Victor Radley is expected to miss just one week after his latest concussion as the Roosters work to shore up a right-edge defence that has conceded a try every 18 minutes over their past two games.
Radley’s heavy collision with captain James Tedesco – and previous concussion history – prompted concerns around his immediate playing future, and some sensationalist headlines suggesting he is poised to retire, following last Thursday’s 50-14 thrashing from Brisbane.
However, the Roosters back-rower was in good spirits while joining in non-contact elements of Sunday’s training session and is progressing through the NRL’s 11-day return-to-play protocols.
Radley will miss Friday’s clash against Penrith but at this stage is on track to return the following week against the Warriors, and has not reported any lingering symptoms from the collision.
In his absence, the Broncos scored five tries against a new-look Roosters right edge of Chad Townsend, bench forward Siua Wong, NRL debutant Rob Toia and Dominic Young.
The same channel was targeted by Newcastle – albeit in a pre-season trial – in similar fashion, as the Knights emerged with three left-edge tries and another from a long-range intercept.
Both Brisbane and Newcastle exploited the new combination with short-side plays and edge runners targeting Townsend.
Panthers star Nathan Cleary engineers these plays better than anyone in the game, and Penrith found fortune last season in targeting Sandon Smith and former half Luke Keary.
The four-time premiers will be especially dangerous on the edges given Brian To’o’s return allows Paul Alamoti to partner Izack Tago as Penrith’s first-choice centre pairing.
“They can come down my side if they want to,” Young said. “I’m not too worried about them coming down there. To be honest, I thought the defence on the edge wasn’t too bad [against Brisbane].
Chad Townsend’s Roosters debut was a tough night at the office.Credit: Getty Images
If you looked at all the tries it looked like we had a jumbled edge [but] every time when we had our edge and our system, the defence was pretty good.
“We had a few short-side [plays] and a lot of times we were short on numbers, that’s probably just communication and awareness. But I felt pretty comfortable out there next to Rob on the weekend.”
Townsend echoed coach Trent Robinson’s post-game assessment that rushing last-play “chaos” had brought the Roosters unstuck in defence against the Broncos.
Originally signed to mentor and offer back-up to the injured Sam Walker and Smith, 34-year-old Townsend now finds himself the Roosters’ chief conductor.
He acknowledged he is not as quick across the ground as he once was, but argued that foot speed has never been a cornerstone of his game, either, and that sound decision-making is the key to edge defence.
“It’s just smarts. Defensively I don’t think my speed comes into it too much with regards to decisions, it’s more footwork and experience,” Townsend said.
“If anything it’s in attack where my speed and age gets taken into account with my age, but I’ve never thought or cared about it too much.
“I’ve never been the fastest person and I’ve got this far. For me it’s about putting my head down and working hard on those other areas that have got me to where I am today.”
Wong shapes as the Roosters’ right-edge back-rower while Nat Butcher (non-playing related operation) and Radley are sidelined.
It was the sixth time Radley has failed a HIA in the past four seasons, though he has spoken previously of not experiencing any lingering concussion symptoms.
“I think [the Roosters] have led the way in the NRL in regards to giving guys the required time off, often longer than the guidelines [require],” Townsend said, pointing to the club’s handling of Keary, Boyd Cordner and Jake Friend in recent years.
“I think that shows this club doesn’t take things lightly and want to look after the players’ welfare. The game is a very forceful game, sometimes accidents do happen. But Victor seems OK. He’s smiling, he’s happy, he’ll do the right thing and so will the club.”
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