Surely we are looking for a 6?

[Chook2]

ok - let me clarify further what i mean.

we arent a club that comes out and says stuff like 'we have a 5- year plan'.

the Roosters, for better or worse, are a club that believe they have the systems / pathways already well established to be successful each year. the fact the club has made the finals 11 out of the past 12 years i think shows their plan works. However, ultimately they are a club that's judged on GF success - and i think that's a bar that is very high - but also a bar the club has set for itself.

the clubs own public mantra for years has been 'we play for premierships'

now this season has been extreme in the fact a lot of big name players are leaving at once, and probably have missed the boat on some recruitment targets that would make sense (Holmes / Lomax etc), but we have gone after and missed for various reasons Shaun Johnson, Gagai and D.Fifita for next year (and these are the ones we know about) - so they are looking to sign some established first graders.

Doesnt mean it comes off or will work this year round - but i just dont think we are club that goes into any season without the thought of on field success, and has shown many many times previously they will recruit players, even on short term deals, if thats going to bring instant success.

Again, doesnt mean they dont bring young players through - in fact i think when you look at the young players they have coming through - there is a massive crop of players ready to succeed at NRL level (Whyte, S.Smith, Walker etc). so that part of the club is in good shape.

i will say however, they have put themselves in this situation with some strange decisions - Fifita meaning we lost Sitili and probably paid Angus as high as he would get anywhere, May does seem odd, B.Smith hasnt lived upto his pay packet and the Walker injury on top of Keary and both Manu and Suuali leaving has made some more urgent / exposed gaps / caught the club off guard.

so maybe next year will be a challenging year, but i still dont see it as a re-building year - cause the young talent and base is there, but i see these latests moves as 'changing direction / clearing the decks for some big signings'

agree we havnt quite got out signings right the last year or two and I bellieve we were so far ahead of 14 other teams this year and with the players leaving of who none stood out this year we might not be as bad as first thought
We have a huge crop of players like Whyte and Wong to be full timers, Marky n could be anything, if b smith and toia can stay injury free plus tait, Elliot, foley, rodwell, Vaa x 2, steep and Roberts all stepping up
if we are close to the 8 once walker and smith are back top 8 is a must and maybe a sneaky top 4
Yes we will be a little further behind riff and storm but nail 2 good signings to come in and you never know

[BondiBob]

I don't know King the Panthers spine of Edwards Luai Cleary and Kenny is up there!

I understand what you are saying re: Smith and Walker I just don't know if they compliment each other. Both are pretty small

Don’t forget Yeo he never plays a bad game and is the perfect link

[BondiBob]

I thought a "Centre", a "6" and a "9" would be considered additions to the team too however:

Centre ------ No interest shown for Lomax or Holmes by the club however they did try for Gagai mid season for short term contract only
6 and 9. ---- No interest in Hunt shown by club however they did try for Shaun Johnson for short term contract only. Then picked up Chad Townsend a couple of months later.

Strangely they went for Fifita mid season.

Who is on the market for 2025? Not much - so Toia, Nawaqanitawase, Billy Smith, Pauga, Sandon Smith, Townsend and Moriarty and others will get there chance to perform on the big stage
Who is on market for 2026?

So lets say we go for Dylan Brown at 1 Million a season
Is he worth 1 Million a season ? Will he improve under us? Will we win a premiership because we bought him?

Is he any bigger than Sandon I don’t think so

[Vasco]

Guys on here used to complain about Manu and Sua'li'i being turnstyles in defence. Holmes is one of the worst defensive centres in the NRL.

I thought the complaints were mostly justified.

[Bondicigar]

Oh stop it with this bullshit. We are no different to many clubs at the moment. “ We don’t do rebuilding years “ and why not? What have we done to prevent a rebuilding year? Sweet FA. Now talk of Cheese leaving after next year.. it seems like the club has acknowledged their mistakes and want to redo the squad.


