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Fans of the Sydney Roosters are daring to dream about a first premiership since 2002 as they navigate through a season in which they have all but exceeded their pre-season expectations.
The Roosters are coming off two relatively disappointing seasons following their unexpected run to the 2010 grand final. Since then, Todd Carney, Phil Graham, Nate Myles and a host of others have left the club in contrasting circumstances.
Throw into that the departure of their former captain Braith Anasta and the dismissal of coach Brian Smith, and the signs weren’t looking good for the tri-colours entering season 2013.
However, like many other teams have done in the past, the Roosters have rebuilt from the bottom up, just like they did after 2009, and they now sit second on the premiership ladder just behind the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
So how did the Roosters become the team that they are now? In response to those two disappointing seasons, the Roosters went on a recruitment rampage. This can be traced all the way back to July 2008, when the Roosters’ resurgence that year turned out to be a false dawn.
When Sonny Bill Williams walked out on the Bulldogs that year, he made a handshake agreement with Nick Politis that once he had finished his planned escape from the NRL, which would last five years, he would be playing for the Sydney Roosters.
And now here he is, wrecking the opposition with every play that he has produced for his new teammates this season. In fact, he is not the same player he was when he deserted the Bulldogs in that great act of treachery five years ago.
He has since become a much stronger man, and has experience from winning a Rugby World Cup with the All Blacks and a Super Rugby title with the Chiefs last year.
A few weeks ago I wrote an article about how Sonny Bill has gotten better and better since his return to the National Rugby League. If he can keep up his form this season, then who knows? Perhaps the Roosters can go all the way this season.
Next, the Roosters went after James Maloney, who steered the New Zealand Warriors to an unexpected grand final appearance in 2011.
Despite his efforts in getting the Warriors to that last Sunday in October last year, fatherhood caught up with him and he wanted to move back to Australia to be closer to family.
He could so easily have been playing for the South Sydney Rabbitohs this season, but instead he chose the Roosters due to their style of play and the fact that he could play with more “freedom” – a decision which would later be vindicated by the Roosters’ rise up the ladder this season.
Then, the Roosters went after Michael Jennings, who was reportedly unhappy with the way he was being treated at the Panthers (he had been dropped to reserve grade only to find himself in a NSW Origin jumper later on).
Today, he remains one of the premier centres in the NRL and I will be surprised if he is not selected for New South Wales for this year’s Origin series. He has been instrumental in the Roosters’ improved attack and defence this season.
And to top it all off, Luke O’Donnell was recruited to add some grunt to the Roosters’ forward stocks. Despite being grounded for breaching the club’s code of conduct earlier this season, he has made a strong impact, and along with Sonny Bill Williams has formed one of the most feared forward packs in this competition.
But that’s not all. The Sydney Roosters have also unleashed some new talent from the junior ranks over the last few years.
Names like Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Martin Kannedy, Sam Moa and Boyd Cordner are also starting to become well known not just to Roosters followers, but also followers of other clubs. It won’t be long until they all start playing representative football in some capacity.
In the coaching department, the Roosters were successful in luring back one of their own in coach Trent Robinson.
He was an assistant coach with Brian Smith when the Roosters made the grand final in 2010. He was instrumental in their improved defence that year, after the Chooks coughed up too many points before finishing with the wooden spoon in 2009.
But his departure was felt across the club in 2011 and 2012, as the club missed the finals in both seasons.
It was during that time that he took up the head coaching position at the Catalan Dragons, who in 2010 had finished with the wooden spoon. During his two years in France, he took the club back to the finals, finishing in sixth and fourth position at the end of those respective years.
Robinson is a proven coach, despite having only ever played four top-level rugby league matches. What he did with the Catalan Dragons he is now doing at the Sydney Roosters. He is bringing the club back to its former glories.
So far this season the Roosters have impressed on and off the field.
A first round loss to the South Sydney Rabbitohs had fans forecasting another disappointing season, but the Chooks have only gotten better match after match (save for a Round 5 loss to Canberra) and they now find themselves second on the premiership ladder behind the South Sydney Rabbitohs, surprisingly ahead of the Melbourne Storm.
Their latest match, a 12-8 victory over the North Queensland Cowboys in Townsville, was a strong test of their mental strength and character. They did well enough to repel the Cowboys’ dangerous attack led by their two-man machine of Johnathan Thurston and Matt Bowen, and defended well all night.
In fact, it is their improved attack and defence that is making the Roosters a team to be feared this season. They have kept their opposition scoreless in three matches this season, a throwback to 2004 when the Roosters were winning matches based on their relentless attack and defence.
The biggest highlight of their season so far was undoubtedly their thrashing of the Bulldogs back in Round 6.
It must be remembered though that the Dogs were coming off a grand final appearance and that their marquee player, Ben Barba, was still struggling for form after taking time off earlier this season.
It was also the first time that Sonny Bill Williams would play against his old club since he walked out on them back on that Saturday in July 2008.
What was expected to be a grudge match instead turned to an anti-climax, as Williams would produce what could arguably be his best performance for his new club to date, contributing everything possible to an eventual blowout victory.
Given how impressive the Roosters have been this season, it would be a surprise to me if neither of their superstars are considered for State of Origin or World Cup selection this year.
If the Roosters do win this year’s premiership, then they can look back to that handshake agreement involving Sonny Bill Williams and Nick Politis that was made back in July 2008. That could be seen as the first brick laid towards what the Roosters are trying to achieve this season.
Beware fans of other clubs. The Roosters are coming to get you!
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