High profile Roosters recruit Daly Cherry-Evans insists he doesn\u2019t mind if he has the six or seven on his back next season, while skipper James Tedesco hopes the former Manly star\u2019s arrival doesn\u2019t force local junior Hugo Savala out of the club.<\/p>\n
Savala was one of the finds of the season and helped turned the Roosters\u2019 season around with Sam Walker in the halves, but his future beyond 2026 remains a mystery.<\/p>\n
The 21-gamer is off contract and could attract big offers from rival clubs, especially if Cherry-Evans decides to play on for another season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve tried to introduce myself to most of the group over the last fortnight and it\u2019s been great to have a small conversation with Hugo,\u201d Cherry-Evans said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was extremely welcoming, excited about our relationship, working alongside each other together and he was looking forward to learning some stuff off myself. <\/p>\n
\u201cI made it clear I\u2019m here to learn off everyone and he\u2019s someone I want to learn off too. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnytime you think you know it all in rugby league, you\u2019re not going to last much longer. I\u2019m really open minded about how much I\u2019m going to learn from this playing group. <\/p>\n
\u201cObviously I\u2019d love to be able to help young players in their development along the way, and it\u2019ll work both ways.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs for where his role is and where he fits into the game plans and all that, I don\u2019t have the answer for you right now, that\u2019s more of a coach question and considering we haven\u2019t been back to training yet, it hasn\u2019t even looked like taking shape. <\/p>\n
\u201cBased on the way he played this year, it\u2019s really hard not to see him playing a role in first grade next year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Recently retired halfback Chad Townsend urged the Roosters to find room for Savala in the 17, with the towering playmaker a potential option at lock or as a utility off the bench.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love Hugo and his attitude,\u201d Tedesco said. <\/p>\n
\u201cEven last year in pre-season, no one expected much of him but he worked as hard as he could and he actually trained in a lot of different positions but ended up getting his start in the halves through hard work and persistence.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think anything will change with that and his mindset. He wants to stay at the club. He\u2019s a local junior and he exceeded a lot of expectations last year with how he played.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a great opportunity for him to learn off one of the great halves in our game.\u201d<\/p>\n
The other major question mark is who plays halfback and five-eighth next year, with Townsend also calling for Walker to wear the No.7 jersey.<\/p>\n
Cherry-Evans played all 352 games at halfback for Manly, but Walker is the long-term chief playmaker at the Roosters.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had a couple of conversations with Trent (coach Trent Robinson) and Sam, but I\u2019m not too fussed,\u201d Cherry-Evans said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like we\u2019re really lucky in the players that Sam and I are that one of us could wear six and one of us could wear seven and wouldn\u2019t affect a whole lot. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think before we get to the seven-six part, we probably have to figure out how we want to play. It\u2019s really important that we complement each other and we complement the team. <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t have an announcement on that yet, and I don\u2019t even know if that\u2019s big news, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to change a lot. <\/p>\n
\u201cVisually it might be a big deal if I\u2019m not wearing the seven, but I\u2019d be very fine with wearing the six if that\u2019s what the team needs me to do.\u201d<\/p>\n