As Joseph Manu was leaving Sydney to affix his teammates on the opposite facet of the world, Roosters five-eighth Luke Keary informed the travelling media in Los Angeles that it might be “totally fine” if the strike centre spent a number of seasons in French rugby earlier than “hopefully” coming again to the Tricolours.
Manu has established himself as top-of-the-line gamers on this planet, with the 27-year-old claiming the 2022 Golden Boot for his efforts with the Kiwis.
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While many thought-about him to be James Tedesco’s long-term alternative at fullback, the Roosters are resigned to shedding him on the finish of the 12 months, with Manu fielding profitable gives from the 15-man code abroad.
Losing him can be a hammer blow given younger gun Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii can be off to rugby in 2025, however Keary says the door is at all times open for Manu to return to the membership that he gained two premierships with.
“He’s mentored a lot of these young kids coming through over the last couple of years,” Keary stated.
“I’ve obviously got to see him grow from the first year that he came into first grade, and he’s such a good person and a very good rugby league player, too.
“If he does end up going, then that’s totally fine. We’ll miss him a heap, but it’ll be awesome to watch his journey.
“Hopefully, he comes back one day.”
Manu left Sydney and can arrive in America with loads of time to acclimatise forward of Sunday’s historic conflict with the Broncos at Allegiant Stadium, the place the Roosters need to keep away from one other spherical 1 defeat.
The Tricolours have misplaced 5 of their earlier six season openers, with the Roosters shocked by the Dolphins in spherical 1 final 12 months once they had been unbackable favourites.
They do have a great latest report in opposition to Brisbane however did lose their solely assembly in 2023 in opposition to the crushed grand finalists.
“We’re due for a win,” Keary laughed, with the Roosters eager to keep away from one other gradual begin that might power them to spend the season scrambling for wins.
“We’ve had different pre-seasons in the past. We’ve had some where we travelled, we’ve had some where we’ve had guys who haven’t trained for a lot of it.
“I think we’ve had a really consistent one this pre-season, so hopefully we come out a little bit better than previous years.”
The journey abroad is nothing new to the Roosters who’ve headed to the UK for World Club Challenges previously, and Keary expects the camaraderie of the fortnight collectively to deliver the very best out of the competitors heavyweights.
“I’ve done three World Club Challenges, and they are three of the most memorable trips that I’ve ever done,” he stated.
“You become great mates with everyone and you get to experience things you’d never get to by yourself.
“You get to all these sporting events and you get to do so much as a team and as a club, and even your staff members are there.
“These are the best trips I’ve been on.
“It’s a competition game for us, so it’s not an exhibition.
“Hopefully, we don’t think about the occasion too much and just think about the game and doing our job and trying to get the win.”
Source web site: www.foxsports.com.au
