Billy Smith has sustained a major knee injury at training.

[Tommy Smith]

time to get real here people
m aubs...a full season at centre ? no thanks , I love m aubs but at centre , he will stop tries but won't score many

j jmoz ..I have these flashbacks to a super pedestrian dogs attack with both Morris boys circa 2016 / 17 ...so no ...bjmoz stays on wing

ikavalu ...not a fulltime fg player imo...great back up , I repeat great back up

so we have money ...we need a centre ....let's go

You think the Dogs pedestrian attack was due to the Morris boys?

Brett was awesome for us last year. God like in the GF. And Josh was one of the Sharks best too.

He's also NOT injury prone and would make an outstanding addition to our team. The dude is a wall defensively and a great pro.

[TheLoneRooster]

Why put a right winger on the left side and displace Toops who is specialist left. Really this comment is as dumb as the Manu to hooker comment.

My mistake Mr Perfect; I meant Hall to right wing. Thank you Mr Perfect for arrogantly and obnoxiously pointing out my error.

[Jacks Fur Coat]

Is moss still at the Bears. Kapaoa or our local stand up comedian Eddie Murphy are in the mix and i am a fan of Ikavalu.

Moss signed with Mounties unfortunately for the Bears but wouldn't be a centre anyway.

Kep is good and I think a future NRL player...is he ready though? I would test him in the WCC game and see how he goes.

[TheLoneRooster]

I think it's an accident that he said left, probably meant right wing

Thank you QWERTY. You are spot on with your assessment of my original post (which I've now corrected) - Hall to right wing.

[ChookMaster]

So we went from having a young strike player in LM to now possibly a 33 year old in our left centre position. Funny how quick things can change.

[The Marshall]

Link: https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl...d6db76ca7a5758

Now what do we do ???

SOS to Alex Johnston or Dane Gagai or approach Xerri NOW ?

No, maybe and yes. Johnston is absolute shit, to small for our style of winger and not a centre. Gagai is basically a lower grade option than what we had in Mitchell or Smiths potential. Xerri would be good but it won’t happen. Unfortunately this combined with Mitchell leaving is a major hit.

[The Marshall]

JMoz

To old and not that good anymore. We need to suck it up this and play a developing player and target a new signing.

[TudorMan]

Feel sorry for Billy Smith.... hope he makes a full recovery and gets back out there in due course.

I reckon Ryan Hall was under-rated last year.... despite the spate of injuries, he is a safe pair of hands and made good running metres when he was on the paddock.

I don’t think we should be too worried about the individual quality of our replacement centre... the Roosters system is more important than any individual player!

[Roostaman18]

Lol

[Sizzle]

https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl...d6db76ca7a5758

[QWERTY]

"The Sydney Roosters’ pre-season preparations have suffered a major hit with coach Trent Robinson confirming young gun centre Billy Smith suffered an ACL injury on Monday.

Smith, the rookie slated to get first crack at the left centre position vacated by Latrell Mitchell, was engaged in a regulation training drill when some contact with right centre Joey Manu caused the injury.


Smith initially bounced back up and even continued in the gym later in the day before the Roosters realised the seriousness of the injury.

It’s a cruel twist for the 20-year-old who scored nine tries in six matches in the Canterbury Cup last year before making his NRL debut in round 23 against St George Illawarra and scoring a try.

“It’s Billy’s other knee and it’s an ACL,” Robinson said.

“One of the doctors was telling me a stat where once you suffer one ACL injury you’re then a 25 per cent chance of doing the other knee inside two years if you’re under 21.

“We’re all feeling for Billy, there was a big opportunity there for him but the type of person he is he’ll fight back from this.”


The Roosters have privately been talking up Smith as an NRL prospect for the last 12 months and had big aspirations for his development this year.

The Roosters were expected to play Smith at left centre during the World Club Challenge against St Helens in the UK in February.

The back-to-back premiers were playing a sponsors golf day at NSW golf club on Tuesday afternoon before Robinson confirmed Smith’s injury Tuesday night.

Smith will consult a surgeon on Wednesday.

Fortuitously for the Roosters, they boast strong depth in terms of outside backs with former Kangaroo and NSW State of Origin flyer Brett Morris a more than capable option in the centres.

Morris made his Sydney Roosters debut at left centre in the World Club Challenge victory over Wigan last year, scoring a hat-trick of tries in the opening half.

English winger Ryan Hall is also on target to return to training soon after dislocating his knee cap during a Test match at the end of last year.

Morris and Hall are a more-than-adequate combination with Robinson confirming at this stage the club would not be entering the open market for a replacement.

Roosters Mr Fix-It Mitch Aubusson is another option as cover in the centres.

If the Roosters did decide to enter the market place for an alternative outside back option, South Sydney winger Alex Johnston may fit the bill.

Johnston is currently on the outer at South Sydney following the signing of Roosters discard Latrell Mitchell."


So, it seems like right now our most likely options will be either Hall or Ikuvalu in.

[Rooster1908]

To old and not that good anymore. We need to suck it up this and play a developing player and target a new signing.

Josh Morris 33 Ryan Hall 34
Josh Morris years off experience in top grade NRL
Ryan Hall years of experience Super league which really isn't NRL is it

[Jacks Fur Coat]

There's a brilliant attacking centre called William Kennedy playing reggies for the Sharks (Jets) , but his defence needs work.

These are the areas I'd be scouting. The Canterbury Cup is a pretty strong comp now with some bargain basement options.

Heck, Jack used to pull them out of pub comps if he liked something about them.

In our system, guys can flourish.

[Tommy Smith]

Josh Morris 33 Ryan Hall 34
Josh Morris years off experience in top grade NRL
Ryan Hall years of experience Super league which really isn't NRL is it

Ryan Hall is 32.

[QWERTY]

Josh Morris 33 Ryan Hall 34
Josh Morris years off experience in top grade NRL
Ryan Hall years of experience Super league which really isn't NRL is it

Hall's younger than the Morris twins