6 in 37: Radley’s sin bin problem fast becoming Roosters’ biggest headache

Sydney Roosters' lock forward Victor Radley might go by the nickname Victor the inflictor, and he might be celebrated for his big hits and aggressive style, but it's fast becoming a problem for the tri-colours with six visits to the sin bin in his last 37 games.

The Roosters fell to their second loss of the season on Thursday evening against the Melbourne Storm, and while there is nothing overly wrong with that - a loss in the rain to the Storm away from home - the key talking point was Radley being sin-binned yet again.

This time, it was for a late shot on Cameron Munster, who found himself knocked to the ground well after passing the ball on and relaxing.

Some will argue the shot from Radley wasn't actually all that late, and maybe under rules that were known five or so years ago, the English representative might have got away with it, but in the world of increased knowledge around head knocks and protecting playmakers, Radley was never, ever going anywhere else but the bin.

The contact, dangerous as it was late, was always going to wind Radley up with a trip to the sin bin, a report, and a charge from the NRL's match review committee - although he will surprisingly escape with a fine after that came back in the Grade 1 category.

The biggest problem with Thursday night's effort from Radley was the laziness of it - he had the time to soften the blow or pull out of the shot altogether, but instead took at least two steps after Munster had passed the ball and still made contact.

If he had been watching earlier games this year - like the one where Felise Kaufusi wound himself up with a sin bin and a Grade 2 dangerous contact charge - he would full well know what the result was going to be as he took those two steps.

While Radley brings plenty to the side with his style of play, it's the on-field discipline and impact on games that should be of the biggest cause for concern to coach Trent Robinson and Roosters' fans.

Radley has now had seven trips to the sin bin in 101 games during his career, and while four of those happened across two games, it's recently where things have gone pear-shaped.

After just a single suspension in his first 64 games, Radley has had his remaining six trips to the sin bin in his last 37 games, including last night's effort.

Victor Radley's NRL sin bin history

• Round 6, 2023 vs Storm (loss)
• Finals Week 1, 2022 vs Rabbitohs x 2 (loss)
• Round 11, 2021 vs Broncos x 2 (loss)
• Round 6, 2021 vs Storm (loss)
• Round 16, 2018 vs Storm (loss)

Those numbers, as mentioned, are impacted by the fact he has twice been sat down for 20 minutes in the same game, but whatever the result, the discipline isn't good enough, and it impacts the Roosters.

The tri-colours have never won a game of football when Radley has been suspended, which in truth, speaks volumes of his importance, but also speaks to the mental state of the team when he is handed his marching orders by referees and bunker officials.

There is little doubt that last night's sin bin flipped the game on its head.

That's not to say the Storm wouldn't have won - they looked to be the better team in the early going, but not by much. All of a sudden, with a man advantage in those conditions, they kicked clear, and by halftime, it was 18 points to 8.

It's also not to say sin bins are the be-all and end-all. So many times in the modern game, with the frequency of sin bins, we see players depart the park and their team not concede a single point for ten minutes.

That's the nature of the beast in this day and age, where teams do spend time training for the occurrence, which is more of the norm than the rarity.

But what's not the norm is a player landing themselves an hour of sit-down time in the space of their last 37 career games, even if that, rather surprisingly, hasn't been joined by a suspension of any description on this occasion.

Without looking at every single player's record, it's hard to believe any player would have a record that bad at realistically any point in their careers.

And that is something that constantly hovers over the Roosters.

How will they go when Radley finds himself sitting down for ten minutes? Ultimately, the answer throughout his career has been exceptionally poor.

Unfortunately for Radley, and maybe even more concerningly for Trent Robinson and his coaching staff, what is most worrying is the fact that big games seem to bring out the worst in him.

Three times he has been sin-binned against the Storm, while the finals game against the Rabbitohs last year - a game which was out of control from the opening minute - saw the lock forward add to the problem rather than take away from it as some of his teammates attempted to do after multiple players were handed their marching orders in the fierce rivalry game.

This isn't a call for Radley to change his playing style - his unique style has made him one of the best lock forwards in the competition, and without a doubt one of the Roosters' most important strike weapons, both in attack and defence.

But it is a call for him to sort it out and stop letting his teammates down because it's happening far too frequently for the good he provides to continue papering over the cracks.

Ten minutes in the modern game is a long time to be without a player. A lot can happen in that time period, and it did on Friday night.

It's bitten the Roosters before, and it will continue to bite them unless Radley can reset his game and move in the direction the first almost 70 games of his career took him, rather than the one he has found in the last 37 games he has played.