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AS his star playmaker trained with Newtown Jets part-timers last night, Roosters coach Brian Smith revealed how Todd Carney's honesty saved him the dilemma of dropping the 2010 Dally M medallist to reserve grade.
At his own instigation, Carney made a shock appearance at Henson Park last night ahead of a more unfathomable outing for the Jets in tomorrow's NSW Cup against Manly at Brookvale Oval.
Battling to regain top form since returning from suspension five weeks ago, Carney asked to spend the Roosters' bye week on what he hopes will be a confidence-boosting duty for Newtown.
The candid request was granted during a one-on-one meeting with Smith after the Roosters returned home from Monday night's 21-4 loss to Melbourne.
Carney was frustrated with his performance, and hopes to use this weekend's outing before a handful of spectators as a springboard to reinvigorate a season to forget.
Smith, however, revealed the Roosters had already been thinking along the same lines before Carney offered to play reserve grade.
"I had discussed it with the other coaching staff, so it was a consideration for us," Smith said. "When he came in to see me for his regulation review, it was high on the agenda ... what we needed to do to get back to playing his best footy.
"I can't honestly say I was going to tell him I wanted him to play (for Newtown).
"(But) it was something I needed to toss up.
"He volunteered it because the ball was in his court."
It's a stunning fall from five months ago, when Carney was one of a select group of elite players invited into the inner sanctum of Ricky Stuart's Origin preparations.
But given the fact Carney spent an entire season with North Queensland bush footy side Atherton two years ago, Smith was not surprised by the 24-year-old's gesture.
"It's not the usual thing for a Dally M winner to do," Smith said. "It's a very humble thing to do. But Todd is searching really hard and I know he's really tough on himself about his own form.
"Whenever he's made mistakes or is not in good form, he's always pretty hard on himself and aims up about it."
Carney has refused to speak publicly since making his NRL return last month. Preferring to stay silent until he regains on-field confidence, he declined to discuss the Newtown move yesterday.
He arrived for the 5pm field session in good spirits and looked sharp in ball-work drills with Bluebags no-names.
"He's really specific about why he wants to do this," Smith said. "He feels as though he'll get a bit more space to run (in reserve grade).
"He wants to get that good feeling of running with the ball and doing the things he does best. He might be able to kick-start something by having a run there."
Smith said no other NRL stars would play alongside Carney this weekend - apart from the second-stringers he has been forced to blood as a result of the team's injury crisis.
There were mid-week concerns the match might not go ahead because of the effect of Sydney's big wet on Brookvale Oval's notoriously soft surface.But a high-ranking Manly official last night confirmed the ground had been cleared to host what is expected to be the club's biggest-drawing NSW Cup game of the year.
At his own instigation, Carney made a shock appearance at Henson Park last night ahead of a more unfathomable outing for the Jets in tomorrow's NSW Cup against Manly at Brookvale Oval.
Battling to regain top form since returning from suspension five weeks ago, Carney asked to spend the Roosters' bye week on what he hopes will be a confidence-boosting duty for Newtown.
The candid request was granted during a one-on-one meeting with Smith after the Roosters returned home from Monday night's 21-4 loss to Melbourne.
Carney was frustrated with his performance, and hopes to use this weekend's outing before a handful of spectators as a springboard to reinvigorate a season to forget.
Smith, however, revealed the Roosters had already been thinking along the same lines before Carney offered to play reserve grade.
"I had discussed it with the other coaching staff, so it was a consideration for us," Smith said. "When he came in to see me for his regulation review, it was high on the agenda ... what we needed to do to get back to playing his best footy.
"I can't honestly say I was going to tell him I wanted him to play (for Newtown).
"(But) it was something I needed to toss up.
"He volunteered it because the ball was in his court."
It's a stunning fall from five months ago, when Carney was one of a select group of elite players invited into the inner sanctum of Ricky Stuart's Origin preparations.
But given the fact Carney spent an entire season with North Queensland bush footy side Atherton two years ago, Smith was not surprised by the 24-year-old's gesture.
"It's not the usual thing for a Dally M winner to do," Smith said. "It's a very humble thing to do. But Todd is searching really hard and I know he's really tough on himself about his own form.
"Whenever he's made mistakes or is not in good form, he's always pretty hard on himself and aims up about it."
Carney has refused to speak publicly since making his NRL return last month. Preferring to stay silent until he regains on-field confidence, he declined to discuss the Newtown move yesterday.
He arrived for the 5pm field session in good spirits and looked sharp in ball-work drills with Bluebags no-names.
"He's really specific about why he wants to do this," Smith said. "He feels as though he'll get a bit more space to run (in reserve grade).
"He wants to get that good feeling of running with the ball and doing the things he does best. He might be able to kick-start something by having a run there."
Smith said no other NRL stars would play alongside Carney this weekend - apart from the second-stringers he has been forced to blood as a result of the team's injury crisis.
There were mid-week concerns the match might not go ahead because of the effect of Sydney's big wet on Brookvale Oval's notoriously soft surface.But a high-ranking Manly official last night confirmed the ground had been cleared to host what is expected to be the club's biggest-drawing NSW Cup game of the year.
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