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NRL 2021: Roosters’ Victor Radley set for Round 1 return, Lachlan Lam to start
Roosters enforcer Victor Radley has named his NRL return date — and the special incentive that has him itching to get back on the field. Sydney Roosters lock Victor Radley has declared himself an almost certain starter for the NRL season opener against Manly at the SCG, revealing the chance to play alongside childhood mate Lachlan Lam also has him itching to get back from a devastating knee injury.
Currently bunkered down in a training camp at Brunswick Heads, Radley told The Daily Telegraph he has been training solidly “for six weeks now” after rupturing his ACL in a match against St George Illawarra last June.
While the Tricolours’ No.13 expects to begin 2021 from the interchange bench, he said the opportunity to play alongside Lam, a likely starter in the Roosters halves, was also a strong motivator.
The pair have been great mates since they first played under sevens together for the Clovelly Crocodiles.
Victor Radley is excited to be playing footy with childhood mate Lachlan Lam. Picture: Adam Yip.
“And we played together right through to under-17s, then Harold Matthews and SG Ball,” Radley said.
“So we’re obviously great mates and it’s been unreal to train alongside him again.
“I know Lamy’s stoked (about having the chance to start the season).
“He’s been working really hard here at the Roosters over the past couple of years — he’s stuck around and trained hard, never moped and I’m looking forward to playing alongside him like the good old days.
“It’s actually been great at training, passing to each other.
“We have a special bond, have known each other for as long as I can remember, so it’s awesome to be in the same side. I can’t wait to get out there with him.”
Asked about his recovery from the ACL injury, Radley continued: “Knee feels good, body feels good and — touch wood — everything is coming along smoothly.
“I’m in good spirits
“It’s been great to get out on the field and get back to training hard for what has been six weeks now really.
“And the knee has held up really good.”
So as for a round one return?
“I haven’t spoken to the physios about a specific date, I’ve just been doing whatever I need to each day,” he said.
“But it is looking like round one.
“I don’t see why not.
“Although we haven’t decided on anything 100 per cent just yet.
“Some days the knee feels great, like I could play today. Others it feels like there is a little bit to go.
“So we’ll see. But it looks like it (round one).”
Radley is aiming for a Round 1 return from an ACL injury. Picture: NRL Images.
One person who can’t wait to see Radley back on the field is NSW Origin coach Brad Fittler.
The pair were together on Wednesday in Lennox Head, partnering up as part of Freddy’s annual Hogs for the Homeless tour.
Roosters assistant Craig Fitzgibbon transported a small group of the club’s stars down for an afternoon coaching clinic, with Fittler joined not only by Radley, but James Tedesco, Angus Crichton and Boyd Cordner.
The coach said he was excited to see the backrower get back onto the playing field, and predicted Radley to quickly regain his form.
“There was a time where players returning from big injuries, they would have to warm into things,” Fittler said. “Take some time (on the field) to get themselves in order.
“But it seems with major operations these days, the doctors are not only getting better but the rehabilitation process is getting much better too.
“And I’m sure after sitting on the sideline for so long, Victor will have built up some frustration too. So hopefully he can settle quickly into the form he’s had for the last couple of years.”
FREDDY’S SHOCK PICK FOR ROOSTERS NO.7
Brad Fittler, every day this week, has some 500km of bitumen with which to think.
Although not straight out.
No, those long country roads being thudded along by his hulking Harley-Davidson, they’re continually broken up by appearances in towns like Gloucester, Warialda, Tenterfield and, come late Wednesday afternoon, Lennox Head.
“And each time we stop,” the NSW Origin coach says, “I’m being given plenty of good advice about why we lost Origin”.
Which of course, Freddy welcomes.
But as for the complaint he’s hearing most?
“Ah, they’ve questioned my interchange a fair bit,” he continues, laughing now. “And there’s been a lot of 12-year-olds giving advice on who I should pick this year.
“But that feedback, I love it.
“I just love chatting with people.”
Call it a truth which this particular afternoon in Lennox Head, sees Fittler switch focus to NRL heavyweight Roosters.
Brad Fittler is in Lennox Head for his annual Hogs for the Homeless tour. Picture: AAP.
