Chooks have a friend in Jake

JAKE Friend has had more try assists and more tackle busts than his champion grand final opponent Cameron Smith this season. Not that you would know about it.

The Roosters skipper is not as crafty as the Storm star or as individually brilliant as NSW Origin hooker Damien Cook.

In fact, he has been criticised for much of the season by respected voices and premiership-winning hookers Danny Buderus and Michael Ennis on Fox Sports commentary.

Especially earlier in the year when the Roosters struggled to get their structure right under new playmaker Cooper Cronk, Friend occasionally chose some poor fifth-tackle kicking options.

Not that Roosters coach Trent Robinson would swap him for anyone.

“He has copped a lot off former players and hookers in the media but he has just kept going,” Robinson said.

“They have been into him all year. He doesn’t play pretty enough for some people.

“But the guy has stood out and delivered as a footy player every week. He’s an exceptional leader and a good man with a big heart.

“He’s also tough and can play wounded every week.”

While Smith and Cook get the glowing praise, Friend quietly produces his strong, steady and inspirational performances in every game.

The fact he averages 43 tackles each week can take an edge off his attacking output.

Yet the statistics show he’s superior to Smith in the key try-assist and tackle-bust areas of the game. It’s 21 tackle busts to Smith’s 19 and six try assists to Smith’s four.

Not bad considering he averaged 10 minutes a game less than his grand final opponent.

Robinson said fans at the ground and watching on television never got a full appreciation of what he contributed to the team.

“It’s not until we see him on eagle cam (overhead view) that you can understand a lot of the stuff that often goes unnoticed,” Robinson said. “It’s incredible.

“He’s our number one guy on eagle cam by far. He’s everywhere. You don’t do what we did on the weekend against Souths without Jake Friend.”