Roosters NSW Origin contingent led by Cordner, Tedesco and Mitchell
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Trent Robinson holds no fears over Boyd Cordner's durability despite losing his skipper for two months of football during last year's Origin series as several Roosters firm for NSW honours.
Rookie Blues coach Brad Fittler has endorsed Cordner as the one certainty in his Game One line-up, while assistant coach Danny Buderus has hinted at a backline that will include both incumbent fullback James Tedesco and Manly counterpart Tom Trbojevic.
Appearing on Fox League’s The Late Show with Matty Johns, Buderus also spruiked Latrell Mitchell's case for an interstate debut and confirmed Luke Keary is locked in a halves battle with Panthers pair James Maloney and Nathan Cleary.
Cordner admitted to being "hurt" by a Phil Gould blast this week that questioned both his current form and NSW contributions, but Robinson backed his captain to lead Fittler's new-look Blues side.
The 25-year-old only managed one club match during last year's Origin period and missed a month of football afterwards due to an ongoing knee issue that required off-season surgery.
The 25-year-old only managed one club match during last year's Origin period and missed a month of football afterwards due to an ongoing knee issue that required off-season surgery.
Robinson dismissed concerns about Cordner's fitness and his ability to get through another gruelling Origin campaign unscathed.
"He'll be ready, he's strong, he's a leader," Robinson said, pointing to Cordner's knee surgery in regards to his slow start to 2018.
"He'll know what to do when the time comes… The first month he didn't train a lot coming out of the World Cup. Obviously he had the stem cell injections into his knee.
"He didn't play any of the trials and then he started training I think 10 days before round one. His game's improved as the season's gone on. He's a strong man and a strong player and he'll continue to be."
With Fittler to confirm his first NSW 17 at The Star next Monday, Buderus expects Tedesco to don the No.1 jumper, which may not necessarily rule Trbojevic out of contention given his utility value across the back five.
“Tommy Trbojevic has been outstanding the last couple of weeks... the way he plays those four-on-four short sides, he’s a big body," Buderus said.
“He gets the ball back as good as anyone, but I just think maybe Tedesco at this stage has got the upper hand.”
Asked if Trbojevic could be brought in to debut on the wing Buderus said: "Yeah he could. Or in the centres. To get him in the game where you want him to play his style of play, you probably have to put him in the outside backs – out on the wing.”
With Josh Addo-Carr and Nick Cotric pushing ahead of Blake Ferguson for a berth on the flank, Trbojevic could also be pitted up against Bronco James Roberts and Mitchell for a centre spot.
Roberts has been cleared of any major damage to his Achilles after hobbling off during Brisbane's 18-10 win over Parrramatta, while Buderus expects Mitchell to line up on the left edge despite admitting his defensive frailties are still a concern.
"There’s going to be a lot of debutants, there’s no doubt,” Buderus declared.
“At this stage it’s going to be fresh, it’s going to be an exciting team, it’s going to be fast and someone like Latrell’s going to play a role.
“I don’t think you can always have a complete player – you’d like to be better at defence, you’d like to be better at attack – but you’ve got to get the key attributes, tailor them by the game plan and really get them engaged in the game.
“I think that’s one thing for Latrell: if he gets engaged I think that’s where you get the best out of him.”
