Departing Roosters utility Connor Watson is just at the start of his “strange and exciting” journey, but has vowed to do all he can to leave the club with a premiership.
Signed by the PNG Chiefs for their inaugural season in 2028, Watson will leave the Roosters at the end of this year, making a pitstop on his way to Port Moresby to Wollongong, to play with the Dragons next year.
“(I am) very keen (to win the comp before I leave),” Watson said.
“Sort of been thinking about it, going out on a high like that, there's a fair bit of change coming.
“There's a lot of guys that I've played with for a long time that are also sort of moving on, so I want to make the most of it.
“(My future), it's strange, it's exciting, it’s all of those words.
“There's a little bit of planning (ahead) …
“I really want to make the most of this last six months that I've got with the Roosters.
“We just spoke about winning a comp, that's all I'm sort of thinking about there, but then in the back of your mind, you're sort of looking towards the future and big change.
“I've been at the Roosters for a long time … (I) also like different experiences and the next sort of three years that come after this one will be a lot of new experiences and some really exciting stuff, so that's all going to be great.
“I'm looking forward to that, but my priority's here.”
In his side's hard-fought 24-18 win against a desperate Broncos outfit, Watson made a key impact from the bench, running for 104 metres, a line break assist and 25 tackles, helping the Roosters firm their standing near the top of the ladder.
After fighting back from a poor opening half where they trailed 16-12 at the break, Watson said there were plenty of improvements to be made that had him confident the side could find success this season.
“I think our completion rate was 60 percent, which you're never going to win a game of NRL at that rate, so there was a big focus on that in the second half and then just also not being too rushed with our footy,” Watson said.
“We've got such a good forward pack, so just using those guys and letting them get us out of trouble, we don't have to move the ball too much.
“There's a time and place for moving the ball, but probably did that too much in the first half and so just went back to letting those guys run through the front door.
“When you're playing behind a forward pack like that, you then start to get fast play the balls and then that that war of attrition, we came out on top of that.
“We were probably just off the pace a little bit (in the first half).
“We spoke about that at halftime, just about how we can just start again here and Salesi (Foketi) set the tone at the kick-off and made a really good tackle and then from that point on, I felt like we fought really hard and played a lot better in that second half and were able to come away with a win.
“I think (in terms of playing the sort of football that can win a title), we do it in stages, definitely.
“Our ceiling is that; it's just about our floor.
“I think just our consistency in our football … that's the biggest thing (to work on).”
The Roosters will have next weekend off with a bye in Round 18 before returning to action in Round 19 with a home game at Allianz Stadium against the Eels.
