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Luke Keary says Brandon Smith failed the standards set by the Sydney Roosters' senior players when he did not show up for a team meeting during the club's bye week.
Smith was handed a breach notice by Roosters officials last week, after missing a team review following the club's loss to North Queensland.
The 28-year-old has insisted the breach was simply down to a miscommunication, and he did not realise the team-wide review was on during the bye week.
Regardless, questions remain over the hooker's future at the NRL club.
AAP has been told it is not the first issue to surround Smith at the Roosters, with multiple indiscretions since his arrival from Melbourne at the end of 2022.
His form also saw him lose the starting role for a number of weeks to utility Connor Watson, who was on the brink of a maiden State of Origin berth until an untimely throat injury.
Smith was back at Roosters training on Monday, and it remains to be seen whether he will be named to face Parramatta on Saturday night.
"It wasn't a major thing," Keary said.
"But there are some standards here that have been around this joint for a long time. A lot of those older boys have put those standards in.
"We all adhere to them. Brandon is no different. When you don't adhere to them you get punished."
Asked how easy it was for there to be a miscommunication around a team meeting, Keary was to the point.
"It is pretty black and white," he said.
"These things do happen sometimes. People sleep in or something happens.
"It wasn't good enough. We've dealt with it internally, which is how we want to keep it."
Smith is contracted at the sixth-placed Roosters until the end of next year, having activated an option in his favour to remain at the club in 2025.
After battling for cohesion in the Roosters' spine last year through injury, he has been better on the field this year.
Roosters backrower Victor Radley was also adamant it appeared Smith had learnt his lesson, and that the breach notice could be a turning point for him.
"You could see today that he looks a bit dialled-in," Radley said.
"He knows maybe he should have known that meeting was on. It's not a big deal at all.
"It's a little kick up the arse for him.
"He's got his hair cut. He's had a shave, and honestly it looks like he's gone, 'I'll be on for the rest of the season.'"
Radley himself has had previous off-field indiscretions, prompting coach Trent Robinson to publicly declare in 2021 that he needed to grow up.
"A little thing like that can be beneficial. I know personally, I learnt everything the hard way," Radley said.
"A lot of rugby players are similar. I know me and Brandon probably are.
"You have to learn everything the hard way. I've been told so many lessons in my life. And I've done them and got in trouble for it and only then learnt.
"It's another one for him, but he'll be right."
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AAP