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They have faded to 10th on the NRL ladder and were the victims of a demolition job on Friday night, courtesy of the Penrith Panthers, and now Sydney Roosters fans are asking questions about their team.
After their gutsy win over the New Zealand Warriors in Auckland, where they kept their opposition scoreless, the Roosters were flying high at the end of round nine and sitting equal second.
This is a great example of how quickly things can change, especially in rugby league.
Their loss to the struggling North Queensland Cowboys in Magic Round brought them back to reality, but with a team with the players they possess, it did not appear to be too much cause for concern.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
After Friday’s 48-4 loss at the hands of the premiers, fans could not believe what they were watching from a side which prided itself on defence.
Captain James Tedesco and Coach Trent Robinson were understandably very sombre in the post-match press conference with the three-time premiership winning coach blaming himself for the display, saying that he ‘hasn’t got his team ready’ for the back-to-back losses.
Now, in saying this, they are only 10th and due to the close nature of the competition, they are only one win outside the top four, so it isn’t that bad right?
Well, it’s more the manner they have lost in over the last two weeks with the roster they have, that has saddened and honestly confused most fans.
There are many fans and pundits calling for Robinson’s head, claiming the supercoach should be moved on at the end of the season – that is crazy talk.
Robinson has won three premierships and was the first coach to win back-to-back premierships this century, so the belief that he isn’t the best man for the Roosters, personally, is just unbelievable and flat out disrespectful.
In saying this, he, and his coaching staff could make a few changes which could bring their season back on track.
(Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)
Sam Walker was demoted to NSW Cup ahead of the Roosters’ Anzac Day clash against the Dragons. There were reports he was dropped for different reasons, including his defence, his lack of chemistry with Luke Keary and his attack.
Now they were all valid points, and after the loss against the Sharks a few weeks back, changed needed to be made. However, since he has been dropped, both the Roosters’ attack and defence has actually deteriorated with them only scoring TWO tries in their last two games.
He was the rookie of the year a couple of years ago, touted as a future Origin player, and has the talent and the work ethic. He should be brought back into the game-day line-up at halfback or in the utility role on the bench, like he was at the end of 2021.
Joseph Suaalii has been one of the most talked about NRL players in 2023, and that’s been due to his future contract with the Wallabies, being signed only weeks ago.
Now, there have been reports that he should be shown the door and released from the Roosters club, again, crazy talk. He needs to be there, at least till the end of this year, due to, if not for anything else, the Roosters lack of extra outside backs.
Joseph Suaalii . (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
He was moved to the centres to get more involved in the play due to his freak talent, and it was a move that should have worked. Unfortunately, especially over the last few weeks, he has been found out defensively and we shouldn’t forget that he was in contention for NSW Blues selection last year, and that was for his wing play.
He is an absolute freak, incredibly talented and deserves all the accolades he gets, but for now, he should be moved back to wing to rediscover his 2022 form.
Now these are fundamental fixes. The Roosters have scored the second-fewest points and have only scored two tries in the last two games.
Their attack has been stagnant and there has been a lot of sideways and passive movement.
One thing to note is the tries they scored, came from when they ran with a lot of strong intent.
However, the difficulty is, the way to ascertain the confidence to move the ball and play free flowing, is to complete better. The Roosters have completed at less than 70% for the last two weeks and haven’t completed over 80% since the loss against the Sharks in round seven.
This needs to change and Robinson will be acknowledging this specific issue over the next few weeks because they will be found out by top-ranked teams, like they were on Friday night, if they continue this.
The Roosters’ season is far from gone, and with all the talent they have, they will be in the top eight, however, how high they finish, is up to them and whether or not they can rediscover their 2022 end-of-season form.
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