Luke Keary at centre of brutal setback ahead of NRL season

Luke Keary is set to miss a second straight NRL pre-season trial match as the Sydney Roosters exercise an abundance of caution with the concussion-prone 31-year-old. Having been picked to face the Storm in Sydney's first trial match last weekend, the Roosters have again opted to rest the five-eighth against Manly on Friday night.

Keary had been a last-minute withdrawal from the first trial match against the Storm, reportedly because of a mishap at training earlier that day. The Roosters had elected to hold Keary out of the pre-season clash out of caution, after he was plagued by a series of head knocks earlier in his career.

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The 2018 and 2019 were particularly worrisome for Keary, given he suffered no less than five separate concussions during that period. He was able to go some time without incident before he was again ruled out in mid 2022.

The Roosters confirmed on Tuesday that Keary had copped an unfortunate hit to the jaw during training before last week's trial match. His extensive history with concussion lead the Roosters rest him out of an abundance of caution.

The consequences of concussion are far from lost on the Roosters, after former co-captains Boyd Cordner and Jake Friend were forced into retirement in 2021 following their own extensive battles with head injuries.

Also not lost on the Roosters is the $100,000 prize for winning the NRL's pre-season challenge, with coach Trent Robinson naming an experienced line-up for their upcoming match against Manly. Skipper James Tedesco and Joseph Suaalii are both in the side, but Angus Crichton, Joey Manu and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves remain unavailable alongside the aforementioned Keary.

The Roosters looked a class above the Storm's youngsters in the first trial match after their big guns entered the game for the second half, scoring two quick tries before digging in to seal the win after they'd conceded two against the run of play.

Sweeping changes came for the second half, the Roosters bringing on frontline stars Sam Walker, Victor Radley, Matt Lodge and Egan Butcher along with hooker Brandon Smith for his first run for his new club. Smith looked fired up against his old side with a number of heavy hits and sharp dashes out of dummy-half, while he also contributed a try assist.

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The hooker only played a small stint in the second half and admitted he'd need to build his gas tank when asked if he was ready to play 80 minutes at No.9. "Not right now I don't, I was stuffed after 15 minutes," he told Fox Sports.

"I've still got plenty of room for improvement, I was a little bit shaky ... still getting used to all the play names and I haven't trained the last three days. (Pre-season is about) what we've learned in pre-season and going out there and trying to execute it so we can take it into the real season.

"We were pretty poor tonight, we played against all their young fellas and they really gave it to us so we've got a lot of room for improvement."

Winger Jaxson Paulo also made an instant impact after joining from cross-town rivals South Sydney, scoring with a stylish try early in the second half. Their depth options had impressed early and took an 18-12 lead to halftime, forward Elie El-Zakhem scoring an eye-catching try by busting three tackles before Tyler Moriarty and Will Fakatoumafi also crossed.

A length-of-the-field effort from Sua Fa'alogo was the Storm's best second-half moment, the young fullback catching the eye in a 205m, four tackle bust and three line-break display. Tyran Wishart, Grant Anderson and Will Warbrick scored their other tries, while Sydney's Junior Pauga scored late to seal the win.

with AAP

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