The Sydney Roosters struggled through to the end of the 2020 NRL season, but they’re primed and ready to bounce back in 2021.
2020 Wrap
“It’s so difficult to go back-to-back in the NRL.”
We’ve all heard the saying and know the Sydney Roosters completed the feat in 2018 and 2019. However, their lack lustre finish in 2020 seems to have come as a surprise to some. While their 60-8 thrashing at the hands of the Rabbitohs and a straight sets exit from the Finals are our last memories of the 2020 Roosters, they still finished 4th on the NRL ladder.
Their attack finished equal with the Storm at 27.2 points per game. That came while Victor Radley sat on the sideline from Round 7 onward and with a halfback Trent Robinson dropped at one point of the season before ushering him out the door in the summer.
With two-and-a-half years at the top of their game and key players missing time due to injury, it’s no wonder the Roosters produced a tired looking finish to the season. The roster is aging, and it looked that way at times. However, the development of Sitili Tupouniua and Lindsay Collins kept the next batch of youngsters coming through. Meanwhile, Angus Crichton and Sio Siua Taukeiaho continued their rise into the elite tier of players in their respective positions.
At their best, the Roosters were one of the most dangerous teams in the NRL.
Predicted Profile
What will the Sydney Roosters look like and how will they play? We take a stab at profiling their playing style ahead of Round 1.
Victor Radley’s influence on the Roosters attack – and form of Kyle Flanagan – wasn’t obvious until he limped off the field in 2020. As it turns out, Radley’s skillset is perfect for the way the game is trending under the new rules. Teams are looking to shrink the defence through the middle before shifting the ball wide as quickly as possible. His passing game in the middle of the field allowed the Roosters to do that. As much as Issac Liu and Sonny Bill Williams tried to emulate Radley’s role, neither could pull it off nearly as well.
Radley is due to return in the “early rounds” of the season. From there, the Roosters will once again be one of the best attacking teams in the NRL.
Their ability to always be ready to pounce on an attacking opportunity is what makes them so dangerous. This try here in Round 5 is a prime example of players knowing exactly where to be and when – just watch Angus Crichton.
He doesn’t receive the ball on the first movement to the right. Before Flanagan starts to play the ball Luke Keary, Jake Friend, James Tedesco and Joey Manu have all signaled for the ball down the right side. Crichton doesn’t stop running as he reloads down the right edge, and with Manu running an excellent line on Raymond Faitala-Mariner’s inside shoulder, a gap opens up for the Roosters backrower to cross the line untouched.
The Roosters are exceptionally well-drilled. It wouldn’t be a surprise to hear they step off the team bus already in shape before their match every week. The roster is getting older but the recipe remains the same. This attack will keep cooking in 2021.
2021 NRL Notepad
Jason Oliver cracks open his notepad to find a key player, style or stat to keep an eye on this season.
Sitili Tupouniua
He has been a guy the Roosters have had big plans for since the beginning of 2019. Now, Sitili Tupouniua is a key cog to their 2021 premiership campaign.
Thrown out in the middle throughout 2019 to grow accustomed to the rigors of regular first-grade football, Tupouniua went on to play 20 games throughout 2020 in a variety of roles. He played anywhere from the middle out to the centres. While doing so, he regularly displayed the skills that have me excited for a 2021 season spent predominantly on the edge.
Tupouniua fits perfectly into the Roosters system as an edge player. Most notably, he’s active off and around the ball. He doesn’t stop moving and will put himself in positions similar to Angus Crichton in the above try. The 23-year-old also makes sure to push up in support – a key component to the Roosters setup.
Sio Siua Taukeiaho does an excellent job here to scramble the defensive line with his footwork and dummy (he deserves his own segment here, really. It will definitely come at some point during the season, though). Meanwhile, Tupouniua runs a dangerous line – one that could have put him through the hole anyway had Taukeiaho released the pass – before backing up in support to score.
Not just limited as a support player, Tupouniua has the footwork himself to take on the defensive line and create opportunities for others. He exposed some soft and lazy defensive efforts to put James Tedesco over the line in this one.
The status of Boyd Cordner is relatively unknown but he isn’t expected to play for the Roosters until at least Round 14. Until then, Tupouniua has the chance to shine while playing in one position on the same side of the field for a lengthy period. The decision on how to rotate Crichton, Tupouniua and Cordner might not be so easy for Trent Robinson if the 23-year-old kicks on like I think he will.
“Heads In” 2021
Oscar Pannifex unpacks a scrum of three key questions ahead of the 2021 NRL season.
Centre-Field Scrum – What’s centre-frame in the Rugby League lens this season?
With Boyd Cordner out indefinitely as the Roosters look to manage his concussion concerns, Angus Crichton has been presented with a chance to make a statement in 2021.
Approaching his 100th first-grade game and entering his third season at Bondi, Crichton is knocking on the door of elite status among backrowers in the competition. Statistically, he more than matches up against the man he is set to replace for a period this season – a club, NSW and Australian captain no less.
| 2020 stats (avg) | Minutes | Run metres | Tackles | Tackle busts | General-play passes |
| Boyd Cordner | 70 | 111 | 24 | 1 | 4 |
| Angus Crichton | 68 | 111 | 34 | 3 | 3 |
Crichton found a rich vein of form in the back half of last year, and if he can carry that through to 2021 he looks primed to have a career-best season partnering dominant playmaker Luke Keary down the Roosters’ left edge.
Few edge backrowers look as good as Crichton running onto a flat pass like this one from Keary in the finals last year. He runs a brilliant unders line and has good late footwork which often gets him one-on-one with opposition defenders – good luck.
Spending time in the middle last season, Crichton also showed an ability and willingness to play at or through the line and look to generate second-phase play for the likes of Tedesco sniffing around the ball.
