Jake Friend

Roosters co-captain set to sign on

The 30-year old is chasing down the Roosters’ all-time games record.

Published by
Ben Cotton

Sydney Roosters co-captain Jake Friend is set to sign multi-year contract extension with the club, reports The Daily Telegraph.

The 30-year old has played 258 NRL games for the Tricolours after making his debut in 2008.

The impending new deal puts him in contention to become the most capped player in Roosters history as he chases down retiring veteran Mitch Aubusson's record, who's currently on 303 games.

“I’m all sorted for next year, and I’m hoping that will be all signed and sealed in the next few weeks,” Friend told The Daily Telegraph.

“There are a few little things to tick off, and hopefully we will be able to announce it.

“It is something that does mean a lot to me to play at the one club, so I’m really excited to hopefully get it all sorted.

“But to be honest, it isn’t really on my priority list at the moment. It is about finishing off this season the way we want to, and we’ll sort the rest out after that.”

Friend has just about done it all in his career - winning three premierships and four minor premierships.

He is still yet to play State of Origin but remains focused on adding a Queensland jumper to his resume.

“For me, it is definitely something that I still want to tick off,” he said.

“I was involved in a few of the camps earlier this year, and it was great to be back in the mix.

“I believe it to be the pinnacle of our game, and it would be an awesome thing to be involved in, especially this year.

“The continuous back-to-back Origins is going to provide some pretty good footy.

“I just have to perform well.

“There is a finals series to play, and there are some other players in my position that have been playing really well.”

Friend is looking forward to Friday night's clash against arch rivals the Rabbitohs at ANZ Stadium, who will be keen to respond from their shock loss to Canterbury.

“They have probably had a couple of weeks that they wouldn’t be too happy with, and I’m sure they will be fired up to play us this weekend,” he said.

“As a team and a club, we really enjoy playing against Souths.

“It is the greatest rivalry in the NRL.”

Published by
Ben Cotton