Trent Robinson has backed Daly Cherry-Evans to be the Sydney Roosters’ ice man as the the champion halfback was left to stew on a finals loss to Penrith when his composure abandoned him.
The Roosters will host Cronulla at Allianz Stadium in a sudden-death semi-final on Saturday after Robinson’s men were pipped in a 19-12 loss to the Panthers on Sunday.
Robinson hinted there was a chance playmaker Sam Walker could return to face the Sharks after the Roosters were sunk in their qualifying final by a late Brian To’o try that followed a 72nd minute Nathan Cleary field goal.
Cherry-Evans shanked one attempt to level the game after Cleary’s one pointer, then abandoned another under immense pressure from the Panthers defenders.
“We had other moments (to win the game) as well,” said Robinson.
“Daly's iced many, he’s iced them for us, and he'll ice them again in the next few weeks.
“I've got no problem with that. It (the loss) is not on a field goal.
“There was other opportunities there for us as well.”
Cherry-Evans has kicked an NRL-high 32 field goals through his career and would also have been left to rue the Roosters’ failure to capitalise on Cleary’s sin-binning.
The Panthers survived the 10 minute period after halftime without their halfback before Cleary returned and ultimately slayed the Roosters.
“It's not an automatic try if someone goes off. I think we missed our execution at different times and that’s the tale of that game,” Robinson said.
Adding to the Roosters’ frustration was the fact Cleary was under such little pressure when he booted his attempt between the sticks at CommBank Stadium.
Penrith prop Moses Leota had skittled the Roosters’ defence, giving the halfback ample time to float one over from 20m out.
“It was a quick ruck and I would have liked to have more pressure on him. He had leaps of time, so credit to him for executing it,” said Roosters captain James Tedesco.
Robinson was unsure if back-rower Angus Crichton would be fit to face the Sharks but Egan Butcher will miss the Cronulla clash after failing a head injury assessment against the Panthers.
As for Walker, who underwent syndesmosis surgery a fortnight ago and has returned to running, Robinson said: “Never say never.”
