Trent Robinson might have been โropeableโ after Bailey Simonsson remained on the field during the Sydney Roosters' victory over the Parramatta Eels on Thursday night, but the star coach must now turn his attention to bigger problems.
Simonsson's tackle - a high shot which saw direct shoulder to jaw contact - will see star fullback and club captain James Tedesco miss at least the next 11 days under the NRL's new policy for players to return from a concussion.
There are ways around it, but to satisfy the criteria for a return in a shorter timeframe, a player must have had less than five career concussions.
That automatically rules out Tedesco, who last night suffered the eighth career concussion.
Rushing him back will be the least of the Roosters' worries at any rate. This is the same club who have dealt with all concussions and head injuries with care and without speed. They have had multiple players retire due to head injury impacts, and there are beginning to be fears over Tedesco too given the number of concussions he has suffered, and the fact he has often had delayed symptoms.
In the short-term though, what that means, is that while he will miss next week's Round 6 blockbuster against the Melbourne Storm, there would be little surprise if he missed the Round 7 game against the Cronulla Sharks as well.
ANZAC Day against the St George Illawarra Dragons might be the most realistic timeframe to return to the park for Tedesco.
It's never ideal to lose one of - if not - your best players, but the Roosters are in a unique position compared to most other clubs in that they have not just one, but two excellent options to replace Tedesco heading into next week's game against the Storm, and any future games he might sit out.
That will only aid in the process of not rushing Tedesco back, not that it would have a single thing to do with it based on the club's track record.
But Robinson must now shift his focus towards replacing Tedesco because no matter how good either Joey Manu or Joseph Suaalii are, neither of them are Tedesco, who has been arguably the game's best and most consistent fullback since his first breakout season at this level way back in 2019.
He has had bumps along the road without a doubt, but they have been short and far from steep, with Tedesco single-handily dragging the Roosters into the finals during 2021 as the club grappled a mass injury crisis, and then rebounding from off-season stem cell surgery in his knee to be the Roosters' best again last year, albeit with the club falling short in the first week of the finals.
So replacing Tedesco, no matter who is on deck, is an almost impossible task. Add that to the task of playing Melbourne in Melbourne, and you get the picture.
Suaalii filled the shoes during the win over Parramatta for the final hour or so with Manu missing the game through a suspension of his own, doing an outstanding job.
A couple of involvements in tries, strong defensive work, proved well-positioned for the most part and certainly didn't shy away from doing the hard yards running the football back.
But Suaalii, who has signed on with rugby union from the start of the 2025 season, is just four games into his switch to the centres.
That said, the move from wing to centre needs to be consistent. He needs to be playing there every single week and continuing to learn the craft of what is the NRL's most difficult position defensively.
He has done a strong job to this point, but from a long-term point success point of view for the tri-colours this season, he still has a long way to go, and a real litmus test against the Storm would be the way to prove he is up to the battle.
While Suaalii was superb at fullback during the second half of the Rugby League World Cup last year for Samoa in helping them to a historic first final appearance at the tournament, that had nothing on Manu's efforts at fullback.
What Manu has going for him in terms of covering the number one role in the coming weeks is stability in the centres, but also a proven track record of being able to get the job done at the back.
He won the golden boot award on the back of his performances for New Zealand last year, making him, in the eyes of the judging panel, the best player at international level in 2022, which, as mentioned, was a big year for that level of football. A World Cup year, no less.
But he has more than that.
He has played at both fullback and in the halves for the Roosters when shifting away from the centres and has never played a bad game when placed in the spine.
He has the experience to lead the team defensively, which is one of Tedesco's best attributes too.
The workrate of a fullback in defence, mainly through their communication and vision is one of the most underrated aspects of any good man at the back. Billy Slater was a master of his craft during his glittering career, and there hasn't been one as good as him since, with Tedesco now the NRL's market leader in that area.
Manu has proven time and time again in shifting to the back that he can do that, but also brings a high rugby league IQ in attack, and skills which as yet, are frankly unproven at this level in the case of Suaalii.
All of that paints a very compelling argument that Manu should walk straight to fullback upon his return next week as the Roosters look to extinguish the Storm and maintain their place near the top of the table during the early part of what has been so far an enthralling season.
Tuavasa Schek needs to go back to the rorters, they don’t have enough internationals in the backline. It would also lower their sombrero.