NRL News: One Rooster cleared but two ruled out Broncos make mad dash home DCE to play on until 40?
he Sydney Roosters have breathed a sigh of relief on Angus Crichton, but still face the prospect of being completely undermanned against Penrith next week.
The Roosters are counting the costs of their 50-14 thumping on Friday, which marked their heaviest opening-round defeat in 16 years.
There was good news for the Tricolours with Crichton able to accept a $3000 fine for his late hit on a kicking Ben Hunt.
But there are still further issues for the Roosters, after Victor Radley suffered a concussion following a sickening first-half head clash with James Tedesco.
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The England international will miss next Friday’s clash with the Panthers, joining a lengthy list of high-profile outs early in the season.
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“He is concussed. He’s okay in the sheds but you don’t want those things to happen,” Roosters coach Trent Robinson said of Radley’s injury after Thursday’s loss.
“He’s pretty key to our team and the way that we run things. To lose him quite early was tough.”
With Brandon Smith and Sam Walker both injured for the early part of the season and prop Spencer Leniu suspended for the Penrith clash, the absence of Radley will be felt keenly.
Utility forward Nat Butcher was also a late scratching from the loss to Brisbane following an undisclosed operation and will also sit out the Panthers tussle.
The Roosters lost close to 1000 games of NRL experience over the off-season and are tipped by many experts to miss the top-eight for the first time in close to a decade.
Robinson’s side was not able to lay a glove on Brisbane and while many thought their season would be a slow burn, the harrowing nature of the loss has brought the club’s roster back into focus.
The Chooks’ bench had two debutants and another inexperienced forward in four-gamer Blake Steep. Debutant centre Rob Toia was impressive and looked to have struck up a strong partnership with Dom Young.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – MARCH 06: Payne Haas of the Broncos is tackled during the round one NRL match between Sydney Roosters and Brisbane Broncos at Allianz Stadium, on March 06, 2025, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)..
Payne Haas is tackled. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
Broncos make mad dash home with cyclone looming
The Broncos have raced Cyclone Alfred and arrived safely home in Brisbane after using a charter flight following their NRL clash in Sydney.
After crushing the Sydney Roosters 50-14 in their opening-round match at Allianz Stadium, the Broncos headed immediately to the airport and boarded a flight to Wellcamp Airport in Toowoomba.
While flights were suspended in and out of Brisbane and Gold Coast airports on Thursday afternoon due to the impending arrival of the cyclone, the Broncos club were given special permission by the Queensland premier’s office to make the last-minute dash home.
“The team flew into Wellcamp Airport in Toowoomba at about 11.30pm before boarding a bus back home, getting in at 1.30am,” Brisbane CEO Dave Donaghy said in a statement.
“We are extremely grateful to the team at Wellcamp for opening up their gateway to Brisbane for us to allow us to get the team and staff back to their families.
“We would also like to sincerely thank the NRL, broadcasters and the Roosters for working with us to ensure we could leave the stadium as quickly as possible after the game.”
Broncos skipper Adam Reynolds completed his media commitments minutes after full-time, as the team prepared to travel to Bankstown in southwest Sydney to meet their charter flight.
Reynolds said his team, which ran in nine tries including a Selwyn Cobbo hat-trick, put the looming cyclone out of their minds to deliver the emphatic 80-minute performance.
“We checked in on them (our families) early, and then we got 80 minutes to worry about out there,” Reynolds said post-match.
“Everyone is doing fine back home at the moment. We had a job to do here for 80 minutes, and now we can turn our attention to getting back home and being with our families.
“I don’t think too many people have been through a cyclone, so for us it’s about getting home as soon as possible and being with our loved ones and making sure that we’re all OK.”
Their cross-town rivals the Dolphins are also in Sydney with the NRL relocating their Friday night battle with South Sydney from Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium to CommBank Stadium.
