Roosters skipper James Tedesco says he rates the recalled Sandon Smith just as highly as Sam Walker as they prepare to travel to Melbourne in a bid to snap their horror record against the Storm in a game that has major top-eight implications.
Walker was all smiles as he left Roosters headquarters on Monday just days after he was brutally knocked out of their costly loss to the Eels while attempting to tackle Kelma Tuilagi.
The star halfback is in mandatory concussion protocols and will not take on the Storm, with Smith to return to the NRL side for the first time since round 21 when he was concussed against Melbourne.
Smith played a couple of games in NSW Cup and was clutch in both contests, including grabbing two late tries in a thrilling win over the Bears.
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His future at the club beyond 2025 appears shaky at best after being linked with a couple of rival clubs, but his teammates are confident he can produce the sort of form that helped him start 16 games at five-eighth this year.
“Sanga (Smith) is a great footy player,” Tedesco said, with Walker to return next week against Souths.
“We’ve got great depth in the halves at the moment, and Sanga is definitely a first-grader. He showed that at the start of the year, was a big part of our success and won a lot of games for us.
“I just want Sanga to come in and be himself. He doesn’t have to play like Sam or anyone else. His running, his threats and his instincts are great for our team, so we just want to encourage him to back himself and play his game.
“He’s ready to go. We love Sam and we know how good of a player he is, but I rate Sanga just as much and I know he’ll do a good job for us.”
Walker has set up 15 tries since returning from a serious knee injury and will be a huge loss against a Storm side that has knocked them out of the past two finals series.
The Roosters were without him for the finals last year but need to win at least one more game and hope the Dolphins and Sea Eagles keep losing if they hope to sneak into eighth spot.
Their late-season surge came to a grinding halt against the Eels last week to leave them one win clear of the chasing pack, but they’ve shown that their best footy can match it with anyone.
“It was really disappointing for us to put in that performance on the weekend, but our fate is in our hands,” Tedesco said ahead of Friday’s game against a team they’ve beaten just once this decade.
“We know we have to win the next two games to get in the finals, and we’ve taken a lot of lessons from the weekend. Our effort areas and our mentality wasn’t there, and that’s what we need at this time of year, so it was a bit of a wake-up call for us.
“But we know that our best footy can really give this comp a shake, so it’s about doing it this week.
“The performance on the weekend was not good enough and we know that. But the belief between these four walls is very high, and it’s on us leaders to lead that and encourage these boys to play our footy.
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“We’ve got nothing to lose now. It’s all on us and the fate’s in our hands.”
The loss of Walker and the uncertainty around the finals has added plenty of intrigue to how the Roosters finish the season, but for Lindsay Collins, it’s business as usual.
“There’s a big plaque up on the wall as you walk in that says ‘we play for premierships’,” he said.
“That’s what we do every year. It’s no different to any other year. We’ve got a job to do at the back end of the year, but first things first, we’ve got Storm this week.”
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