An obvious topic given his being joined for the afternoon’s footy clinic by Bondi Junction stars James Tedesco, Victor Radley, Angus Crichton and Boyd Cordner, who together have driven from a nearby North Coast training camp.
So as for what Freddy thinks about the biggest question facing the Chooks in 2021 – specifically, the identity of their new No.7?
“I think the Roosters move Luke Keary to halfback,“ Fittler says. “Which would definitely change the way they play.
“With Keary, he’s different to those two guys who came before him — Cooper Cronk and Kyle Flanagan.
“Luke isn’t as structured as those guys.
“Or rigid, I suppose.
“So I definitely think if he moves there, the Roosters play with more risk.
“Because Luke, he plays more off the cuff.
“Has a lot of attack, shoots down blind sides and so on. And I’m sure they will look to expose sides with that.”
Freddy has backed Luke Keary to take over from Kyle Flanagan at halfback. Picture: Phil Hillyard
So as for who then partners Keary at five-eighth: Lachlan Lam, Sam Walker, Drew Hutchison or Adam Keighran?
“Not sure,” Fittler conceded. “I think it’s a toss up.
“I’ve only seen Walker play once, in an U/18s game. But he went well and was the one in control out there
“There is definitely some competition for that spot but, at the end of the day, it’s the Roosters forwards that have been the stand out for a long time, they’ve been the benchmark.
“And again, it will be up to those guys in the middle — players like Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, (Siosiua) Taukeiaho, Jake Friend and Isaac Liu.”
More importantly than even talking footy however, Fittler is using this year’s Hogs tour to give the people of country NSW — think schoolboys, farmers, everyone basically — the chance to speak, and think, more broadly about themselves.
As part of the annual motorbike run, which stretches across 10 days in two stints over the next fortnight, Fittler has also recruited close mate Gus Worland to present mental health programs from his Gotcha4Life Foundation.
“And being accompanied by Gus has been a real bonus,” Freddy said.
“Young people these days, they’re under pressure.
“A lot of pressure
“And while Gus talks about some heavy stuff, he really is a wonderful presenter.
“Which is important with what we’re doing out here.
“We don’t want to just drop in, say hello and give you a footy. We want our visit to be a lot more than that.”
Roosters enforcer Victor Radley has named his NRL return date — and the special incentive that has him itching to get back on the field. Sydney Roosters lock Victor Radley has declared himself an almost certain starter for the NRL season opener against Manly at the SCG, revealing the chance to play alongside childhood mate Lachlan Lam also has him itching to get back from a devastating knee injury.
Currently bunkered down in a training camp at Brunswick Heads, Radley told The Daily Telegraph he has been training solidly “for six weeks now” after rupturing his ACL in a match against St George Illawarra last June.
While the Tricolours’ No.13 expects to begin 2021 from the interchange bench, he said the opportunity to play alongside Lam, a likely starter in the Roosters halves, was also a strong motivator.
The pair have been great mates since they first played under sevens together for the Clovelly Crocodiles.
Victor Radley is excited to be playing footy with childhood mate Lachlan Lam. Picture: Adam Yip.“And we played together right through to under-17s, then Harold Matthews and SG Ball,” Radley said.
“So we’re obviously great mates and it’s been unreal to train alongside him again.
“I know Lamy’s stoked (about having the chance to start the season).
“He’s been working really hard here at the Roosters over the past couple of years — he’s stuck around and trained hard, never moped and I’m looking forward to playing alongside him like the good old days.
“It’s actually been great at training, passing to each other.
“We have a special bond, have known each other for as long as I can remember, so it’s awesome to be in the same side. I can’t wait to get out there with him.”
Asked about his recovery from the ACL injury, Radley continued: “Knee feels good, body feels good and — touch wood — everything is coming along smoothly.
“I’m in good spirits
“It’s been great to get out on the field and get back to training hard for what has been six weeks now really.
“And the knee has held up really good.”
So as for a round one return?
“I haven’t spoken to the physios about a specific date, I’ve just been doing whatever I need to each day,” he said.
“But it is looking like round one.
“I don’t see why not.
“Although we haven’t decided on anything 100 per cent just yet.
“Some days the knee feels great, like I could play today. Others it feels like there is a little bit to go.
“So we’ll see. But it looks like it (round one).”
