Trent Robinson says Victor Radley has returned to rugby league a "clear and determined" man after his early comeback from a club-enforced ban.
Radley scored late in the Sydney Roosters' 32-22 win over Cronulla in Perth on Saturday, with the win from 16-0 down marking the equal biggest comeback in the club's history.
The Roosters lock also dug into the line in the lead up to Daniel Tupou's match-levelling try with 14 minutes to go at Optus Stadium.
Radley was initially suspended for 10 games without pay by the Roosters for allegedly attempting to purchase a dangerous drug while on a golf weekend last year.
The Roosters then moved to include three Tests for England and two pre-season matches in that ban, before bringing him back earlier again after a round-five bye.
"No-one walks a straight path, so I think everybody's judgement of that is that's up to them," Robinson said.
"But for us, Ted (captain James Tedesco) was very honest with him, I was very honest with him. The club was, and then you move forward.
"His trust bank account is huge in our club. He took away from that in a serious way for the club to sanction it.
"But we also believe in him. He's come back really determined and clear about what his role is in this team, on and off the field, and we'll continue to support that."
Robinson suggested Radley now had a leanness about him after a long off-season, albeit with his match fitness somewhat down with a seven-month gap between games.
The backrower finished with 48 minutes under his belt across two stints, with his defensive prowess likely to be key after the Roosters' stuttering start to 2026.
The other good sign for the Roosters was the development of Daly Cherry-Evans and Mark Nawaqanitawase on their right edge.
Cherry-Evans has faced some scrutiny over the opening rounds, but was good against old club Manly a fortnight ago before scoring a double on Saturday.
Both of those came through the athletic work of Nawaqanitawase, with Cherry-Evans bringing up his 100th try in the process.
Renowned as being one of the best support players in the NRL, there is every chance he could be the beneficiary of several Nawaqanitawase plays this year.
"Chez has started to come into his own a little bit more, and the better we get as a team, the better he'll get," Robinson said.
"If you look at the way that Siua Wong and Rob Toia were playing in attack that has to go through Chez, and they've been playing really well.
"I just know with each game he plays the person that he is and how hard he works, then we're going to keep getting better out there."
