What happens to Billy Smith?

[HunchoRooster]

With all due respect, time to go for Billy Smith. If he retires, give him a job for life at the club. If he is determined to come back, do it elsewhere. We need to get him off our Top 30 as he cannot stay fit and is taking up cap space, as cruel as that sounds.

[Paddo Colt 61]

Tbh he's never shown the goods in the NRL injuries or not. Never emerged from the Dewsbury incident possibly. Young kid and a big unit but if he has skills, he's kept them well hidden.

Otoh Momo looked to have redeemed himself last week. He was impressive - fast and confident.

[Rooster_6]

Agreed.

Billy’s mental and physical fitness need to be forefront however these discussions are inevitable and during this recovery period could be the right time to address it.

A 9 month recovery with return to play which is typically considered quite long for an ACL these days would have him returning in Round 2 of next year.

Like I said I would be more concerned with upgrading Naiqama and Keighran than offloading Billy Smith. If Billy Smith is our 4 or 5th choice centre next year coming back and playing reserve grade from March I see no problem with that. Whether we retain him beyond 2023 will be a completely different discussion though.

[Rooster90]

Tbh he's never shown the goods in the NRL injuries or not. Never emerged from the Dewsbury incident possibly. Young kid and a big unit but if he has skills, he's kept them well hidden.

Otoh Momo looked to have redeemed himself last week. He was impressive - fast and confident.

Billy Smiths first couple of games he looked like a superstar
And Momo still has a long way to go to redeem himself, on track and says all the right things though....

[Rooster_6]

I liked this post and then had to unlike it when I saw the upgrade Naiqama bit - seriously I would rather upgrade Billy on one leg

You would keep Naiqama next year?

[Rooster90]

A 9 month recovery with return to play which is typically considered quite long for an ACL these days would have him returning in Round 2 of next year.

Like I said I would be more concerned with upgrading Naiqama and Keighran than offloading Billy Smith. If Billy Smith is our 4 or 5th choice centre next year coming back and playing reserve grade from March I see no problem with that. Whether we retain him beyond 2023 will be a completely different discussion though.

I hope we don't need Billy at all next year so he can play a full season at the Bears and regain some confidence...on talent alone I think he is worth persevering with

[Rooster_6]

I hope we don't need Billy at all next year so he can play a full season at the Bears and regain some confidence...on talent alone I think he is worth persevering with

Agreed, would be nice to see him get a couple of games around rep season here and there but I think he’s proven through 2 ACL reconstructions already and multiple other injuries that he hasn’t lost his talent. I thought the was doing a tremendous job on Lomax until he did his ACL apparently before he missed that tackle of Lomax.

I would like to see us sign a genuine wing option for depth first, I think that would allow us to tinker with the idea of giving Suaali minutes at centre when Joey shifts into other positions throughout the year.

[BraveTheWorld]

Just regarding our backline, and a little off-topic here, but I heard somewhere that Herbie Farnworth actually hasn't re-signed as of yet, even though it was reported that he had?
I would think we'd have to be in the market for another back or two, especially considering this injury. I wonder who we'll look at.

[The Lip]

You would keep Naiqama next year?

No def not - I thought you meant we needed to upgrade him to keep him which I was disagreeing with. But that's not what you were saying at all.

mighty rooster pointed out my misunderstanding of your comments earlier but you might of missed it as it's mixed in with the 45 beware of the troll shit posts between Salvo and RT.

[Newcroosters]

Just regarding our backline, and a little off-topic here, but I heard somewhere that Herbie Farnworth actually hasn't re-signed as of yet, even though it was reported that he had?
I would think we'd have to be in the market for another back or two, especially considering this injury. I wonder who we'll look at.

id doubt we’d have the cap space to afford Herbie, so we look at Moga as it looks like the dragons are looking to release him… cheap and has always had potential

[zac]

Just regarding our backline, and a little off-topic here, but I heard somewhere that Herbie Farnworth actually hasn't re-signed as of yet, even though it was reported that he had?
I would think we'd have to be in the market for another back or two, especially considering this injury. I wonder who we'll look at.

depends on what keary does. if he's playing this week and gets through the rest of the year then you'd figure he'll probably be playing next year (which i'd be happy with). if keary goes, joey will play 5/8 and we've got spare cash to get a top centre

[Kelby]

So Smith, Collins and Keary all retiring due to repeated hia's...............

[Mickie Lane]

id doubt we’d have the cap space to afford Herbie, so we look at Moga as it looks like the dragons are looking to release him… cheap and has always had potential

Are you mad?
Moga is a hoax.

[Juggler]

From the SMH...

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/the...19-p5b2o5.html


Luckless Sydney Rooster Billy Smith says he gets overwhelmed whenever he starts to think about the possibility he may be forced to retire aged just 22.
Smith suffered a third ruptured anterior cruciate ligament on Saturday and will undergo surgery next Monday.

The local junior ruptured his left ACL during the NSW Cup final in 2018 and his right ACL in 2020 during pre-season training, only to feel his left knee go during the Roosters’ first defensive set against St George Illawarra on the weekend. He played on in pain - and with all sorts of awful thoughts swirling around in his head - before he was substituted after half an hour.

Roosters legend Boyd Cordner comforted Smith in a room beneath Central Coast Stadium, with Cordner encouraging Smith to “just let it all out and cry”.

Once Roosters teammate Sitili Tupouniua was carted from the field after also rupturing his ACL, Smith gave him a hug, then snuck away before fulltime. His father, Craig, and sister, Lola, made the emotional trip back home down the M1.

Cronulla’s Connor Tracey and Dragons back Tautau Moga have returned to play in the NRL after three and four knee surgeries respectively - but Smith cannot bring himself to think about next year just yet.

“I did my knee in the first five minutes of the game. It was our first goal-line set and I stepped off my knee into a tackle,” Smith told the Herald on Tuesday.

“I kept playing as if to force myself to believe it wasn’t happening. I had to step off my knee again and tackle Zac Lomax when he scored, but it buckled and I was gone.

“I went pretty numb. I had ‘Boydo’ next to me in the sheds and he was a rock. He said, ‘Just let it all out and cry’. I thought, ‘Surely this is a dream’. I didn’t see any of the boys at half-time. I was in a separate part of the locker room and just broken. I went from having tears to punching bins.

“I wasn’t ready to see the boys and coaching staff, so I got out of there. There’s a huge amount of guilt in all this. They’ve put so much faith into me.”

Roosters coach Trent Robinson and skipper James Tedesco, a good friend of Smith, were both shattered at the post-match press conference when asked about the latest injury setback to the centre.

Smith’s rotten luck with injuries also included a shoulder operation at the start of last year, only to suffer a Lisfranc injury three games into his delayed comeback.

As for his immediate future, Smith said: “That’s a tough question. If I’m being completely honest, the things that have always motivated me are my family and this club. I’ll keep putting one foot in front of the other. I have a contract [until the end of 2023] I want to see through.

“I’m not trying to think about the future because when I do, it starts to get too overwhelming.

“Footy is what I love to do. It’s great you make money from the game, but I play because I love it. I’d be lying if I said those thoughts haven’t run through my head, but at the end of the day I’ll train and try to play the game I love again.”

[Mickie Lane]

I really like Billy Smith & think he can come back again.
Thats a heavy injury toll he's sustained for a 22 YO but he's got to give it one more shot.