Fronting the media on Friday afternoon, Roosters Head Coach Trent Robinson threw his confidence behind Sam Walker and challenged his senior players as they look towards their 'tussle' against the Warriors on Easter Sunday.
When asked about the new halves combination named for the Round 4 match, Robinson was confident in both Drew Hutchison and Sam Walker to step up in the absence of Lachlan Lam and Luke Keary.
"We've got high-quality guys in and around those positions. There's just been some areas in our team, mainly 9, 7 and 6 where we've been tested, but that's why we've got these guys who have trained a lot," Robinson said.
"They haven't always been in the first team at training, they've been in the opposition team but it's time for them to play.
"Any player that's been in your system, it might be their first game but they know the culture of the team. That's a big part of getting those guys in and training with you and around you for a long period of time."
Coach's Media - Round 4
Despite being just eighteen years old, Robinson backed his decision to include Walker in the no.7 jersey, and challenged the senior players in the side to take the necessary steps to support the playmaker in his first NRL match.
"The kid's been ready for a while, he watches every single game," he said.
"He's excited, he's a good talker in our group and it's time for him to get on the field.
"He knows his footy, he knows what his style of play is and he knows what he wants out of a game. It's about him going out and playing his footy. We're not expecting him to go over and above - just get out there and start your NRL career.
"There's two things that happen - responsibility comes obviously losing Jake (Friend), losing Boyd (Cordner), losing (Luke) Keary. We've lost a few of those guys with experience, so those other guys have to rise.
"But there's also excitement - fresh young guys coming in gives you an air of energy. They understand the responsibility but they're there to support guys like they were when they debuted. They knew what the senior players did for them."
He knows his footy, he knows what his style of play is and he knows what he wants out of a game. It's about him going out and playing his footy. We're not expecting him to go over and above - just get out there and start your NRL career.
Trent Robinson On Sam Walker
Coming off a disappointing loss and with their opponents confident after a comeback victory, the Head Coach made it clear that his side was prepared to get the two competition points back at the hallowed Sydney Cricket Ground, citing the consistency and high standards as the keys to victory.
"They had a good start on the Central Coast. They've got a coach going in there getting some ideas, so you can see a bit of a shift in the way they want to play, and the way they want to defend. It provides a good tussle for us on Sunday," he said.
"We got some harsh lessons pretty early on in the season, we've got to be better than that. The only way to do it is to go out and do it on Sunday, get stuck in and prove we're a better team than that, and that we're going to improve this year.
"We believe in the seventeen that will run out there on Sunday, and we also believe in the guys who are going to add some value through the year and in the years to come. Putting all those together to make sure you're doing that every single week is what we try to do here.
"Your consistency no matter which team you play is based on your principles. Maintaining your standards is what is really important. I felt like we maintained them for two weeks and haven't for one, so we need to make it three out of four on Sunday."
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