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Gould's denial over Roosters star's reported done deal
'There was no meeting with Cameron Ciraldo'
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The tactical shift behind Roosters’ most dangerous attack in 90 years
By Dan Walsh
July 4, 2024 — 3.55pm
The Roosters’ right edge has emerged as the second-most dangerous attacking channel in the NRL this season.
It’s second only to the team’s left edge.
The Tricolours’ 30 points a game in 2024 is not only the most in the league this season by some margin, but the most scored by the club in almost 90 years.
Fittingly, the feats of Immortal Dave Brown, the ‘Bradman of rugby league’, and his 1935 premiership-winning Roosters side will realistically never be repeated.
Their 37.43 points per game were scored in the three-point try era, and translates to 45.63 when converted to four points a try.
But this year’s red, white and blue vintage is next in the Roosters rankings, and a stark departure from the past few years when the Roosters seemingly held every attacking ace, but struggled to play the right card at the right time.
Playmaker Luke Keary and coach Trent Robinson are both convinced this is the most lethal attack they’ve been a part of, particularly since Dom Young’s arrival outside Joey Manu on the Roosters’ right.
“It feels like we can strike whenever we want,” Keary says. “Dom, you give him half a chance, he scores. It’s not to say we haven’t had that all the time, but it’s definitely changed our attack.
“That right edge, we’ve been a real threat on the left for a lot of years. But that right edge is starting to hum. Joey Manu has always been there, but to have a winger like that ...
“We’ve still got our left, but then our right is probably going better than our left. We’ve got Brandon [Smith] and Connor [Watson] through the middle, and then Teddy [James Tedesco] who plays a lot through the middle.
“It feels like we’ve got a really good balance between getting into the grind, but also taking different opportunities at stages.”
Robinson made a point of the Roosters “attacking the full 68 metres [the width of an NRL field] more, right through to the last tackle” after Sunday’s 40-6 trouncing of Wests Tigers.
Champion Data’s numbers tell the full story, with the Roosters already scoring more tries in 15 games this season down their left (36) and right edges (29) than they did in 24 matches last year (29 tries scored on the left, 23 on the right). Tries through the middle are on par with their 2023 output of roughly one per game.
Sam Walker’s development as a playmaker, particularly in terms of his kicking and decision-making, has played a large part in that, and Keary is more than comfortable in the 22-year-old’s ability to steer the side when he exits at season’s end.
Keary is weighing up the prospect of a Catalans swansong next year, with the Roosters signing Chad Townsend on a one-year, $300,000 deal as a guiding hand for Walker and sophomore playmaker Sandon Smith.
“As a half you get to 50 or 100 games and you start to see things a lot better,” Keary said of Walker, who the Roosters have flagged long-term extension talks with.
“You pick up things. I have seen that before, I know what to do there. [Adam] Doueihi comes up, you throw over the top. You pick up little things, the fullback is over there, I’ll kick in behind.
“He came in [to first grade] with the long balls, but it’s hard to give them those situations over and over again. It’s hard to measure that, but he’s got better at reading the game. It comes from experience.”
But while their attack is flying ahead of Sunday’s clash with the resurgent Dragons, defence will still be the true measure of their premiership credentials, particularly given the Roosters’ poor record against heavyweights Penrith and Melbourne in recent years.
“The big games are played a little bit differently,” Keary says.
“We’ve been really good in attack and able to blow different teams apart at different stages. But defensively, a few of us know what it takes [to win a premiership]. And we’re just not there yet. We have to prove that to ourselves to get there.”
and he has been caught out as a filthy hypocritical liar, again.Gould's denial over Roosters star's reported done deal
'There was no meeting with Cameron Ciraldo'
www.roosters.com.au
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www.roosters.com.au
Here's what they own.
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Hey mate @Captain Apollo who gets dropped next week when S. Walker is back? Sandon or Savala dropped?The real story at Bondi isn’t DCE. It’s the homegrown Roosters revival
They’ve sparred with Paul Gallen, poured concrete and defied death. The Roosters’ rookie class of 2025 have brought a whole new dimension to the NRL’s big-spending glamour club.www.smh.com.au
Magic and madness of Walker’s return leaves Robinson with crucial Roosters call
By Dan Walsh
June 8, 2025 — 5.49pm
Sam Walker’s long-awaited rugby league return - with his typical play-making magic and madness - will leave Roosters coach Trent Robinson with a potential season-defining call to make about his scrum base.
With lungs burning and extremities freezing on a sunny, but blisteringly cold Sunday afternoon, Walker returned from a ruptured ACL for his first footy in nine months.
The Roosters’ million-dollar halfback played the first 40 minutes of a 28-16 NSW Cup loss to Parramatta at Kellyville Oval, with Robinson, assistant coach Matt King and NSW Origin stars Spencer Leniu and Angus Crichton in attendance.
Walker’s bright return included plenty of defensive work and an eye-catching 60-metre intercept of a dummy-half pass.
His kick from the very next first-tackle play held the promise of a spectacular try for his far winger - only for the ball to sail dead in the kind of all-or-nothing play that makes Walker one of the game’s must-watch playmakers.
It is a matter of when, not if, the 22-year-old returns to the NRL, potentially as early as Saturday’s clash against Newcastle.
Who Robinson chooses as Walker’s scrum base partner - towering rookie halfback Hugo Savala, or fellow livewire Sandon Smith, shapes as a crucial call not just for this season, but also the pair’s longer-term futures, given the club’s interest in Daly Cherry-Evans for next season.
“Nowhere I’d rather be,” Walker said after his successful return from injury.
“It was good to open the lungs up, and they were definitely burning there, but it was just so good to be back out here playing.
“I’m not sure about first grade next week. I’d say I’m ready, but I’ll leave that and see what Robbo wants to do. Today was just the first day back out there, and it’s weird, but you do wonder if you’ve still got it.
“You do question yourself a little bit, even though you shouldn’t, so it was good to knock that out and be back doing what I love.”
Since Savala’s elevation to the No.7 jumper with a booming long kicking game and improving game-management skills, the Roosters have a 4-3 record with him and Smith in the halves.
Two of those losses against NRL front-runners Canterbury and Canberra could have easily been reversed, given the Roosters - 10th on the ladder - had established what should have been match-winning leads.
Walker’s involvement in spine meetings and video sessions has given him a front-row seat to the pair’s evolution, which has also, in turn, prompted questions of whether Cherry-Evans’ signing is truly needed.
Savala’s agent Steve Gillis has previously raised the prospect of loaning him to a rival club if Cherry-Evans arrives next year, given Salava is contracted until the end of 2026. Smith, meanwhile, knocked back a Roosters extension last year with a mind to upping his value as a starting half this season, and has attracted interest from the Cowboys.
“[Smith and Savala] have done a very good job, they’ve come in with confidence and backed the way they play,” Walker said.
“They’ve both got pretty distinct styles of play, and it’s exciting to see them approach the game and make some big strides in the NRL.
“There’s been a lot of our young guys that we’ve been watching at training and in reserve grade, they’ve taken that next step and are starting to get their NRL opportunities.
“They’re taking those chances with both hands, and I’m really looking forward to playing with these guys - the improvement’s really cool to see and there’s a lot more to come too.”
