As Joseph Manu was leaving Sydney to join his teammates on the other side of the world, Roosters five-eighth Luke Keary told the travelling media in Los Angeles that it would be “totally fine” if the strike centre spent a few seasons in French rugby before “hopefully” coming back to the Tricolours.
Manu has established himself as one of the best players in the world, with the 27-year-old claiming the 2022 Golden Boot for his efforts with the Kiwis.
The only place to watch both games of the Las Vegas opening double-header live is Fox League, available on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial today >
While many considered him to be James Tedesco’s long-term replacement at fullback, the Roosters are resigned to losing him at the end of the year, with Manu fielding lucrative offers from the 15-man code overseas.
Losing him would be a hammer blow given young gun Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii is also off to rugby in 2025, but Keary says the door is always open for Manu to return to the club that he won two premierships with.
“He’s mentored a lot of these young kids coming through over the last couple of years,” Keary said.
“I’ve obviously got to see him grow from the first year that he came into first grade, and he’s such a good person and a very good rugby league player, too.
“If he does end up going, then that’s totally fine. We’ll miss him a heap, but it’ll be awesome to watch his journey.
“Hopefully, he comes back one day.”
Manu left Sydney and will arrive in America with plenty of time to acclimatise ahead of Sunday’s historic clash with the Broncos at Allegiant Stadium, where the Roosters are looking to avoid another round 1 defeat.
The Tricolours have lost five of their previous six season openers, with the Roosters stunned by the Dolphins in round 1 last year when they were unbackable favourites.
They do have a good recent record against Brisbane but did lose their only meeting in 2023 against the beaten grand finalists.
“We’re due for a win,” Keary laughed, with the Roosters keen to avoid another slow start that would force them to spend the season scrambling for wins.
“We’ve had different pre-seasons in the past. We’ve had some where we travelled, we’ve had some where we’ve had guys who haven’t trained for a lot of it.
“I think we’ve had a really consistent one this pre-season, so hopefully we come out a little bit better than previous years.”
The trip overseas is nothing new to the Roosters who have headed to the UK for World Club Challenges in the past, and Keary expects the camaraderie of the fortnight together to bring the best out of the competition heavyweights.
“I’ve done three World Club Challenges, and they are three of the most memorable trips that I’ve ever done,” he said.
“You become great mates with everyone and you get to experience things you’d never get to by yourself.
“You get to all these sporting events and you get to do so much as a team and as a club, and even your staff members are there.
“These are the best trips I’ve been on.
“It’s a competition game for us, so it’s not an exhibition.
“Hopefully, we don’t think about the occasion too much and just think about the game and doing our job and trying to get the win.”
