The Sydney Roosters, one of the National Rugby League’s (NRL) most dominant powerhouse clubs, is bracing for major changes to its senior coaching staff ahead of the 2027 season, with two key assistant positions set to open up by the end of the current calendar year. While much of the recent rugby league media focus has centered on Sam Walker’s future with the club, the impending departures of two top assistants have flown under the radar — and the club already has strong internal candidates ready to step into the gaps.
Current assistant coach Matt King will depart the Roosters at the end of the year to take on the head coaching role for the NSW Blues, the state’s representative side in the annual State of Origin series. Fellow assistant Michael Cheika is also expected to leave the club to return to his rugby union roots, where he will take the helm of the NSW Waratahs. Their exits will leave two critical vacancies on head coach Trent Robinson’s staff, but the Roosters do not need to conduct a far-reaching external search to find qualified replacements.
Three former club legends already embedded in the Roosters’ development pathways and youth coaching systems are top contenders for the roles, joining current staff member Tait Barnes on the senior coaching team.
Boyd Cordner, the Roosters’ former premiership-winning captain, has already claimed back-to-back titles leading the club’s SG Ball under-19 side since retiring from playing. Jake Friend, the club’s veteran former hooker, has spent his post-playing career working closely with the Roosters’ first-grade forward pack and developing young talent through the club’s pathway programs. Brett Morris, a legendary club winger, has also built up extensive coaching experience with the first-grade squad since hanging up his playing boots.
Current Roosters forward Nat Butcher, speaking to reporters on a sunny Tuesday at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, offered high praise for the three former stars, highlighting how their legacy at the club already commands respect from the current playing group.
“As a leader, the biggest thing was ‘Boydo’ always led through his actions and not his words. As a player, that’s probably what I remember the most,” Butcher said. “Obviously as a coach, you can’t lead by your actions on the field. But when Boyd speaks, everyone listens and we do what he says because he’s a man that’s done it before. You believe what he says, and if you back that up, you’ll get the result that you’re after.”
Butcher also emphasized Friend’s deep institutional knowledge of the Roosters’ long-standing playing system, built over decades of working under head coach Trent Robinson. “Jake Friend has lived and breathed Roosters footy and knows our system like the back of his hand,” he said. “Whether they step up into that role as well, that would be great to see. But if not, then I’m sure there’ll be someone else.”
Cordner, who currently also serves as an assistant coach for the Blues, is widely regarded as one of the greatest modern-era leaders for the Roosters, NSW Blues, and Australian Kangaroos national side. Butcher admitted he never expected Cordner or Friend to transition into full-time senior coaching after their retirements, but said their decades of experience at the club make them ideal candidates. “No I didn’t, just because I was in awe of them so much as a player,” Butcher said. “But like I said, they know our system better than anyone, and being coached under Robbo for so many years, I know they understand what he’s about and would be able to do a great job if they got that gig.”
Roosters outside back Billy Smith echoed Butcher’s confidence, pointing to the club’s successful track record of developing homegrown coaches who go on to lead top NRL sides, including Craig Fitzgibbon, Jason Ryles and Adam O’Brien, all of whom started as Roosters assistants before taking head coaching roles at rival clubs. Smith said he has observed Cordner and the other candidates’ coaching work over the past several years, and is confident they are prepared to handle the added responsibility of promotion to the NRL first-grade coaching staff.
“I’m confident that we have an amazing group of young coaches,” Smith said. “I’m sure whoever they put in internally or externally will be the right fit for the job. I think as players, it’s nice to have those guys around the club because they’ve lived it, they’ve walked it. You respect those guys a lot because you’ve seen them do it, and not too long ago either. It’s really nice to have those guys still around the club. If they do that, great. If not, then we’ll respect them equally as well.”