The Roosters have been dealt a savage blow ahead of their NRL finals campaign with trio Sam Walker, Brandon Smith and Victor Radley all suffering what are believed to be season-ending injuries in the loss to the Raiders. Ricky Stuart’s men have continued their late surge up the NRL table having defeated the Panthers and now the Roosters in back-to-back games.
Canberra held on for a gutsy 14-12 win and while the Roosters would be disappointed with the defeat, the loss of Walker, Smith and Radley for the remainder of the season is a major blow to their premiership hopes. Walker’s injury was a major concern with the playmaker going down clutching at his knee despite minimal contract with a Raiders player.
The three guys are going for scans now. It doesn’t look good for Sammy. That’s really disappointing,” said Roosters coach Trent Robinson immediately after the contest. Walker is facing a lengthy six to nine months recovery after surgery and could miss the first 10 rounds of the 2025 NRL season
And The Daily Telegraph reporter Phil Rothfield has also claimed Smith and Radley will miss the rest of the season as well, with the No.9 also suffering an ACL injury. “I’ve got an update and it’s terrible news for the Roosters, late last night they were informed Brandon Smith had actually done his ACL,” Rothfield said on the Big Sports Breakfast on Monday morning
Both him and Sam Walker. It’s going to be officially confirmed this morning but Brandon had his scans last night. Victor Radley late last night I was also told needs surgery. This will all be confirmed later in the day… but the initial diagnosis is that all three face surgery.”
Scans unfortunately confirm Sam Walker ruptured his ACL today (via @badel_cmail). Previous partial tear now complete.
Surgery & 6-9 months recovery (though most closer to 9 months these days) – means he could miss as many as 10 games next season. Horrible news, feel for Walker.
Roosters coach Robinson tried to reassure fans the team will still be a force in the NRL finals having backed his squad to step up if the injuries were serious. “We’ve got a squad for that reason. You guys don’t get to see them always, but you’ve got to believe in who’s coming next,” Robinson said.
“So let’s go, let’s get excited about moving on to next week.” The Roosters also face one more injury concern with forward Nat Butcher suffering a category-one head injury assessment. He will most likely miss next week’s clash against the South Sydney Rabbitohs. But he will be back for the finals with the Roosters seeking a top two finish.
Ricky Stuart praises Canberra Raiders effort
While Roosters fans are downbeat after the carnage in the loss to the Raiders, Canberra coach Stuart was thrilled with his team’s performance. The Roosters dominated territory throughout the clash and penalties were certainly against the Raiders.
But Canberra defended their line time and time again to leave James Tedesco and co reeling. “I don’t know if I’ve coached many more courageous efforts,” Stuart said in his post-match press conference
They had 60 per cent of the footy, I can’t remember a good ball set we had in the second half … the (ruck) infringements and penalties were 16-6 (against Canberra). We had so much go against us today that it made the win so much sweeter.”
