{"id":914563,"date":"2026-10-03T10:51:34","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T10:51:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/914563\/"},"modified":"2026-10-03T10:51:34","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T10:51:34","slug":"should-the-nrl-copy-the-nfl-trent-robinson-weighs-in-after-connor-watson-hia-heartbreak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/914563\/","title":{"rendered":"Should the NRL copy the NFL? Trent Robinson weighs in after Connor Watson HIA heartbreak"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sydney Roosters<\/a> coach Trent Robinson has made his final media appearance<\/a> ahead of the 2026 NRL Grand Final against the Newcastle Knights<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Speaking as his side held its captain\u2019s run at Accor Stadium, the four-time premiership winning coach acknowledged the \u2018devastating\u2019 HIA setback for departing veteran Connor Watson.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But Robinson staunchly refused to criticise the NRL processes that will see Watson confined to the role of spectator for the decider that would have also been his final game for the club.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all believe in the 11-day stand down\u00a0 policy\u2026 we thought there were grounds there (for Watson to be cleared to play), but we respect the decision. Ultimately it came down to protocols and we stand by that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

MORE:\u00a0Phil Gould makes brutal NRL Grand Final prediction<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018Absolute devastation\u2019<\/p>\n

Robinson described Watson\u2019s response to the news that he wouldn\u2019t be playing in Sunday as \u2018stoic\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cConnor is a good man, a strong man and he had to control all that (emotion)\u2026 the absolute devastation that it is for him and all the work that\u2019s gone into his football career\u2026 it\u2019s quite tough,\u201d Robinson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe spoke to the group quite clearly, and then the player that took his spot in the 19, Benaiah Ioelu, spoke about the love for Connor and what it means for his role coming into the side\u2026 that\u2019s what teams are about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked if the NRL should copy the NFL model by introducing a week off before the Grand Final to avoid HIA cases like Watson\u2019s, Robinson disagreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think these are unfortunate things that happen, but we have protocols for reasons,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m more for a week off before the finals than I am before the Grand Final, I feel that momentum is built throughout the finals series and the attrition part of it is part of our game.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Watson watching from the sidelines, the Roosters will enter Sunday night\u2019s match as the dominant favourites to win their first NRL premiership since 2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Meanwhile the Knights will seek to cap a remarkable rise from last place in 2025 to first in the space of 12 months, something that\u2019s only ever been achieved once before in the history of the NRL or NSWRL.<\/p>\n

\"Trent<\/p>\n

Sydney Roosters <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson has made his final media appearance ahead of the 2026 NRL Grand Final…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":914564,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[559],"tags":[64,63,593,85],"class_list":["post-914563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/914563","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=914563"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/914563\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/914564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=914563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=914563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=914563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}