‘He’s right to go’: Victor Radley channels his inner Cooper Cronk as Roosters star cleared to return from shoulder injury

Roosters gun Victor Radley has defied even coach Trent’s Robinson’s expectations and is “right to go” for Saturday’s sudden death semi-final showdown with the Sea Eagles just three weeks after the edge forward fractured his left scapula.

Radley was forced off against the Raiders in round 26 in what was a costly afternoon that saw the club lose Sam Walker and Brandon Smith to ACL injuries, but there was always a hope he would return in the finals given he didn’t require surgery.

The English international missed last week’s loss to Penrith but was named on an extended bench for the Manly match, with Radley expected to start on the right edge opposite Karl Lawton, with Sitili Tupouniua to drop back to the bench.

“He’s right to go. He’s got one more thing to tick off this morning but he’ll be ready to go,” Robinson said.

“No, I wasn’t (always confident that he’d be back this soon).

“I hardly gave it any energy to when he was going to be back or not. It was more (a case of) medical would take care of that, and when he crossed that line that he’d be ready to go, and he’s done that.”

Radley isn’t the first Roosters star to play with a similar injury after veteran halfback Cooper Cronk got through the 2018 Grand Final with a broken scapula which prompted his coach to describe it as the “toughest thing I’ve seen from an individual”.

“It’s similar, but Cooper required surgery and it was quite a significant sort of separation in the bone. It’s the same spot but it’s slightly different,” Robinson explained.

“He’s a pretty key player in the way that we’ve played over many years. He plays a high intensity style of play and he’s key to how we want to play.”

Radley isn’t the only key player back on deck this weekend with the Roosters to unleash Jared Waerea-Hargreaves in his first game back from a three-match ban for high contact.

The veteran enforcer returns after their forward pack was beaten by Penrith in the first half, with Robinson not about to tell the 35-year-old to change his technique in what will be his last game in the NRL if they lose.

“He’s got a style of play and we back Jared,” Robinson said.

“We’re looking forward to him bringing that intensity from the start. We know the way he plays, everyone knows the way that he plays. We’re backing him to be at his best tomorrow night.”

Much has been made of the Roosters losing Waerea-Hargreaves, Luke Keary, Joseph Manu and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii at the end of the season, but Robinson shot down any suggestions of a “last dance” vibe at the club.

“We haven’t even discussed it because that’s not our vision for this game on Saturday night,” he said.

“It’s another game on our path so we’re just purely focused on the 17 guys that run out there playing their best. There’s no nostalgia there. It’s all about how we’re going to play and what we want to do. We’re not done.”