Trent Robinson warns Luke Keary won't be a panacea for the Sydney Roosters' problems as the star five-eighth makes his NRL return against Canterbury on Friday.
Keary has been cleared to play his first game of the season after being sidelined because of a broken jaw following a training accident and subsequently suffering worrying headaches.
The heavily hyped Roosters misfired in their opening-round loss to the Wests Tigers and coach Robinson said Keary wouldn't immediately solve their problems.
"It's not a matter of him making a difference," Robinson said.
"You train for five weeks with your halves pairing and then he goes out with a broken jaw and you change that.
"There's a combination between the forwards, the halves and the backs - there's got to be some links. That's up to us as coaches to make sure we have those links on."
Friday's clash with the Bulldogs at Allianz Stadium will mark Keary's first game alongside new halves partner Cooper Cronk.
While the Roosters came into the season as the shortest price premiership favourites in years, questions have been raised as to whether their new-look side time to gel following the addition of Cronk and James Tedesco.
Robinson was bullish that they would hit their straps sooner rather than later and said there were still promising signs against the Tigers after holding them to just 10 points.
Like the Roosters, the Dogs were last-start losers after going down to Melbourne and have left out veteran forward Greg Eastwood.
Dogs coach Dean Pay said the Roosters would be a different side following Keary's inclusion.
"Luke Keary's a quality player and if you put quality players back in the side, you're going to get a better performance," Pay said.
"They're a little bit like us - their combinations are growing. It's going to be a tough battle."
STATS THAT MATTER
* The Bulldogs will become just the third team to play 1800 premiership matches behind the Roosters and South Sydney.
* Since 1980, the Roosters have lost their opening two matches of a season on just six occasions.
* Canterbury's defence struggled in round one, conceding the most points (36), tries (6) and second most metres (1529).
Share
