The Sydney Roosters have breathed a sigh of relief on Angus Crichton, but still face the prospect of being completely undermanned against Penrith next week.
The Roosters are counting the costs of their 50-14 thumping on Friday, which marked their heaviest opening-round defeat in 16 years.
There was good news for the Tricolours with Crichton able to accept a $3000 fine for his late hit on a kicking Ben Hunt.
But there are still further issues for the Roosters, after Victor Radley suffered a concussion following a sickening first-half head clash with James Tedesco.
The England international will miss next Friday’s clash with the Panthers, joining a lengthy list of high-profile outs early in the season.
“He is concussed. He’s okay in the sheds but you don’t want those things to happen,” Roosters coach Trent Robinson said of Radley’s injury after Thursday’s loss.
“He’s pretty key to our team and the way that we run things. To lose him quite early was tough.”
With Brandon Smith and Sam Walker both injured for the early part of the season and prop Spencer Leniu suspended for the Penrith clash, the absence of Radley will be felt keenly.
Utility forward Nat Butcher was also a late scratching from the loss to Brisbane following an undisclosed operation and will also sit out the Panthers tussle.
The Roosters lost close to 1000 games of NRL experience over the off-season and are tipped by many experts to miss the top-eight for the first time in close to a decade.
Robinson’s side was not able to lay a glove on Brisbane and while many thought their season would be a slow burn, the harrowing nature of the loss has brought the club’s roster back into focus.
The Chooks’ bench had two debutants and another inexperienced forward in four-gamer Blake Steep. Debutant centre Rob Toia was impressive and looked to have struck up a strong partnership with Dom Young.
Payne Haas is tackled. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
Broncos make mad dash home with cyclone looming
The Broncos have raced Cyclone Alfred and arrived safely home in Brisbane after using a charter flight following their NRL clash in Sydney.
After crushing the Sydney Roosters 50-14 in their opening-round match at Allianz Stadium, the Broncos headed immediately to the airport and boarded a flight to Wellcamp Airport in Toowoomba.
While flights were suspended in and out of Brisbane and Gold Coast airports on Thursday afternoon due to the impending arrival of the cyclone, the Broncos club were given special permission by the Queensland premier’s office to make the last-minute dash home.
“The team flew into Wellcamp Airport in Toowoomba at about 11.30pm before boarding a bus back home, getting in at 1.30am,” Brisbane CEO Dave Donaghy said in a statement.
“We are extremely grateful to the team at Wellcamp for opening up their gateway to Brisbane for us to allow us to get the team and staff back to their families.
“We would also like to sincerely thank the NRL, broadcasters and the Roosters for working with us to ensure we could leave the stadium as quickly as possible after the game.”
Broncos skipper Adam Reynolds completed his media commitments minutes after full-time, as the team prepared to travel to Bankstown in southwest Sydney to meet their charter flight.
Reynolds said his team, which ran in nine tries including a Selwyn Cobbo hat-trick, put the looming cyclone out of their minds to deliver the emphatic 80-minute performance.
“We checked in on them (our families) early, and then we got 80 minutes to worry about out there,” Reynolds said post-match.
“Everyone is doing fine back home at the moment. We had a job to do here for 80 minutes, and now we can turn our attention to getting back home and being with our families.
“I don’t think too many people have been through a cyclone, so for us it’s about getting home as soon as possible and being with our loved ones and making sure that we’re all OK.”
Their cross-town rivals the Dolphins are also in Sydney with the NRL relocating their Friday night battle with South Sydney from Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium to CommBank Stadium.
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AAP contacted the Dolphins on Friday morning after it was reported they would also travel home via a charter flight.
Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin announced they wouldn’t operate flights to and from Brisbane, Gold Coast and Ballina airports until at least Sunday morning.
However a Dolphins spokesman said they were unsure what their movements would be.
Three Dolphins players – Mark Nicholls, Kodi Nikorima and Kenny Bromwich – stayed behind with their young families when the players flew from Brisbane to Sydney on Wednesday night.
DCE to play on until 40?
Manly players have acknowledged the club must strike for a premiership while Daly Cherry-Evans is still calling the shots, while adamant the halfback could play until beyond age 40.
Cherry-Evans will begin what is potentially his final season in the NRL on Saturday night, when the Sea Eagles host North Queensland at Brookvale.
One of the biggest names in the game for the past 15 years, the Manly captain is off contract at the end of this year and has remained coy on his future.
Now aged 36, Cherry-Evans has played some of his best football over the past two years, finishing in the top five in the 2023 and 2024 Dally M count.
And while Manly players insist the decision is one for Cherry-Evans to make, they are firm believers the only current NRL player born in the 1980s could go on – and on.
“It does seem strange,” superstar fullback Tom Trbojevic said.
“He is like someone who could play for another 10 years, the way he trains and plays.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
“He’ll make that decision and that’s ultimately how it will work. But I am very grateful I get to play for him for so long, and hopefully get a few more years.”
Trbojevic is also realistic that this year is crucial for Manly while they still have Cherry-Evans in the team.
Blessed with some of the best attacking threats in the game, Manly made last year’s semi-finals and have finished in the top four once in the past decade.
“No one is getting any younger,” Trbojevic said.
“I feel like we’re in a really good spot now. It’s a really important year for us and we want to keep going forward.”
The Sea Eagles have won a premiership in every decade since the 1970s, but most recently lifted the trophy in Cherry-Evans’ rookie year of 2011.
They have signed a core of players long term, but know their best chance to win soon is in the Cherry-Evans era.
“It’s definitely no secret we’ve got one of the best captains and leaders in the game, and that increases our opportunity to win a premiership,” winger Jason Saab said.
“Along with Jakey (Trbojevic) and Turbo, these guys are not getting any younger. We know we have a great opportunity over the next season or two.
“No one is ever looking past round one. But everyone knows we have a window. Every club has a window.
“I remember a couple of years ago, Parramatta had a window and they made the grand final.”
Saab said Manly were now firmly in their premiership window, and had reason to believe they could strike this year.
“For some clubs they are building to make the eight. But we have been through that phase where we wanted to just make the finals,” Saab said.
“Now we want to make top four and win grand finals. You set realistic goals, but that is realistic for us.
“This year is the year where we are confident and going all in for that.”
