{"id":679314,"date":"2026-05-18T20:28:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T20:28:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/679314\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T20:28:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T20:28:19","slug":"he-paid-enough-penalty-politis-opens-up-on-radleys-blues-redemption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/679314\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018He paid enough penalty\u2019: Politis opens up on Radley\u2019s Blues redemption"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Roosters chairman Nick Politis has spoken of the decision to allow Victor Radley to return early from a 10-game ban <\/a>that opened the door for a shock State of Origin debut, declaring: \u201cHe deserved to come back. He had paid enough penalty.\u201d<\/p>\n

Radley was one of seven debutants named in the NSW side for Origin I by coach Laurie Daley on Monday, alongside Addin Fonua-Blake, Tolutau Koula, Blayke Brailey, Ethan Strange, Casey McLean and Dylan Lucas. However, Radley\u2019s selection was the most noteworthy.<\/p>\n

\"VictorVictor Radley is set to make his NSW debut in the Origin series opener.Sitthixay Ditthavong<\/p>\n

The forward\u2019s call-up was only made possible when the Roosters board allowed him to make an early return to the NRL from the club-imposed suspension after Radley was implicated in a police probe<\/a> that led to former teammate Brandon Smith facing a drug supply charge<\/a>. No criminal charges were ever laid against Radley and Smith is fighting his charges.<\/p>\n

Politis wanted to tear up the England international\u2019s contract when he was dragged into the investigation by Queensland Police following the publication of text messages sent from his phone to Smith<\/a> allegedly seeking to procure drugs.<\/p>\n

While there was never any suggestion that Radley obtained or took illegal drugs, he was a whisker away from the sack. Politis had previously declared that the club had a zero-tolerance policy on drugs and initially considered ripping up Radley\u2019s contract<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Following overtures from coach Trent Robinson and director of football Mitchell Aubusson, the Roosters opted not to cut the premiership-winning forward adrift \u2013 but not before imposing the biggest sanction in the club\u2019s history. Radley was banned for 10 games without pay and donate $30,000 to St Vincent\u2019s Hospital, leaving him out of pocket to the tune of a six-figure sum.<\/p>\n

Had the suspension covered NRL matches only, Radley would effectively have been rubbed out of State of Origin contention. Instead, the Roosters counted three Ashes Tests and two pre-season trials in the ban, allowing Radley to return in round six of this year. That gave the 28-year-old enough time to prove to Daley he was worthy of a Blues debut.<\/p>\n

Politis said he was \u201cvery pleased\u201d with Radley\u2019s selection and outlined the reasons behind the decision that made it possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very happy for him, it\u2019s fantastic for him to be there for the first time,\u201d Politis told this masthead. \u201cThat [decision] probably helped him. We didn\u2019t specifically bring him back for [Origin], but it obviously helps him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe deserved to come back. He had paid enough penalty \u2026 He paid dearly financially, well over $100,000 in fines and loss of pay. He paid $30,000 to charity at St Vincent\u2019s, he missed out on going to England and about 10,000 quid. He paid dearly more than anybody else.<\/p>\n

\"BrandonBrandon Smith, Victor Radley and an alleged text exchange between the pair.Fairfax Media<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why we decided he had served enough to come back early, which probably helped him to achieve his lifetime goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked if it was the biggest fine in the club\u2019s history, Politis replied: \u201cYou could virtually say in the NRL.\u201d<\/p>\n

Radley said he was thankful to Politis and the board for allowing him to return in time to push his Origin case.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, really grateful,\u201d Radley said. \u201cI think they\u2019ve seen how hard I worked and obviously missing the Ashes series, everyone understood that I paid my penance there. I had about a four-month pre-season. I don\u2019t think it had anything to do with State of Origin other than just me and my mental wellbeing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"RoostersRoosters star Victor Radley will get a chance to perform at Origin level.Getty Images<\/p>\n

Asked if he had ever feared he would be sacked by the Roosters, Radley replied: \u201cThat all unfolded as it did.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince I dealt with that, I put all of that behind me. I felt the love from everyone at the club, especially the coach. Robbo never [left me with] a worry whatsoever about being punted or whatever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Radley is one of the first beneficiaries of the new eligibility rules, alongside Fonua-Blake and McLean, that allow him to play Origin after representing a top-tier Test nation other than Australia.<\/p>\n

Asked for his favourite memories of Origin, the firebrand forward replied: \u201cPaul Gallen punching Nate Myles\u2019 head, that era.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CurtisCurtis Strange makes the NSW bench as a replacement half.Sitthixay Ditthavong<\/p>\n

Other debutants will also have important roles to play. Koula has been in outstanding form for Manly in the centres, but has been picked on the wing.<\/p>\n

\u201cVery exciting,\u201d Koula said. \u201cIt\u2019s a great mix of youth and experience and it\u2019s great to see a few other new faces with me. I\u2019m very keen to get out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related Article\"NSW<\/a><\/p>\n

Canberra playmaker Strange, a potential game-breaker from the bench, was still coming to terms with his selection.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really cool, everyone is buzzing around the group, from the short time we\u2019ve been here,\u201d Strange said. \u201cWe\u2019re very excited, fired up and ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another newbie, Dylan Lucas, has been named as 20th man and will only see game time if there are injuries. However, the Newcastle back-rower was thrilled to be a step closer to fulfilling his Origin dream.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a crazy feeling, I\u2019m not sure if it\u2019s properly sunk in yet,\u201d Lucas said. \u201cI\u2019m super grateful to be here and super-excited.\u201d<\/p>\n

News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"TomTom Decent<\/a> is the chief sports writer for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":679315,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-679314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679314","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=679314"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679314\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/679315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=679314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=679314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=679314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}