Im getting tired for this myth - “ Roosters are a powerful club and don’t miss out on their man “. We haven’t signed anyone at all and haven’t done jack shit the last few years. It is what it is but to keep falling back on this “ We’re the roosters the almighty who aren’t prone to refreshing the squad “ is ridiculous.

The problem is we have had a terrible run of injuries mixed with a equal bad run of ordinary recruitment/retention decisions.
It never seems to get a mention but gee we have signed some bog average players over the last few season and held onto just as many. Some have had two stints at the roosters and done nothing. If the rumour is true about Hutch coming back then the rebuild needs to start in the head office.

[Headless Chook]

I thought the complaints were mostly justified.

I'm not saying they weren't. The previous poster was lamenting us not signing Holmes who in my opinion is a worse defender than either of our previous centres

[Fishwa]

The problem is we have had a terrible run of injuries mixed with a equal bad run of ordinary recruitment/retention decisions.
It never seems to get a mention but gee we have signed some bog average players over the last few season and held onto just as many. Some have had two stints at the roosters and done nothing. If the rumour is true about Hutch coming back then the rebuild needs to start in the head office.

I agree - injuries and some recruitments that havent worked out, have hurt.

If the Hutch return rumor is true - i think its due to 3 reasons (most to least important!)....
1 - The team culture is a high priority - he was a respected / liked club member
2 - I think the Walker / Smith injuries probably plays a big part in this decision
3 - His versatility is needed

[Dr. Voodoo Man]

2025 is going to be a tough season. It's been a decade since we looked this thin and average.

[ChookMaster]

I agree - injuries and some recruitments that havent worked out, have hurt.

If the Hutch return rumor is true - i think its due to 3 reasons (most to least important!)....
1 - The team culture is a high priority - he was a respected / liked club member
2 - I think the Walker / Smith injuries probably plays a big part in this decision
3 - His versatility is needed

The Dogs are building an awesome culture there - why wouldn’t they want him if he was so good as you make out?

You want to know the real reason why they want to flick him already? Because he’s shit.

nothing more to it.

[Fishwa]

The Dogs are building an awesome culture there - why wouldn’t they want him if he was so good as you make out?

You want to know the real reason why they want to flick him already? Because he’s shit.

nothing more to it.

uummmm - just to be clear - i didnt state any reason why the Dogs would want to get rid of him, purely why the Roosters may want him back. (the old, falling down the pecking order at the Dogs is probably the reason)

and i didnt make any mention of his on field quality either or if it was a good / bad move - just what i think are the reasons the roosters may take him back.

my main point was obviously the club is placing a high value on club culture (the May / Brandon Smith seems to show this)

[Bondicigar]

I agree - injuries and some recruitments that havent worked out, have hurt.

If the Hutch return rumor is true - i think its due to 3 reasons (most to least important!)....
1 - The team culture is a high priority - he was a respected / liked club member
2 - I think the Walker / Smith injuries probably plays a big part in this decision
3 - His versatility is needed

I have to disagree,
Any type of leader that's good for culture would get the most basic thing right.
Be fit enough to get through a game at least.
I'm not death riding the bloke but even King Salvo knows deep down he's not up to NRL standard .

[roosterproud]

There was talk a month or so back that the Titans were keen on Hugo Savala. Judt had a chat to Titans Ceo. Not on their radar. Im keen to keep this guy

[SamKerrSimp]

Culture has to be one of the most overrated buzzwords in the modern NRL. What's special about the Bulldogs culture? They just sacked a bloke for driving while high on cocaine who continually lied about being on drugs and embarrassed the club and Gould (which was great to see that prick look bad)

[Bansai Pipeline]

I think it's clear we're waiting for Ponga. It's a classic Politis signing. Not insignificantly because he's another marquee signing in a position we're not technically in need of filling. Fullback.

Unless there's an equally misguided idea to turn him into Sam Walkers halves partner.

I know it's all just speculation, but I can feel it in my bones.

[Steggles]

Please tell me how many halves we have brought through from juniors in the last 25 years outside of Mitch Pearce ?? I will wait......

Still waiting?