The Loss of the most influential player in the NRL

[trewhella]

SBW turned out to be a monumental acquisition.
I cannot think of one player having such an impact on the rest of the squad. Regardless of who was captain and no disrespect to Mini, it was the influence of Sonny that won us a premiership.

I'm sitting here trying to contemplate how the roosters will be as effective without SBW and the maturity of mini.

Sure the emergence of young forwards, the possible improvement RTS at fullback( who I thought was a bit dissapointing last year) and the inclusion of Blake Ferguson. On Blake,you can't put brains in statues but I wish him well.

Globally for mine it is a far weaker squad and I think a top 8 finish is acceptable.

[milanja]

SBW turned out to be a monumental acquisition.
I cannot think of one player having such an impact on the rest of the squad. Regardless of who was captain and no disrespect to Mini, it was the influence of Sonny that won us a premiership.

I'm sitting here trying to contemplate how the roosters will be as effective without SBW and the maturity of mini.

Sure the emergence of young forwards, the possible improvement RTS at fullback( who I thought was a bit dissapointing last year) and the inclusion of Blake Ferguson. On Blake,you can't put brains in statues but I wish him well.

Globally for mine it is a far weaker squad and I think a top 8 finish is acceptable.

So true.

Even at the fan day with all our players there, without mini and especially SBW, there was not a standout player who's autograph or picture the kids or adults really wanted to have with.

SBW had an aura that no player can match and he is known to many who don't even follow the game.

[Tommy Smith]

I remember when Hawthorn lost superstar Lance Franklin.

They came back a year later as the complete TEAM.

[SConcierge]

SBW turned out to be a monumental acquisition.
I cannot think of one player having such an impact on the rest of the squad. Regardless of who was captain and no disrespect to Mini, it was the influence of Sonny that won us a premiership.

I'm sitting here trying to contemplate how the roosters will be as effective without SBW and the maturity of mini.

Sure the emergence of young forwards, the possible improvement RTS at fullback( who I thought was a bit dissapointing last year) and the inclusion of Blake Ferguson. On Blake,you can't put brains in statues but I wish him well.

Globally for mine it is a far weaker squad and I think a top 8 finish is acceptable.

I agree but I do believe SBW left his work ethic and attitude behind that will continue through the players he touched, I see a top 4 finish.

[fletch]

I remember when Hawthorn lost superstar Lance Franklin.

They came back a year later as the complete TEAM.

as a Hawthorn supporter, they are a vastly different team to the Roosters, the Hawks had many experienced leaders to hold the team together once Buddy left, the core experienced group of Hodge/Mitchell/Roughead/Lewis just drove the team towards back to back titles.

without Mini/SBW we still have a very talented playing roster but lack that core group of experienced leaders to drive the team both on and off the field.

what we are likely to see this season is wild swings in performance, one minute it will all click and we will look like world beaters, the next we will get our arse handed to us, I just wonder when momentum swings against us during games who is going to be the settling influence on the 2015 version of the Roosters.

[Danish]

We should finish top 8 at the least. Top 4 is attainable due to a pretty poor standard across the competition in 2015. Cowboys, Panthers, Dogs, and Souths are about the only competition for the top 4.

Week 2 of the finals is about as far as I see us going though

[fletch]

seeing RTS in the pre-season I just wonder if he has bulked up too much to handle the extra km's required to play FB fulltime, I have no doubt he has the ability to handle the position, I just worry he won't have the tank to be able to run out matches and his attacking ability will suffer because of it.

I wouldn't be shocked if at stages RTS returned to the wing for a breather especially early in the season.

[Spirit of 66]

We are currently premiership favourites. We have a fantastic playing roster and the best coach in the game. Anything less than Top 4 will be a disappointment. (Unless the referees decide to treble our penalty handicap to minus 150.)

[Guest]

The biggest thing I see in our favour are the declining standards across the whole NRL. I predict crowds will be down even further in 2015 and more fans will move on. Sad but true imo.

