Leniu’s potential ban adds to a number of headaches for the Roosters.
Dual-premiership Roosters great Cooper Cronk has delivered a rocket to his former club, with suspect defence, a ban for Spencer Leniu and an injury for Mark Nawaqanitawase leaving the Chooks facing a number of headaches before the new season. The Roosters were thrashed 48-10 by Newcastle in Gosford on Sunday, with Knights No.6 Fletcher Sharpe further cementing his claims on a starting halves role in 2025 after starring at five-eighth for Adam O’Brien’s side.
Sharpe and the Knights ran riot in the first half, with the No.6 combining superbly with fullback Kalyn Ponga and centre Bradman Best to grab two tries in the first half as Newcastle ran out to a 36-4 lead at the break. Robinson will surely be concerned about how easily the Knights cut through his side’s defence, with Cronk singling out his former club’s “lack of intensity in the middle” that was brutally exposed by Newcastle.
The Roosters have lost more than 1200 games of first-grade experience following the departures of Jared Waerea-Hargraves, Luke Keary, Joey Manu, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Terrell May, Michael Jennings and Sitili Tupouniua. And that lack of experience and punch through the middle certainly stood out on Sunday as the Knights ran riot.
Making matters even worse for the Chooks is the fact Leniu is facing a two-match ban for his high tackle on Phoenix Crossland. The Roosters prop was sent to the sin bin and placed on report after replays showed Leniu’s shoulder making contact to the head of Crossland, leaving officials with little choice but to send him to the bin.
And on Monday, Leniu was handed a grade-two careless high tackle charge, ruling him out of the Roosters’ opening two games with an early guilty plea. If he elects to fight the charge at a pre-season judiciary hearing, he would risk facing a third week on the sidelines if the challenge was unsuccessful. Leniu would only have missed one match, if not for the loading from last year’s racial slur in Las Vegas.
Spencer Leniu and Mark Nawaqanitawase issues at Roosters
Monday’s charge comes after Roosters coach Robinson said he was hopeful Leniu would avoid suspension and be cleared to play round one. “I haven’t looked at it, it was obviously put on report and he was sent to the bin, so they obviously saw something,” Robinson said about the Leniu tackle after the game. “But I’m not nervous about that type of thing, you play with what you’ve got, but I’d like to think it’s not one of the ones that get a week, but we’ll wait and see.”
Another major headache for the Roosters coach is the fitness of former Wallaby Nawaqanitawase, who appeared to be suffering from cramps in the second half. The 24-year-old showed some classy moments, particularly in attack, as he looks to lock down one of the centre spots in Robinson’s side. But Nawaqanitawase was left grabbing at a leg and wincing in pain midway through the second half, before leaving the field to ice his left calf.
“That’s what it looked like out there, I probably had to get him off, actually,” Robinson said about the star’s cramps. “I was probably going to leave him for a bit longer.” The Roosters coach admitted the former Rugby 7’s star showed flashes of what he brings in attack after setting up Daniel Tupou for his side’s opening try with a superb around-the-corner pass.
“He was good today, he defended well out there but he’s obviously creative, so he came up with some opportunities, he created them, the try that he created,” the Roosters coach said about Nawaqanitawase. “He has a different way of going about things. He’s not a cookie cutter of a rugby league player. He’s going to come up with different stuff and he’s got really good balance and ball skills. He was good on both sides of the ball.”
Roosters’ defence a major concern before new season
But as Cronk pointed out, it’s the Roosters’ defence that is surely the biggest issue for Robinson to address before the new season. The Chooks were torn to shreds far too easily and the defence on their own goal line was particularly concerning. Skipper James Tedesco pointed out recently that the team’s defence “wasn’t up to standard” last season when they finished the regular season in third.
“We scored a lot of points last year, I think we scored the most tries, but our defence wasn’t up to standard,” Tedesco told AAP recently. “That’s how we win big games. The main focus for us has been the defence, getting that right, and then our attack can build off the back of it.
“That structure doesn’t need to change either. A couple of guys are learning the system a bit. But it is more (about) getting more steely on our line and not leaking as many points, and then letting our attack come good at the end of the year.” Sunday’s effort will surely have a few alarm bells ringing for the Roosters ahead of round one.
