{"id":799469,"date":"2026-07-14T10:02:47","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T10:02:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/799469\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T10:02:47","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T10:02:47","slug":"nrl-news-2026-victor-radley-exclusive-sydney-roosters-melbourne-storm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/799469\/","title":{"rendered":"NRL News 2026: Victor Radley exclusive, Sydney Roosters, Melbourne Storm"},"content":{"rendered":"

Victor Radley<\/a> is not a man for reflection. <\/p>\n

The 28-year-old Sydney Roosters<\/a> enforcer looks only at the week ahead of him, shedding any weight or expectation of the games left behind.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Victor Radley at the Beer Footy Food Festival.\u00a0Brodie Richardson<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I\u2019ve been really good this year at just worrying about what I can control in that week and that day, because things can quickly get taken away from you,\u201d he explains to nine.com.au from Henson Park, while promoting this weekend\u2019s Beer footy Food Festival. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo I\u2019ve just been focusing on being my best self and putting my best foot forward every day. I think good things happen when you just work hard and concentrate on the stuff you can control.\u201d <\/p>\n

The NRL<\/a> is an ongoing whirlwind of media attention, club expectation and external pressures. Players are expected to juggle the burdens of leadership and ladder position, all while trying to be the best athletes they can be. <\/p>\n

For Radley, his 2026 season has already been quite the spectacle.<\/p>\n

Just a week ago, his NSW Blues<\/a> side lifted the State of Origin<\/a> shield after snatching the decider at Suncorp Stadium over the Queensland Maroons<\/a>. Although Radley only starred in game one and two, he wasn\u2019t even meant to be in the running for the team in the first place. <\/p>\n

After he served the longest sanction in his history of the Sydney Roosters club and chairman Nick Politis\u00a0nearly sacked the 28-year-old<\/a> over a scandal in 2025, the Roosters decided to cut his 10-match ban short so Radley would be available for Origin selection. <\/p>\n

But none of those discussions matter to Radley as the only thing occupying his mind right now is his next bout against Melbourne.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, not (reflecting) to be honest. It was Parra last week, now it\u2019s Storm. We haven\u2019t thought much past that,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that every two points is valuable, so we\u2019re just really concentrating each week on getting that job done and being our best selves, because we want to be finishing as high up the ladder as we can to give us the best shot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sitting pretty in third place on the NRL ladder, the Roosters have a list of other premiership contenders vying for the ultimate prize. Radley is determined to make sure he and his playing group never get \u201ccomfortable\u201d with their current success.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like it\u2019s important to play well when you\u2019re away too, so not getting too comfortable with only playing at home,\u201d Radley said. <\/p>\n

\u201cFeeling good at the moment, but it\u2019s just about not getting bored (by) what we\u2019re doing well. I know from past years you can kind of get carried away with what you\u2019re doing well and then let it slip a little bit, and it catches up to you. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo, as a leader, that\u2019s my job – just keeping everyone with their feet firmly on the ground and keeping going after the things that we want to do to give us the best shot of winning.\u201d <\/p>\n

Their next challenge is a Melbourne Storm side desperately fighting for a shot at the top eight. While Storm star Cameron Munster has been ruled out<\/a>, Radley insists it won\u2019t alter the Roosters\u2019 strategy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is always going to be a tough game against Melbourne. Ever since I started playing, it\u2019s been a hard slog against them.<\/p>\n

\u201cRegardless if (Munster\u2019s) playing or not, I think we\u2019ve got to be up for it. I think we\u2019ll look at their depth a bit deeper and come up with a plan to beat them at home as well, which is good.\u201d <\/p>\n

Looking toward the end of the 2026 season, the Roosters are facing an inevitable roster shake-up. With Mark Nawaqanitawase<\/a>, Angus Crichton<\/a>, and potentially Daly Cherry-Evans<\/a> set to leave the club, a young core will soon be exposed.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Victor Radley and Mitch Kenny at the Beer Footy Food Festival.\u00a0Brodie Richardson<\/p>\n

However, rather than viewing this season as a last dance for the current squad, Radley is looking at the transition through the lens of the Roosters\u2019 legacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to be doing everything we can to win this year and send those boys off the right way. But we\u2019re going to be fighting for premierships long after they\u2019re gone, long after I\u2019m gone,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you just look at history, I don\u2019t think the Roosters ever…if they don\u2019t get close to a premiership, it\u2019s not for long. So, long after they\u2019re gone, long after I\u2019m gone, they\u2019ll be fighting for premierships.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Beer Footy Food Festival is this Saturday, July 18 at Henson Park. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Victor Radley is not a man for reflection. The 28-year-old Sydney Roosters enforcer looks only at the week…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":799470,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-799469","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\/799469","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=799469"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/799469\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/799470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=799469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=799469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=799469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}