Victor Radley will only miss FIVE games in the NRL despite being hit with a ten-match suspension – with this autumn’s Ashes counting on his suspension by the Roosters.
Radley’s club decided to come down hard on the England international in September, after court documents revealed that he had been implicated in the drug scandal surrounding his former team-mate, Brandon Smith.
At the time, the Roosters insisted that there was no impact on his plans to play for England in the Ashes and Radley was available to represent his country. There remains no suggestion they blocked him from doing so, with Radley informing Shaun Wane personally that he was unavailable to feature in the series.
But head coach Trent Robinson and chairman Nick Politis have reportedly agreed behind the scenes that the ten matches the club suspended Radley for is now basically cut in half.
That is because the three Ashes series count on his suspension – meaning Radley was technically banned from the series in the eyes of the Roosters – as well as two NRL trial games.
That means the forward is free to return to high-profile NRL action as early as Round 6 of the new campaign, which begins for the Roosters in early-March.
Roosters GM Mitch Aubusson confirmed Down Under that Radley made the decision himself not to feature in the Ashes, with no pressure imposed upon him by the Roosters.
“Rads was going to be picked for England and he was desperate to play,’ Aubusson said. “There was no pressure from us. He made the decision to put the club first and withdraw from selection. England means a lot to him.
“Plus, he missed out on getting paid for playing in the Test matches. He made the call to do it for the club. That’s what the Roosters mean to him.”
Radley is expected to come back into England contention for next autumn’s Rugby League World Cup.
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