‘It’s definitely not realistic for Round 1’: Why Roosters recruit won’t play 80 minutes in club debut

Brandon Smith has warned his loyal SuperCoach owners that he won’t play 80 minutes against the Dolphins and that it will take a while before he does in his new role at the Roosters. The initial plan was to have Smith run riot for as long as he could with Connor Watson to come on before half-time to give him a spell and to pick apart gassed defenders in the middle. But that’s something we won’t see until the second half of the season with Watson set to miss a large chunk of the year with a serious knee injury that forced him to spend time in a wheelchair. It means Drew Hutchison will take on the utility role off the bench with Smith hopeful he can play the full 80 minutes at some stage later in the season as he gets used to the role after mainly playing as a middle forward with Melbourne. It’s something coach Trent Robinson knew when he signed him from the Storm, with the Fox Sports Lab revealing the international star has only played 80 minutes once in his NRL career, back in Round 18 of 2021. “It’s definitely not realistic for Round 1,” said Smith, who linked well with Victor Radley through the middle in the trials. “When I signed with Trent, he told me the plan was to have Connor Watson there who would come on. That was a big loss, so we’ll see (what happens) throughout the year. “Match fitness is the only way that you can get 80 minutes. You can run all the time in the world and still not play 80 minutes. It’s about me managing myself.” Smith’s energetic style around the ruck makes it impossible for him to be at his best for the full 80 minutes, which is why he thinks the smart move is to go a million miles an hour and then refill the petrol tank on the bench. The Roosters recruit has only played 70 minutes or more in eight NRL appearances, while the most minutes he averaged in a season was 56 back in 2021. Playing him for extended periods makes little sense as we saw in the World Cup last year when Cameron Murray picked him out in the defensive line from a quick tap and scored because Smith was so exhausted. “I don’t want to go out on the field and hold anything back so I can last the 80 minutes. That’s not really how I was brought up to play or how I like to play,” he said. “I need to go balls out. Whether that’s a chat I have with Trent about managing my game, I think I play my best when I’m going as hard as I can. Right now for Round 1 I don’t think I’m going to be doing that for 80 minutes.” Coming on for 25 minutes is something Hutchison is more than happy to do even if it means he doesn’t get to line up in the halves where he does his best work. “I’m willing to play wherever,” he said. “It’s a team sport. There aren’t many players who just play for individual reasons. I’m just happy to be with the boys, and playing different positions is just one of those things. I’m more than happy to do that.”