Source :- THE AGE NEWS
Roosters centre Billy Smith is in doubt for Friday’s clash against arch rivals South Sydney after being involved in an e-bike incident on Thursday afternoon.
Sources not authorised to speak on the matter told this masthead Smith was e-biking in the Moore Park precinct, doubling with teammate Egan Butcher, when they were involved in an accident.
Roosters centre Billy Smith.Credit: Getty Images
While Butcher has walked away relatively unscathed, a witness said Smith suffered a head injury. He was being assessed by the club doctor on Thursday afternoon.
The club is yet to determine whether Smith will be fit to line up against the Rabbitohs. It continues a luckless run for the 26-year-old, who has managed just 46 games during an injury-interrupted career.
“I’m completely fine, I’m all good,” Smith said when contacted by this masthead.
Roosters players regularly move between their training sessions at Kippax Lake Oval and club facilities inside Allianz Stadium using e-bikes and scooters. Members of Trent Robinson’s side were spotted returning to their club headquarters on foot on Thursday afternoon after completing their pre-game captain’s run.
Billy Smith on an e-bike, with Egan Butcher, in a photo posted by the Roosters earlier this week.Credit: Instagram
Under NRL rules, the Roosters’ initial 22-man squad for Friday’s local derby must be trimmed to 19 players at 8pm on Thursday, 24 hours out from kick-off.
Outside back Junior Pauga, who was dropped after last week’s loss to the Warriors for returning centre Rob Toia, looms as the most likely replacement should Smith be ruled out.
Star forward Angus Crichton spent much of the 2024 season with his right arm strapped up for games after falling off an electric skateboard on Driver Avenue early in the year.
Smith has spent more than his fair share of time on the sidelines thanks to a series of injuries, headlined by three ACL tears – two in his left knee, one in his right – by the time he had turned 22.
He has also been laid low by significant shoulder and Lisfranc injuries, and missed the entire 2024 season with an ankle injury that ended up requiring 30 per cent of the cartilage in the joint to be removed.
The previous year he famously played 38 minutes of a thrilling Roosters semi-final win over Cronulla with a broken jaw, before finally stringing together 18 games – the most he’s played in one season – in 2025.
with Dan Walsh
