Origin over so it's down to title business for Cordner

Boyd Cordner has been enjoying a change of scenery lately so he can zero in on what he wants the Roosters to do for the rest of the 2019 season.

After a successful but very taxing Origin series, the NSW captain headed up the highway for a short break.

"I just wanted to get away from footy altogether," Cordner told NRL.com.

"So I booked a trip with my girlfriend – we went up to the Hunter just to unwind and enjoy the wine country.

"It’s mainly white wine up there and I’m a red man but we just relaxed. It was such a hectic time of the year I needed a small break. It freshened me right up to get back into the swing of things for the Roosters."

The other short getaway is with his Sydney Roosters teammates in Gosford this week.

"We just wanted to regroup as a team and get on the same page again."

Despite the hefty 48-10 win over the Knights on Saturday at the SCG, the Roosters have not strung back-to-back wins together since round nine.

"We’ve had a lot of players in and out of the side to it’s important to get together as a team – it’s not a long camp – but it’s a camp where we can get connected again and get that really clear understanding of what we want to do," Cordner said before heading off to a training session at Central Coast Stadium to prepare for Sunday's clash with Canterbury.

The noise around the Roosters has been at a high volume all season as they chase the lure of winning two Telstra Premiership trophies in a row - it has been more than a quarter of a century since a team last successfully defended its title, the Broncos of 1993.

Very much your non-nonsense type of captain, Cordner knows what is expected.

"We won’t shy away from all that talk. There’s no secret about our motivation this year. We want to win the comp again," he said.

"But we know it’s hard. The work we’ve already done this year has been really tough – the Origin period, the injuries we’ve had.

"But we’re still sitting in a really good position and that’s a credit to how hard we’ve worked."

It is still a smart move by coach Trent Robinson to gather in his players, now that the mid-year rep season is over, and resume the call to arms.

The Roosters have only won three of their past eight games.

"It’s just gelling together as a team again. We’ve missed that continuity," Cordner said.

"For me personally, us as a left edge I don’t think we’ve played together  much lately. We had Luke [Keary] out for a while, Friendy [Jake Friend], and Latrell and I were away and in and out with Origin.

"So we need to get back into the swing of things there and get our groove back on."

The Roosters left edge of Keary, Cordner, Mitchell and Daniel Tupou is potent, putting on three tries against the Knights down that side of the SCG.

"We showed some of that groove there in that second half against the Knights," Cordner said.

"The whole team showed it too. When it’s good it’s very good. I think that’s the standard for us moving forward now."