muted performance against Melbourne on the Sunshine Coast last Friday, the fullback was back with a vengeance.

It wasn’t without a momentary scare that would have left the hearts of Sea Eagles faithful in their mouths.

Trbojevic got up grabbing on to the right side of his rib cage in the fourth minute after a late contact from Matt Ikuvalu in a tackle.

But he brushed it off to slice through the left hand side of the Roosters defence of Adam Keighran and Daniel Tupou.

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It was a tough last match for NRL great Josh Morris. Picture: Matt Roberts/Getty Images

Trbojevic then found older brother Jake’s double pump inside ball and put a right foot step to beat opposite number James Tedesco and put away Kieran Foran for Manly’s second try.

The Roosters only had eyes for Trbojevic most of the match and after setting up a try and opening the scoring, no one could blame the Tricolours defence.

But with four Roosters players locking their attention from a scrum on the fullback, halfback Cherry Evans was able to cut through the defence all but untouched.

The way Trbojevic repeatedly disposed of the Roosters defence at the slightest sniff of an attacking chance last night shows how good Melbourne performed the previous week when they neutralised his threat.

While seven-time premiership winning coach Bennett needs no help in the art of game plans, he could turn Craig Bellamy’s blueprint – stop forward momentum and swarm Trbojevic every time he touches the ball.

Manly players appeal for yet another penalty after Martin Taupau is tackled. Picture: Matt Roberts/Getty Images

MATCH REPORT: SEA EAGLES SOAR TOWARDS GRAND FINAL

Terrific Tom Trbojevic trumped James Tedesco in a blue-chip battle of the fullbacks to end the Roosters’ season and put Manly within touching distance of the grand final with a 42-6 semi-final belting in Mackay.

After his rare off-night against the Storm last week, Trbojevic roared back into form to ensure the Turbo-charged Sea Eagles booked a preliminary-final showdown with Wayne Bennett’s Bunnies at Suncorp Stadium next Friday night.

This was a talismanic two-try performance from Tommy Turbo, who celebrated his first-ever finals win by equalling a 38-year club tryscoring record at BB Print Stadium.

The Dally M Medal contender outpointed fullback rival Tedesco and sliced-and-diced the injury-hit Roosters with a sizzling attacking masterclass to leave Manly 80 minutes away from their first grand-final appearance since 2013.

Tom Trbojevic was superb for the Sea Eagles in their big win over the Roosters. Picture: Matt Roberts/Getty Images

With Trbojevic and hometown hero Daly Cherry-Evans delivering the one-two punch, Manly were magnificent. They bolted out of the blocks to lead 18-0 inside 19 minutes and when Trbojevic crashed over seven minutes after half-time for 30-6, the battered Chooks were cooked.

Manly winger Jason Saab then plunged the dagger, streaking 75 metres to consign the Roosters to their worst finals loss, eclipsing a 40-6 capitulation against Newcastle in 2001.

“We fixed up a few of the areas that we said we would,” Manly coach Des Hasler said. “We built pressure, we played with good physicality.”

Tom Trbojevic in action for Manly Sea Eagles.

TOM IS APLOMB

It’s official. Trbojevic has usurped Tedesco as the NRL’s fullback kingpin.

Champion players can have one bad game. They never have two in a row. From the opening seconds, Trbojevic was in the mood, soothing the pain of last week’s 40-12 loss to the Storm with a rampaging display that outpointed the brilliant Tedesco.

The Manly maestro needed just six minutes to open the scoring before setting up Kieran Foran in the 12th minute for a 12-0 lead.

When Trbojevic crossed in the 47th minute, he had posted his 27th four-pointer of the season — equalling the legendary Phil Blake’s Manly record for most tries in a season set way back in 1983.

By the time he was given an early shower 14 minutes from time, Turbo had ripped the Roosters apart with 153 metres, three line breaks and seven tackle busts.

“They are a threat,” Roosters coach Trent Robinson said.

“When you have ‘DCE’ (Daly Cherry-Evans), Tom and Jake (Trbojevic) and ‘Kez’ (Foran) asking questions … if you are in the prelim final, you are in with a chance.”

Tom Trbojevic and Kieran Foran celebrate a Manly try. Picture: NRL Photos

CHERRY RIPE

The best playmakers stand-up in the big games. Manly have a proven premiership performer in Cherry-Evans.

While the Roosters struggled to execute and build pressure, Cherry-Evans had Manly’s attack humming.

The Queensland Origin skipper produced a lethal left foot step for his 18th-minute solo try and it was his sublime bullet-pass which led to Morgan Harper’s 33rd-minute effort, giving Manly a 24-6 half-time lead.

“He was inspirational,” Hasler said. “He had a great skipper’s knock, he held it together and our forwards went forward for him.”

Daly Cherry-Evans had Manly’s attack humming. Picture: Matt Roberts/Getty Images

BONDI RESCUE

The Roosters will rue the shocking injury toll that ostensibly derailed any hope of winning this year’s premiership.

Given their bulging casualty ward, the braveheart Roosters did well to reach the second week of the playoffs. It was a sad finale for retiring Roosters veteran Josh Morris, who deserved better after a magnificent 325-game, 158-try NRL career.

“It’s been the craziest coaching year I’ve had,” Robinson said. “We’re a greater Roosters club than what we were at the start of 2021. The guys have done our club proud.”