Sydney Roosters Head Coach Trent Robinson is looking to send off the SCG in style with three of the last five games of the season set at the hallowed turf.
The Tricolours will be well entrenched in Easts heartland in the final stretch of the 2022 regular season, with three consecutive games at the SCG, before making their last away trip to Melbourne then stepping onto Allianz Stadium in the season finale.
Robinson: "I Feel Strongly About What We've Built This Season"
For Robinson, the first match back at the venue since Round 14 marks a unique opportunity to send out their stay on a high, starting with the Broncos tomorrow night in a pivotal clash for both clubs.
“It’s a return home for us this back end of the season,” Robinson stated.
“We got to train there for the first time in a long time the other night and then today. It was really nice to look around and acknowledge that there are three games to go on this beautiful ground.
“It’s nice to be home.”
Roosters Members and supporters have been treated to a point-scoring frenzy over the last three weeks, with the side registering 116 points at an average of 39 per game, having scored 20 tries in a blistering reversal of form.
Keary: "I'm Just Stoked to be Back"
Much of that prowess with the ball in hand is thanks to the consistency of their spine players - fullback James Tedesco, halves Luke Keary and Sam Walker and hooker Sam Verrills - and Robinson believes that the momentum will continue as the quartet continue their growth as a unit.
“It’s just about spending time together,” he said.
“The intuitive parts of the game, we all know how the Roosters want to play and we want to go about doing that, but then there’s those in-between moments, those intuitive moments for those players to combine.
“The more time they play, the more training that they’ll get, the more intuitive moments they’ll have together. That’s when we’re at our best.
“So just getting them out there training and playing consistently has been key to pick up those instincts and the energy between them.”
With front rower Lindsay Collins and back rower Egan Butcher sidelined this week, the door opens for young bucks Ben Thomas and Terrell May to take their place - with the former set to don the Red, White and Blue for the first time in 2022.
While there is disappointment in losing two powerful runners of the ball, it's also chance to hand two fledgling forwards a chance to impress.
“I love these games for that reason,” Robinson said.
We got to train there for the first time in a long time the other night and then today. It was really nice to look around and acknowledge that there are three games to go on this beautiful ground. It’s nice to be home.
Trent Robinson On the SCG
“Those guys get more time, they play more minutes and they play their first game of the year. These are the guys that have done every minute, every bit of training and more than the NRL guys that we get to see every week.
“There’s nothing better than telling (a player they’ve got a chance). Because when you tell that player they’re playing, there’s that look that comes over them. That purity of joy that comes over them when you tell them that.
“You can see that kid in them; why they play Rugby League and how excited they are and what it means to them and their family. That all comes out in that conversation.
“It’s such a wonderful feeling when you have that. It was great to see BT’s face when I told him he was playing.”
Robinson also opened on the mid-seasons acquisition of Great Britain and English International Oliver Gildart, who joined the Club this week and will add valuable depth to the side as the semi-finals loom.
“We lost Billy Smith there and Sitili (Tupouniua) who has pushed out there at different times," he said.
“We’ve just been a little bit light in the outside backs. We lost a player earlier in the year as well in our top 30, so we’re just light in that area.
“Ollie, we played him in the World Club Challenge in 2019 and he’s had a lot of experience at Wigan with four Grand Finals and two Grand Final wins.
“We jumped at the chance to get him in and the possibility of using him if needed.”