We’ve seen glimpses in Crichton’s 96 first-grade games of a very intelligent footballer with skills to match – the passage Jase covered above is a perfect example. His ability to reload on the play and execute under pressure was a sign of footy smarts we perhaps haven’t given Crichton credit for. Taking on an elevated role in the Roosters’ pack this season, we’re looking forward to seeing what Crichton makes of his opportunity in 2021.
Right Scrum-Line – Who is feeling the pressure this season?
Following Kyle Flanagan’s unceremonious exit from the Sydney Roosters last year, Trent Robinson has one glaring question mark on his team sheet heading into this season, and it’s an important one.
Whether Luke Keary’s reported transition into the halfback jersey changes how the livewire playmaker goes about his work or not, who partners him in the halves shapes to be the story of the season for the Roosters.
Lachlan Lam is expected to get first crack and the early signs have been solid while not spectacular. Playing just 11 NRL games in his career so far, we have certainly not seen Lam’s best and the Sydney Roosters are usually a pretty good judge of talent. With some extended time on the field in 2021, Lam will be given his chance to cement a role alongside Keary in the halves.
But there is another rookie name on the Roosters roster pushing for selection – a house-hold name no less.
Sam Walker looks likely to finally get his NRL debut at some point this season, following years of hype around the halfback coming through the grades. We got our best glimpse so far of Walker’s prodigious talent in a trial match last weekend, and there was plenty to like.
Receiving the ball two passes off the ruck, Walker floats a long ball to Joseph Manu into space down the right touchline. Manu takes the meters on offer before offloading to Tedesco, who finds Walker backing up in support.
With the defensive line compressed down that corridor, Walker sums the situation up beautifully with another slick long ball to Crichton, this time on the left hand side of the field. Crichton gets through the line and looks for support only to find – you guessed it – Walker backing up yet again for a classy four-pointer.
There’s only so much we can take from trial form, but we’ll take what we can.
Great vision, an accurate long pass to either side and excellent support play is a pretty good place to start for an NRL halfback. Producing this in first-grade, and consistently across a grueling 25-round competition will be the challenge for Walker at the Roosters this year.
With Trent Robinson in his corner, you’d be inclined to back him in. It wouldn’t surprise to see Walker finish the 2021 season alongside Keary as the Roosters’ first-choice halves pairing.
Left Scrum-Line – My left-field thought for the season
http://gty.im/1276913250Let me start off by saying there is no bigger fan of the Morris twins – particularly of their form over the past few seasons – than I.
Like a fine wine, Brett and Josh have been getting better with every game they play for the tri-colours, and were two of the Roosters’ best last season – quite a statement when you consider the calibre of their teammates.
Some of the defensive efforts we saw from Brett last year were frankly outrageous.
We all watched in disbelief as the 34 year old chased down Cronulla speedster Sione Katoa in Round 20 last year from his opposite wing, despite giving Katoa a 20 metre head start. Then as we were picking our jaws up off the floor, Brett picked himself up, chased a Shaun Johnson kick 50 metres back across the field and made a one-on-one try saving tackle on Ronaldo Mulitalo in the corner.
Like I said, outrageous.
Josh was in equally fine touch on the other flank. Per Fox Sports, 11 tries and 7 try assists rank him third and second, respectively, among full-time centres across the competition last season. But all good things must come to an end, and sooner or later we will all be forced to behold and bemoan the decline of the Morris brothers.
The Roosters are well equipped to manage that loss with Joseph Manu widely regarded as one of the best young centres in the game. At 24 years of age and with his 100th first-grade game in sight, is this the year that Manu reaches the lofty heights he is clearly capable of?
Peak, Pass, Pit
Oscar and Jason give their predicted peak for the Roosters in 2021 along with a pass mark and worst-case scenario.
Peak
Premiership: Once again, the Sydney Roosters will enter the NRL competition proper with plenty of expectation and optimism about their chances. Trent Robinson is one of the best in the business and they are stacked with representative talent. They mightn’t be as short priced as in recent years, but this team is more than capable of winning on Grand Final day. ~OP
Premiership: A poor finish to 2020 has the Sydney Roosters underrated coming into 2021. Radley and Verrills return to an already stacked lineup while the likes of Butcher, Collins and Tupouniua look set to take their game to another level. They still have arguably the best 17 in the NRL when healthy and I expect them to at least be present on Grand Final day. ~JO
Pass
Top 4: The Roosters demand excellence and this season is no exception. A top four finish is the pass mark for the tri-colours in 2021, as they look to improve on their disappointing end to the 2020 season. Sydney’s defensive systems are elite and the likes of Keary, Tedesco and Manu are some of the best attacking players in their respective positions. This team should play deep into the finals again in 2021. ~OP
Top 4 into Prelim: They had a few issues to deal with last season and still landed themselves inside the top four. There is no reason they shouldn’t do the same in 2021. The Roosters aren’t likely to look so flat at the end of this season either. This team is too good to go back-to-back years without making a prelim. ~JO
Pit
5th-6th: It would take an horrific injury toll and a disastrous drop in form, but falling into the bottom half of the eight is a real possibility for the Roosters in 2021. The likes of Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Jake Friend and the Morris brothers are not getting any younger, and while their contingency plans are no doubt already in place, the Roosters could find themselves finishing 5th or 6th if injuries are unkind and new combinations are slow to gel. ~OP
5th-6th The Roosters are with the Panthers, Storm, Rabbitohs and Raiders as the top five teams in the competition. Even if we allow for them to finish behind all four of the premiership contenders as well as an unexpected bolter, 6th is the lowest the Roosters should finish in 2021. ~JO
*All stats and video from NRL.com unless stated otherwise