Penrith await Roosters after Radley blow, 50-point loss

The Sydney Roosters have breathed a sigh of relief on Angus Crichton, but still face the prospect of being completely undermanned against Penrith next week.

The Roosters are counting the costs of their 50-14 thumping on Friday, which marked their heaviest opening-round defeat in 16 years.

There was good news for the Tri-colours with Crichton able to accept a $3000 fine for his late hit on a kicking Ben Hunt.

But there are still further issues for the Roosters, after Victor Radley suffered a concussion following a sickening first-half head clash with James Tedesco.

The England international will miss next Friday's clash with the Panthers, joining a lengthy list of high-profile outs early in the season.

"He is concussed. He's okay in the sheds but you don't want those things to happen," Roosters coach Trent Robinson said of Radley's injury after Thursday's loss.

"He's pretty key to our team and the way that we run things. To lose him quite early was tough."

With Brandon Smith and Sam Walker both injured for the early part of the season and prop Spencer Leniu suspended for the Penrith clash, the absence of Radley will be felt keenly.

Utility forward Nat Butcher was also a late scratching from the loss to Brisbane following an undisclosed operation.

The Roosters lost close to 1000 games of NRL experience over the off-season and are tipped by many experts to miss the top-eight for the first time in close to a decade.

Robinson's side was not able to lay a glove on Brisbane and while many thought their season would be a slow burn, the harrowing nature of the loss has brought the club's roster back into focus.

The Chooks' bench boasted two debutants and another inexperienced forward in four-gamer Blake Steep.

Young centre Rob Toia was also impressive on debut and looked to have struck up a strong partnership with Dom Young.

"It's hard to explain how excited you are about developing a team and watching these guys make three debuts," Robinson said.

"It's really disappointing, but it's not a matter of happy or sad.

"We've got to work hard, and that's what coaching is. You've got to go step by step, and I saw some things that I liked.

"We'll keep getting better as long as we keep our attitude where it needs to be and we keep improving our smarts and we keep belief in our team.

"I've been asked if I'm worried, or the size of the challenge, but that's the beauty of it."