Billy Slater has put the heat on Luke Keary to wrest the Sydney Roosters out of their current slump, imploring the star halfback to “take control” of his team.
The Roosters have suffered an indifferent start to the season, currently sitting seventh on the ladder with a 4-4 record through eight rounds.
Trent Robinson’s side suffered its second straight loss in round eight after going down to the Bulldogs in a 16-12 thriller, and Slater said the team’s problems laid in within its halves pairing of Keary and Sam Walker.
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“They just don’t seem to have that continuity within their attack at the moment,” he told Wide World of Sports’ Billy’s Breakdown.
“Through their key positions, Sam Walker and Luke Keary are still trying to work each other’s game out.”
Despite the pair’s struggles, Slater pushed back against calls for the pair to switch positions, asking Keary to assert himself instead.
“Does it make much difference? I’m not sure it changes their game a whole heap,” he said of a potential positional swap between the two halves.
“I think Luke Keary needs to take control of the game and the team. It’s his team, he’s the more experienced half, and we’ve seen he can do it.
“He’s done it in the past on the big stage. In the 2018 grand final I got a front-row seat to see what Luke Keary can do in the No.7 jersey. I know Cooper Cronk was in that game, but it was Luke Keary at his best then.”
Despite the Roosters’ two straight losses, Slater backed Robinson’s side to break out of its current form slump.
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“I think it’ll just take time. Listening to Trent Robinson after the game, I think he knows what the problem is, he just needs to find out the answers,” he said.
“They won’t be too far off. They’ve got too many good players in their team and too much knowledge in their organisation to not work it out.”
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