Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson insists he will be sleeping soundly in the countdown to round one after his new-look side suffered a 48-10 reality check at the hands of an impressive Newcastle in Sunday’s pre-season trial match in Gosford.
With both teams fielding their strongest available line-ups in the first half, the Roosters found themselves pondering a 36-4 scoreline at the break after conceding six tries.
Adding to their woes, prop Spencer Leniu was sin-binned and placed on report in the opening minutes for a tackle on Knights hooker Phoenix Crossland.
Leniu appeared to collect Crossland with a shoulder to the head and, while the Newcastle dummy half suffered no obvious ill-effects, Leniu faces an anxious wait to learn if he has been charged by the match review panel for high contact.
Losing the NSW Origin enforcer to suspension is the last thing the Roosters need, given that the engine-room rotation has already been depleted by the off-season departures of Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (England) and Terrell May (Wests Tigers).
Other notable absentees on Sunday were Luke Keary, Joseph Manu and Joseph Suaalii, all of whom moved on at the end of last season, and Sam Walker and Brandon Smith, both recovering from major surgeries last year.
Kalyn Ponga celebrates after scoring the Knights’ sixth try, just before half-time.Credit: Getty Images
The performance against Newcastle underlined the challenge Robinson faces in trying to reshape his squad, but the coach was in upbeat mood post-match.
“You can’t get upset about trial games, either way,” Robinson said. “If you’re too concerned or too happy about them, you’ll miss the mark. What it does give us though is show clear things that still need work. That scoreline is too big for what we wanted.”
In contrast, the Knights gave a glimpse of their potential in a rout that suggested they could cause some surprises last season.
In particular, Newcastle coach Adam O’Brien was delighted with what he saw from fledgling five-eighth Fletcher Sharpe, and also his team’s commitment in defence, especially after their 44-18 loss to Parramatta in their previous trial.
Spencer Leniu is sin-binned after a high shot on Phoenix Crossland.Credit: NRL Photos
“Take the result out of it,” O’Brien said. “The boys have had a good summer. They’ve trained hard and there’s been a good feel about us.”
Sharpe, who scored 11 tries in 12 games last year in his first full NRL campaign, has been offered first crack at the five-eighth role and is clearly playing for keeps, judging by his two-try haul against the Roosters.
O’Brien faces a tough call regarding who will partner Sharpe at the scrumbase in round one. Tyson Gamble appeared to have the inside running, given he was named in the No.7 jersey to take on the Roosters, but he was a late withdrawal because of a back injury.
His unavailability presented experienced Jack Cogger – a grand final winner with Penrith in 2023 – with a recall and his combination with Sharpe might be enough for O’Brien to lock them in for Newcastle’s season opener against Wests Tigers.
The Knights dominated from the moment Leniu was dispatched to the sin-bin. A minute later, prop Jacob Saifiti crashed over to score between the posts from close range, and five minutes after that Sharpe raced 65 metres to score after the Roosters fumbled in an attacking situation.
A penalty try to Saifiti, after he was impeded in trying to ground a grubber kick, lifted the Knights to an unexpected 18-0 lead. The Roosters pegged that back with a try by veteran winger Daniel Tupou, but tries from Sharpe (27th minute), Jayden Brailey (33rd minute) and skipper Kalyn Ponga (37th minute) gave Newcastle a commanding half-time lead.
The Knights were clearly in no mood to take their foot off the pedal, posting the first try of the second half through bench forward Thomas Cant.
If Newcastle’s attack seemed a vast improvement on last season – when the only team who scored fewer points were Wests Tigers – their defensive display was just as outstanding.
Several times, desperate goal-line gang tackles prevented the Roosters from grounding the ball over the line, and a long-range intercept try from Newcastle winger Connor Votano in the 73rd minute exemplified the Tricolours’ frustrations.
The Knights are expected to be further boosted for round one by the availability of senior forwards Tyson Frizell (thigh) and Adam Elliott (calf), both of whom were rested from Sunday’s hit-out.
NRL is Live and Free on Channel 9 & 9Now
