NRL.com: Roosters Defiant in the Face of Adversity

For the second straight year the Roosters have lost two players to ACL injuries on the same night, and for the second straight year they will pick up the pieces and push on for the finals.

In 2021 it was Brett Morris and Lindsay Collins going down in round eight in Newcastle before the Roosters went on to win 10 of their remaining 16 games to finish fifth, eventually succumbing to Manly in the semi-final.

With seven rounds remaining in the 2022 season the Roosters sit ninth, and if they are to play finals for a sixth straight year they’ll have to do it without Sitili Tupouniua and Billy Smith, both of whom suffered serious knee injuries against the Dragons.

Ever the realist, coach Trent Robinson summed it up post-match when he said, ‘That’s the footy life. You move on and you feel sorry for your mate and you’ve got to get ready to play again. We’ll support them and we’ll suck it up pretty quickly and get ready for next week. It’s just a snapshot of what life looks like sometimes’.

Singing from the same song sheet on Monday, centre Paul Momirovski gave an insight into how the Roosters deal with adversity and refuse to use it as an excuse.

“It’s the NRL, you’re not going to go through a season without having people get injured,” he said.

“We’re really feeling for them but we’re not feeling sorry for ourselves.

“You know what the players around you can do. This club plays for premierships, that’s still where we are aiming.”

If the Roosters are to force their way into the eight and challenge for a third title in five years, the return of star playmaker Luke Keary and enforcer Jared Waerea-Hargreaves can’t come soon enough.

Keary has been sidelined since round 14 by concussion symptoms and JWH has missed five games with a hamstring injury but the 2018-19 premiership winners are due back for Friday’s clash with the Knights.

“Luke is one of our leaders, he’s one of our captains, he’s a great organiser,” Momirovski said.

“He brings that calmness and experience.”

Young gun Sam Walker can’t wait to have Keary back in the halves but he was also full of praise for Joey Manu, who has done an outstanding job at five-eighth in the past two games.

The Kiwi superstar ran for 160 metres and broke 14 tackles against Penrith before blitzing the Dragons with two tries, 15 tackle breaks and 194 metres.

We’re really feeling for them but we’re not feeling sorry for ourselves

Paul Momirovski

“Joey’s a freak, he’s a natural footballer and an absolute beast to watch,” Walker said.

“You put him in any position – you can put him in the front row and he’d kill it but Luke is an unbelievable footballer and the leadership he will bring will be huge for us.

“We know the boys will dig deep, we went through a lot of this last year [with injuries]. We know what we need to do and the belief doesn’t change in the club.

“This is why you play, I love these games.

“I love that pressure that we’ll be facing needing to win most of our games going into the finals. It’ll give us a good confidence boost when we do make the finals.

“We’re not here to just make the finals – we want to win it. That’s the belief we have in this club.”