Trent Robinson opens up on Terrell May exit and how he plans to cover key departures

The Sydney Roosters will go into the 2025 NRL campaign with a much-changed squad after the departures of several experienced players but coach Trent Robinson is excited by the reset, he tells David Riccio.

Roosters coach Trent Robinson heads into 2025 without a host of big names but rather than being perturbed by the forced changes the three-time premiership winning mentor says he is excited to see some young guns at the club step up and seize the opportunity.

Robinson identifies those Roosters he expects to step up, Terrell May’s exit from the club and more in this exclusive interview with David Riccio.

David Riccio: Everyone is fascinated to see how the Roosters go with so many changes to the roster.

Trent Robinson: “Yeah. That’s the excitement for us, there’s always that continual improvement as a team. You’re trying to look for a new edge in the way that you play and there’s often opportunity that arises from this. People are talking a lot about what’s not here, but that means there’s space for some of these guys that have been coming along for a few years to move into.’’

Sydney Roosters NRL coach Trent Robinson,

DR: On the outside we see that you’ve lost a host of experienced players and key players have moved on. With that, there have been fans and commentators writing you off for 2025 - that you won’t make the top eight. What’s your reaction to that?

TR: “That’s how people view it from the outside, we like to predict what the end is going to look like and how they’re (Roosters) going to perform and that’s the beauty of sport. But that holds no weight for anything that we’re doing. It’s purely we believe in our young guys that are coming into the squad, there’s time now for those guys that have played none, one, two, or three games to play a lot of games. There’s also leadership roles for guys that weren’t leaders to move into that. And then the reset is, what do we believe in and how should we play? If you’re sitting and waiting for a prediction at the end of September then you don’t create change. So our whole thing is what changes do we need to make, and what do we need to hold onto?’’

DR: One big change was moving Terrell May on. That was a big call.

TR: “They’re difficult ones. Terrell is a really good player, that’s why I played him so many games this year. But it does give opportunity for some guys underneath that to play more and Terrell isn’t going to have trouble finding a club, the quality that he plays with.”

DR: What was the reason behind the decision?

TR: “He’s not a bad character, he hasn’t done anything wrong. I think that has been thrown out there. He’s been a value-add for our group and there’s just some small bits there around how we want to play. We felt like it was time to move in a different direction and express that to Terrell. But the difficult thing is that people have questioned his character and that shouldn’t be the case.”

The Roosters let Terrell May leave despite his breakout 2024 season. Picture: Richard Dobson

DR: Robbo, you said there’s a chance for some players to step up in the leadership space, who are you looking for there?

TR: “Teddy is obviously our captain and has been there for a long time and we had vice captains in Jared (Waerea-Hargreaves) and (Luke) Keary, and they’ve both gone. We then had a playing group that had leaders in there like Angus (Crichton) and Connor (Watson), Nat Butcher, Lindsay Collins and Victor Radley, so it’s time for those guys to take that extra responsibility. Which they’re ready for.”

Robert Toia has had no luck with injuries in his career so far. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Billy Smith is another who keeps finding fresh injuries. Picture: Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

DR: Your outside backs appear inexperienced without Joey Manu, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, and Michael Jennings. Who will you be turning too in 2025?

TR: “Robert Toia, Billy Smith, Mark Nawaqanitawase, and then additional development from Dom Young, in his second year with us and Junior Pauga played some really good footy last season. People have been talking about what’s not here, but we haven’t been caught short on that. We knew what was coming through and we’ve decided to back those guys now because we believe in them.’’

Mark Nawaqanitawase leaps high to score for the Roosters when making his NRL debut in round 27 of 2024. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

DR: Billy Smith and Rob Toia, they’ve had a tough couple of years with injury, how are they tracking in being ready for round one, 2025?

TR: “They’re ready to go and we’ve been patient with them because we believe in them.’’

DR: I remember chatting to Teddy (Tedesco) in Las Vegas at the start of the year and he was nothing but confident about his year ahead largely due to his ability for the first time in a while, to have surgery-free, injury-free pre-season preparation. Do you anticipate he’ll get that same runway into 2025?

TR: “He’ll start almost exactly the same time (as last year) a few weeks before Christmas. I think we saw the physical state he was in then, and he’s as focused and as driven as ever.”

Originally published as Trent Robinson opens up on Terrell May exit and how he plans to cover key departures