Sydney Roosters Head Coach Trent Robinson discusses Angus Crichton’s 150 NRL game milestone, the return of Origin stars and his admiration for Victor Radley's nature on the eve of his side’s Round 17 match against the Canberra Raiders.
The Tricolours mentor also provided an update on playmaker Luke Keary, who sustained a suspected fracture jaw last week, but was later cleared of injury by CT scans.
Robinson: 'We're Ready To Go'
“It’s pretty key for us to continue with those guys in the halves,” Robinson explained.
“Obviously Sam comes back in a couple of weeks, but to keep going with a leader like Kez is important.”
The three-time Premiership-winning Coach was quick to praise Angus Crichton ahead of his 150th NRL match, explaining that the Australian representative has “worked so hard” to get to where he is today.
“I'm really happy with Angus, he's been improving week on week, he's getting back to the form that he wants to play,” he said.
“150 is a really good milestone for him … he's fought really hard, he's been consistent in his training and his mentality around how he wants to approach the game.
“There's been peaks and troughs but he stayed consistent.
“Guys don't usually mention too much of what they're feeling externally about how their going about about those milestones, they just notch it, but they keep walking forward.
“He's looking forward to the game.”
Roosters members will be itching to see Origin stars Lindsay Collins and James Tedesco back in action for the Tricolours this week, especially after the Maroons forward claimed the Player of the Match award for Game II.
Collins All Effort in Game II
Robinson lauded Collins’ potential to rise in the big moments, saying that his ability to step up is a part of his character.
“I think I heard Billy [Slater] talk about it last night, it's the consistency of what people see as the small stuff that becomes the big stuff, he said.
“Should you do it repeatedly, over and over and over again, sometimes you get those moments and sometimes you miss those moments.
“Lindsay puts those moments together, just about as much as anybody that I've seen, and therefore that creates momentum in the way that he plays and then also the opposition or the team that he plays in and that's what he did.
He just put lots of moments together, one after another, and then that built into a Man of the Match performance.
Trent Robinson On Lindsay Collins' ability to rise to the occasion.
“He does those moments consistently, if you look at our numbers and all of that … obviously those moments have a huge impact in Origin and they have a huge impact on our round games.
“There's fine margins that get highlighted even more in Origin and that's what Lindsay did, that's consistent character performance from him.”
From the Winner's Sheds: Lindsay Collins
Robinson commended Tedesco’s strength to back up as Captain following a difficult loss on Wednesday night, explaining that the fullback is well-supported by the team and the Roosters’ staff.
“He walks back in as our leader, it's up to the other guys to carry the weight of that, make sure that they come back in and he gets to recover after Origin like Lindsay does and gets ready to play tomorrow,” Robinson said.
“It's our job to support him, to get back to playing footy here, so he's been good.
“It's obviously tough, it's not great what happened to NSW and all their fans and the players and as a captain you wear that, but then there's a game tomorrow, you know you have to put on another jersey.
He's good, he's ready to go.
Trent Robinson On James Tedesco backing up from Origin II.
Another player Robinson is excited to see back on-field is young firebrand Victor Radley, who returns following suspension.
“He's going to be close to the line and that's where he plays his best and that's what we've come to love about watching Victor,” he said.
“Him and Jared are the two that I get most of the comments about and that's because they play close to the line.
“That's why we love our sport, him regulating that is key, but also don't want to be far from that line.
“That’s what happens when you cross the line, he’ll get better at regulating that, but I also want him to be himself.
“You have to be true to your nature, like that's how you have to play this sport, and then you regulate it around the rules and the time period that you're playing in and all of that but the first thing is, you've got to be true to your nature.
“I've never been frustrated with Rads, that I can think of, because I know the place that it comes from and the care that he has.”