[fletch]

The biggest thing I see in our favour are the declining standards across the whole NRL. I predict crowds will be down even further in 2015 and more fans will move on. Sad but true imo.

if the quality of officiating/bias continues absolutely, its ridiculous going into a sporting contest knowing how the officials will officiate a match, it got to the stage last year that the vermin would enter each contest knowing they would receive at least 9 penalties on the other hand we knew we would concede 10 no matter how dominant we were in the contest.

fans are fed up with garbage standard definition coverage/commentary/delayed coverage of channel 9, in particular I'm fed up of senile old fool Rabs mentioning how often we deliberately give away penalties and how poor our discipline is even in matches we aren't even playing in.

I know personally I now barely watch NRL matches not involving the Roosters, a good neutral AFL/NFL match shits all over the NRL now.

[Guest]

as a Hawthorn supporter, they are a vastly different team to the Roosters, the Hawks had many experienced leaders to hold the team together once Buddy left, the core experienced group of Hodge/Mitchell/Roughead/Lewis just drove the team towards back to back titles.

without Mini/SBW we still have a very talented playing roster but lack that core group of experienced leaders to drive the team both on and off the field.

what we are likely to see this season is wild swings in performance, one minute it will all click and we will look like world beaters, the next we will get our arse handed to us, I just wonder when momentum swings against us during games who is going to be the settling influence on the 2015 version of the Roosters.

Good to see another Hawthorn supporter here.

[bondi paul]

I boycotted channel 9 mid season after they stitched up Pearce prior that I only viewed 9's broadcast games with no audio

[Guest]

if the quality of officiating/bias continues absolutely, its ridiculous going into a sporting contest knowing how the officials will officiate a match, it got to the stage last year that the vermin would enter each contest knowing they would receive at least 9 penalties on the other hand we knew we would concede 10 no matter how dominant we were in the contest.

fans are fed up with garbage standard definition coverage/commentary/delayed coverage of channel 9, in particular I'm fed up of senile old fool Rabs mentioning how often we deliberately give away penalties and how poor our discipline is even in matches we aren't even playing in.

I know personally I now barely watch NRL matches not involving the Roosters, a good neutral AFL/NFL match shits all over the NRL now.

Can't agree mate, the NFL has become the most over-officiated sport in the world. They have absolutely ruined that game, along with all the helmet to helmet BS.

Unfortunately, I think the NRL will follow suit.

[ism22]

I remember when Hawthorn lost superstar Lance Franklin.

They came back a year later as the complete TEAM.

Yep I think that's the key. No matter how good SBW is... Guerra, Cordner, Moa, JWH, Friend, Maubs...etc win games together and their mateship is still there (SBW inspired/taught them, but we now have a number of international-grade stars in their own right rather than a bunch of talented kids + SBW). SBW was successful because he's talented, worked hard and was a team player. Gallen... grabs the ball, runs forward, tries to do it all himself and the sharks lose. I'm always scared of the Sharks when Gallen's out (no disrespect to the guy... awesome player) but I find when he's out, Fifita/Lewis get more ball and the team tactics come out of the woodwork.

Mini will be a bigger loss IMO because of his defence and player management skills. I think our backline is arguably the best in the comp (100% athletic rep-quality stars)... my only fear is that there's no natural leader/'father' amongst Fergo, Jennings, RTS, Tupou and SKD. Talent all around, but no match wisdom/maturity amongst them.

[trewhella]

Yep. Totally agree that the quality of the whole comp is headed south.
I've heard that David Smith wants to make League less violent and more family friendly.

That's what happens when you put a banker in sport.

For mine, the is killing the goose that lays the golden egg. I watch League for the man on man confrontation. The game thrives on hate. It's becoming boring and predictable. It also now attracts taking a dive. That is the part the reviles me the most and the arbitrary nature of the referees in reference to the diving. They give some but not others with absolutely no logic......except for Birdy. He never gets a penalty anywhere, anytime cause he is a professional diver