Radley is aiming for a Round 1 return from an ACL injury. Picture: NRL Images.One person who can’t wait to see Radley back on the field is NSW Origin coach Brad Fittler.
The pair were together on Wednesday in Lennox Head, partnering up as part of Freddy’s annual Hogs for the Homeless tour.
Roosters assistant Craig Fitzgibbon transported a small group of the club’s stars down for an afternoon coaching clinic, with Fittler joined not only by Radley, but James Tedesco, Angus Crichton and Boyd Cordner.
The coach said he was excited to see the backrower get back onto the playing field, and predicted Radley to quickly regain his form.
“There was a time where players returning from big injuries, they would have to warm into things,” Fittler said. “Take some time (on the field) to get themselves in order.
“But it seems with major operations these days, the doctors are not only getting better but the rehabilitation process is getting much better too.
“And I’m sure after sitting on the sideline for so long, Victor will have built up some frustration too. So hopefully he can settle quickly into the form he’s had for the last couple of years.”
FREDDY’S SHOCK PICK FOR ROOSTERS NO.7
Brad Fittler, every day this week, has some 500km of bitumen with which to think.
Although not straight out.
No, those long country roads being thudded along by his hulking Harley-Davidson, they’re continually broken up by appearances in towns like Gloucester, Warialda, Tenterfield and, come late Wednesday afternoon, Lennox Head.
“And each time we stop,” the NSW Origin coach says, “I’m being given plenty of good advice about why we lost Origin”.
Which of course, Freddy welcomes.
But as for the complaint he’s hearing most?
“Ah, they’ve questioned my interchange a fair bit,” he continues, laughing now. “And there’s been a lot of 12-year-olds giving advice on who I should pick this year.
“But that feedback, I love it.
“I just love chatting with people.”
Call it a truth which this particular afternoon in Lennox Head, sees Fittler switch focus to NRL heavyweight Roosters.
Brad Fittler is in Lennox Head for his annual Hogs for the Homeless tour. Picture: AAP.An obvious topic given his being joined for the afternoon’s footy clinic by Bondi Junction stars James Tedesco, Victor Radley, Angus Crichton and Boyd Cordner, who together have driven from a nearby North Coast training camp.
So as for what Freddy thinks about the biggest question facing the Chooks in 2021 – specifically, the identity of their new No.7?
“I think the Roosters move Luke Keary to halfback,“ Fittler says. “Which would definitely change the way they play.
“With Keary, he’s different to those two guys who came before him — Cooper Cronk and Kyle Flanagan.
“Luke isn’t as structured as those guys.
“Or rigid, I suppose.
“So I definitely think if he moves there, the Roosters play with more risk.
“Because Luke, he plays more off the cuff.
“Has a lot of attack, shoots down blind sides and so on. And I’m sure they will look to expose sides with that.”
Freddy has backed Luke Keary to take over from Kyle Flanagan at halfback. Picture: Phil HillyardSo as for who then partners Keary at five-eighth: Lachlan Lam, Sam Walker, Drew Hutchison or Adam Keighran?
“Not sure,” Fittler conceded. “I think it’s a toss up.
“I’ve only seen Walker play once, in an U/18s game. But he went well and was the one in control out there
“There is definitely some competition for that spot but, at the end of the day, it’s the Roosters forwards that have been the stand out for a long time, they’ve been the benchmark.
“And again, it will be up to those guys in the middle — players like Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, (Siosiua) Taukeiaho, Jake Friend and Isaac Liu.”
More importantly than even talking footy however, Fittler is using this year’s Hogs tour to give the people of country NSW — think schoolboys, farmers, everyone basically — the chance to speak, and think, more broadly about themselves.
As part of the annual motorbike run, which stretches across 10 days in two stints over the next fortnight, Fittler has also recruited close mate Gus Worland to present mental health programs from his Gotcha4Life Foundation.
“And being accompanied by Gus has been a real bonus,” Freddy said.
“Young people these days, they’re under pressure.
“A lot of pressure
“And while Gus talks about some heavy stuff, he really is a wonderful presenter.
“Which is important with what we’re doing out here.
“We don’t want to just drop in, say hello and give you a footy. We want our visit to be a lot more than that.”
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