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The phrase ‘sudden downfall’ really doesn’t do justice to what 2016 was like for the boys at Bondi.
A sudden downfall is something the Rabbitohs experienced. For the Roosters to go from the minor premiers to 15th in the space of a season, is just shocking.
It really was a cause of ‘everything that could go did go wrong’ for them. From dog humping to injuries to the failing of young spine members. Turns out having a spine of three rookies isn’t going to win you too many games.
And they didn’t win too many games. With form slumps, injury problems, suspension issues and just terrible attitudes all combining into a perfect storm for the one-time heavily tipped premiership favourites.
But now it looks like everything is smooth sailing. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves has a functioning knee again, Mitchell Pearce has stayed the hell away from his local RSPCA and their rookies from last year that they haven’t released have presumably grown in ability. But while everything is certainly looking up for the Chooks so far, will they have the ability?
More importantly do they have the club culture to really challenge for the premiership this year?
Strengths
This Roosters side is quite good all over the park, in fact that may be selling it short. They have a great second rower rotation with all of their second rowers good enough to start at a lot of other clubs.
The props are all quite decent, especially Jared Waerea-Hargreaves who when fit is one of the best in the game. And while I do think that a lot of their back five are incredibly overrated like Ferguson and SKD, that doesn’t mean they are bad players.
It is just a strong squad capable of winning with their forwards, their backs or their spine players.
Latrell Mitchell deserves a special mention here because he is just that, special. While if I hear someone compare him to Greg Inglis again I will shove them in a sack and beat them with a shovel, I must admit he is a great young player.
In the avalanche of talented young fullbacks cropping up over the past two years he is one of the standouts for his great running ability and natural strength. I think he was thrown into the deep end last year but this year now that there is an experienced fullback in the squad he should be fine.
Even the depth of this side is high quality. With capable players like Dale Copley, Joseph Manu, Eloni Vunakece, Paul Carter and Liam Knight all sitting on the sidelines.
Additionally while I think he is childish after what can only be described as a ‘temper tantrum’ towards referees in 2016, Trent Robinson is a wonderful coach with an excellent record.
It takes a special sort of coach to win a premiership in your first year, regardless of the squad.
Weaknesses
To put it simply the reason the Roosters were more terrible than a toothpaste-flavoured chocolate bar is because of their club culture.
2016 was not a good year for the Roosters on or off the field, with the lowlight being Mitchell Pearce humping a dog on Australia Day. Now you can argue whether or not the suspension was justified until you are blue in the face but you can’t deny it was a stupid thing to do.
In fact, if you look at their squad most of their players have had noted off-field issues which isn’t a good sign.
This attitude extended onto the field that year as well. Say what you will about Newcastle in 2016 but they were trying in a lot of their games. The Roosters just seemed to give up halfway through the season, which coincided with a form slump from a large number of their players including Aiden Guerra.
As we move towards the 2017 season, I don’t know if this has been properly addressed. The club says it has been but you know, they are a little biased.
They also happened to recruit three players with criminal convictions in Paul Carter, Liam Knight and Zane Tetevano. All things considered, I can’t trust this side to not have a negative culture again in 2017, which really hampers my enthusiasm on them.
One more negative is Luke Keary. Normally the Roosters are decent recruiters but Luke Keary is a panic buy if ever there was one. I don’t think he is good at all and for the amount they paid him.
As decent as Mitchell Pearce is I don’t think they will gel well at all. The rest of the spine is class but Keary just drags it all down.
Summary
The Roosters are in a weird spot at the moment. They have a great side and a great coach, but there are niggling little issues that makes me think that maybe they won’t do as well as they have the potential to do.
If the whole side is firing they could threaten the top four but if we get another 2016 they struggle to break out of the bottom four.
For a long time I was weighing up whether I would put the Roosters in the eight or not, but after a lot of deliberation I just can’t look past that squad. It is just too good if it stays relatively suspension and injury free and they don’t have a fiasco of a year in terms of their culture.
I think they will finish the season scraping in at eighth, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they finished as high as fourth and as low as 14th. From eighth I think they could certainly win their first finals game, but I doubt they can go further than that.
2016 Finish: 15th
Predicted 2017 Finish: eighth
Transfers
Gains: Michael Gordon, Luke Keary, Liam Knight, Zane Tetevano, Paul Carter, Mitch Cornish and Brendan Santi
Losses: Vincent Leuluai, Sam Moa, Tyler Cornish and Jackson Hastings
Full-strength team
1. Michael Gordon
2. Daniel Tupou
3. Latrell Mitchell
4. Blake Ferguson
5. Shaun Kenny-Dowall
6. Luke Keary
7. Mitchell Pearce
8. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves
9. Jake Friend
10. Dylan Napa
11. Boyd Cordner
12. Mitchell Aubusson
13. Sio Siua Taukeiaho
14. Aiden Guerra
15. Issac Liu
16. Kane Evans
17. Ryan Matterson
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