Hutchison's three years in wilderness to come to an end

The expected six-week absence of Luke Keary over the representative period will give Sydney Roosters recruit Drew Hutchison a chance to re-ignite his Telstra Premiership career after three years in the wilderness.

Hutchison, once a Junior Kangaroos halfback and captain of the NSW under-20s outfit, was labelled the next big thing coming through the Dragons' lower grades until an ACL rupture in 2016 shattered his dreams of making the No.7 jersey his own.

Two years later and with a stint at the Leigh Centurions in between, Hutchison has arrived at the Bondi club as the latest short-gap solution for the Tricolours until Keary returns.

"He came onto the scene and I remember watching him a lot as a young guy in the juniors. He went overseas, went into the wilderness and then came back," Roosters coach Trent Robinson said.

"He had a couple of opportunities to probably go somewhere but he said no and that he was going to stay and back the opportunity he's got here down the pecking order.

"The boys like him, he's got a bit of energy about him and he's a footy player."

Keary is expected to miss at least six weeks from when he fell to the ground after a heavy shot in the game against Newcastle in round 11.

Keary could make his return in the rematch with the Knights at the SCG on July 20, allowing Hutchison a chance to show his credentials while Lachlan Lam remains sidelined for at least another fortnight.

And there's no better master to resume his NRL career alongside than Cooper Cronk.

"He's worked hard over the whole pre-season and is a good guy," Roosters centre Joey Manu told pan66.com.

"He was saying last week he went over to England and I didn't even know that. I played against him in the under 20s when he was at the Dragons. He can be really controlling and takes on a role.

"I think he'll go well straight away and with someone like Cooper Cronk alongside you, he brings a real calmness to everyone."

Manu has endured a quieter than usual start to the year with just the one try in 10 appearances this season.

After establishing himself on the right edge, the 22-year-old has had to adjust to life without Blake Ferguson on his outside this year.

"It's been a bit different, our right edge has been changing a lot around me with Brett Morris injured and Matt Ikuvalu there now, and then losing Coops in the earlier rounds.

"But I'm really enjoying it this year, it's a lot harder. I felt like last year our edge was solid and we stuck together the whole year.

"I'm still learning a lot and just want to keep getting better."