The good news for Lindsay Collins’ colleagues is that he might return from a mild hamstring strain as early as next week, according to Roosters coach Trent Robinson. However, the bad news is that Sandon Smith and the unfortunate Billy Smith will likely miss significant amounts of time due to injury.

Fortunately, halfback Sam Walker was able to play after being classified as a category 1 concussion casualty during the victory over South Sydney. Under the NRL’s mandatory stand-down protocol, Walker would have been sidelined for 11 days.

Given that Walker didn’t exhibit any symptoms on the field after being struck in the head while attempting to tackle and that it was more of a neck issue, Roosters doctors questioned the decision right away.

Robinson has no issue with the independent doctor making calls on concussion given they are impartial, and he’s happy with the process that in the past has granted players like Tom Trbojevic an exemption to return early after being cleared.

Robinson stated, “He normally wouldn’t have come from the field, but even if he had, he would have returned.”

Therefore, we felt that going with a category 1 was excessive, and the NRL agreed, which was fortunate since it might have cost them throughout the game.

Their independence makes the process good. It’s evident that the trainers in orange shirts are biased towards their team and are not able to observe everything, therefore having an impartial doctor make the final decision is a fantastic idea.

“It’s extremely uncommon, but I believe there have been three or four instances where they have downgraded it from a category 1 post-game when they overcorrect as they did.”

Walker’s return is a boost for the Roosters against the Panthers, but Collins won’t face the defending premiers after he was forced off last week with left hamstring issue.

“It’s quite mild,” Robinson said.

“There are some positive signs already, but he’s not ready to play.

“There’s a chance (he’ll be back next week) because he’s already back running, so that’s a positive sign.”

The news isn’t as positive for the two Smiths, with Sandon suffering a significant medial ligament injury to his left elbow, while Billy’s rotten luck continued with a serious ankle injury in the NSW Cup.

“It’s a credit to Sandon because he did it in the first half. You could see him pull out of a tackle and started grabbing his elbow. He got it strapped at halftime and he played on because we needed him to play on,” his coach revealed.

“He’s going to be out 4-6 weeks with that injury, which has blown up a lot. It’s a credit to him to brush it aside and go on.

“He (Billy Smith) went up for a high ball, came down and rolled the ankle.

“He was in for surgery on Monday night to take out that piece of bone that got chipped off. It’s disappointing and means a couple of months (out of the game).”

The Panthers destroyed the Roosters 48-4 and 30-6 the previous season, so they will be looking to snap an eight-game losing run. However, Nathan Cleary will not be playing due to a hamstring injury he sustained last week.

Robinson proclaimed the halfback to be the best player in the world, but Penrith easily defeated the Roosters at Allianz Stadium the previous year, proving the Panthers could win even without him.

“We haven’t played to our potential against this team,” Robinson remarked.

“Our motivation is very clear—we want to perform better because they are coming to our home.”