He may be the oldest fullback in town, but there’s no-one else Sydney Roosters coach Brian Smith would rather have in the No.1 shirt than Anthony Minichiello.
Minichiello will line up for his 12th NRL season this year and in an era of the game where there are superstar fullbacks at almost every club, Smith said the 31-year-old still matches up with the best.
The 2005 Golden Boot winner made a shock return to the NSW side last year, and although he may not possess as much razzle dazzle as the likes of Billy Slater, Jarryd Hayne, Josh Dugan and Matt Bowen, Smith said no player combines defence and attack better than Minichiello.
“Fullback is a lot more expansive in today’s footy and Mini has expanded his game in the time I’ve been here,” Smith told AAP.
“He organises the team defensively and this has given him a new way of competing because he takes such pride in everything he does since he’s developed that role.”
Smith will field the youngest team in the NRL this year with Minichiello, Braith Anasta and Sam Perrett the only three players over 24 on the Roosters top-25 list.
And the veteran coach, who is embarking on his 28th campaign, said his young guns are fortunate to have a player of Minichiello’s experience and character behind them.
“He’s like a linebacker’s role in the NFL, defensively he is brilliant at making split-second decisions and assessing what the other team are going to do,” Smith said.
“Mini is such a competitor, he hates it when someone puts a dent in us. He coordinates what the team needs to do from the back and that’s a huge advantage, especially with the young players we have in our crew.”
Smith played Daniel Mortimer at fullback in last Saturday’s trial match against Canterbury, but Minichiello will feature against Wests Tigers in Saturday’s trial at Campbelltown.
And Smith also confirmed he’d start the NRL season against South Sydney on March 5.
“He had a few weeks break for his honeymoon and wasn’t quite ready to play and I didn’t think he needed to,” he said.
“He will get enough out of this week’s trial and the training we’ve still go to do.”
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