MARK ‘SPUDD’ CARROLL: Sam Walker, Brandon Smith, Victor Radley latest NRL stars out as injury crisis worsens

A few weeks ago, I wrote the Sydney Roosters were my tip to surge through the pack and win the premiership.

You can put a red line through them now.

The Chooks are cooked.

Their 14-12 loss to the Raiders at Allianz Stadium has plucked them.

Sam Walker and Brandon Smith gone for the season with ACL ruptures. Victor Radley also needing season-ending shoulder surgery.

In the space of 80 minutes their premiership dream went up in smoke.

They were playing so well I was prepared to look past their horror record against the Panthers and Storm (one win from their past 20 encounters) once the finals rolled around.

The Roosters had a premiership “look” about them.

But those three guys are key players and were in great form.

Losing one of them would be bad enough – but all three?

No side can recover from that sort of carnage.

Walker has been among the best players in the NRL all season. He’s been setting up a stack of tries as the Roosters piled on the points in attack.

You could see the impact his loss had when he left the field after just 12 minutes.

Pardon the pun, but in attack they were running around like headless chooks.

Sandon Smith will come into the side and he’s a handy player. But he ain’t Sam Walker.

Even allowing for all the injuries they should still beat their old rivals Souths on Friday night, which will probably see them play a qualifying final against the Panthers in Penrith.

Without Walker, Smith and Radley that’s a daunting assignment, especially with Nathan Cleary expected back from injury for the premiers.

I’ve seen the finger pointed at Jared Waera-Hargreaves for letting down the team in its hour of need.

Jared is serving a three-match ban – just one game after finishing his last suspension.

I agree, it sounds shocking.

But I don’t blame JWH. That’s his DNA as a player.

Every week he pushes the line and that’s why he’s been one of the dominant front rowers of the modern era.

The guy he hit, Titans hooker Sam Verrills, was falling at the time Jared arrived. A three-match suspension for that is a joke.

The same goes for Felise Kaufusi at the Dolphins.

Fair dinkum I’ve seen heavier contact in the supermarket aisle then what he did to Adam Reynolds.

And he cops two matches with his team trying to make history by qualifying for the finals for the first time. Just crazy stuff!

We all want to protect player welfare, but the NRL and refs are going over the top.

I just hope they don’t stuff up this last round because it looks like a cracker.

The final game on Sunday afternoon in Newcastle will decide who gets the last spot in the finals – the Knights or the Dolphins.

I reckon the NRL new boys will send the master coach Wayne Bennett off to the Rabbitohs with yet another finals appearance.

They will be too strong for the Knights.

AND DON’T GET ME STARTED

The NRL season is too long.

I know the crowds are flocking, but 27 rounds is taking a huge toll on the game’s most valuable commodity – the players.

Just look at who’s sitting on the sidelines one week out from the finals:

Nathan Cleary, Reece Walsh, Tom Trbojevic, Latrell Mitchell, Mitchell Moses, Sam Walker, Ryan Papenhuyzen, Jason Saab, Brandon Smith, Alex Johnston, Joseph Suaalii, Victor Radley, Esra Mam, J’maine Hopgood, Jai Arrow, Jordan Rapana, Ronaldo Mulitalo, Xavier Coates, Jahream Bula and A-J Brimson.

These are all elite players worth millions of dollars and there’s probably a few I’ve missed.

You could argue a lot of them are paying the price for playing too much footy, especially when you throw in State of Origin.

The answer is a shorter season where everyone plays each other once, plus the finals and Origin.

This would put less stress on the players and I believe we would see less injuries as a result. And guess what comes off that?

Better quality.

It’s a fairer system than what we have now, where some teams are given more favourable draws compared to others.

Well, if we play each other once, there’s no more of those complaints.

It would also stop the ridiculous situation of the same two teams playing against each other four weeks apart.

Apparently, that’s just the way some special computer spits out the draw.

Well, Peter Vlandys – it’s time to get a new computer. This one is malfunctioning!

While I’m at it, can we bring back the old top five finals format please?

Or at least a system that gives more reward to the team that finishes on top of the ladder.

The Storm get no advantage under the current top eight model – they’re in exactly the same position as the second-placed team.

Craig Bellamy’s team should have a week off to freshen up while the other teams hammer each other on the opening weekend.

A $200,000 cheque for the minor premiers from the NRL is simply not enough for their achievement.

It’s the equivalent of a pat on the back.