'Hate makes the wins so much sweeter': What it's like to be a Roosters fan

This is the final part of my series, speaking with fans from all NRL sides to see what it’s really like to support their team. This week, the Sydney Roosters.

One of the last remaining heritage clubs, the Roosters have been there from the beginning – and seem to have rubbed everyone the wrong way ever since.

Buying anyone and everyone. Winning 15 Premierships along with 5 World Club challenge titles. And when the award for the best player of the year is named after one of your own, that also adds to the gloating, doesn’t it?
Their fans just love them.

Whether they are cheering the boys on at the games…. wait…no…. that’s not right. Whether they are watching the games from somewhere other than at the ground, or walking around Bondi drinking lattes, they just love them.

And they don’t care what anyone else thinks. I spoke to two passionate Roosters fans, Tessa and Mick.

Tessa should have been wearing just red and blue, minus the white.

“I grew up in Newcastle and was born in 1997 when the Knights won the grand final, so by all rights I should be a Knights fan. But my dad is a lifelong Roosters fan and he raised me to support them. My mum used to work late nights so my dad and I would stay up watching all the games. I started to get heavily involved as a fan around the 2010/2011 seasons as that’s when social media started growing. I interacted with other Roosters supporters and NRL fans in general.

“As cheesy as it sounds, I think that’s the best part about being a Roosters fan – the friends I’ve made along the way. I started a Tumblr in 2011 to post about the team and found an incredible community of women who loved rugby league, then eventually moved over to Twitter where I found an even bigger community of the kindest, most passionate people.

“I don’t really know if there is a ‘worst’ part to being a Roosters fan. Personally, not being taken as seriously because of the team’s success. People like to claim that I only support them because they ‘win a lot’ without knowing that I’m a lifelong fan. But that’s only a minor thing.”

Mick has also supported the club for as long as he can remember. “I don’t think I ever had a choice if I wanted to keep the family name. The fact a few of my good mates hate them, makes it that much easier to support!

“That’s the best part about following the chooks, knowing how many people hate us. The success we have makes it so much sweeter and gives me plenty of bragging rights. The worst part would be that we can be the most frustrating team to watch. When we have a game in the bag then just make silly errors and get penalised out of the game.”

On that note, the amount of carnage the team endured last year was just crazy. How proud were the fans of the boys making it to the semis with so many injuries?

“It still blows my mind when I look back at what we went through, but it was probably the proudest I’ve ever been of the club,” Tessa replied. “Watching how every single player stepped up when they were needed and seeing the depth that we had in our reserves. Everyone gave it their all and I think that’s all you can ask for as a fan, to see that the players want to be there and want to step up in the tough times.”

“It was traumatising,” admitted Mick. “It felt like every week we lost our number one player. However, it made it a lot better seeing the boys stand up to everyone and showing we were more than just a one-man team – we don’t solely rely on our fullback to win us games.

“To see the boys make the finals was inspiring to say the least. We could actually use the injury excuse when we lost because we basically had a 1st grade team on the sidelines.”

The team had a few legends take up permanent residence on the sidelines last year. How does the club move on without the likes of Boyd Cordner, Jake Friend and Brett and Josh Morris?

(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

“I think we started our moving on process last year, particularly losing Boyd and Jake so early,” Tessa answered. “If anything, we’ve shown an incredible depth to the team that I think a lot of people were surprised by and losing such big names doesn’t quite feel like the loss it should be. It helps to have those boys stick around in coaching roles as well, their experience and guidance will be so valuable to our young guys coming through.”

“It’s hard seeing them go,” Mick added. “They’ve had stellar careers and still had so much to offer. I’m sure with our endless supply of juniors coming through the ranks (or the endless supply of Uncle Nick Politis’ cash) we will see more stars end up at the club. With the likes of Victor Radley, Sam Walker and Adam Keighran, plus the leadership group we have, I think we’re in safe hands.”

Ahh, Uncle Nick and his very deep pockets. The Roosters are known for the ability to afford to buy everyone. How do the fans feel when they hear people go on about the Roosters Sombrero?

“I love it when people bring this up”, Mick laughed. “All I hear is ‘I’m jealous of the fact players want to play for your club over how much money my club can throw at them’. It’s not hard to attract the best when you look at what and who’s around the town and club.”

For Tessa, it’s a topic she learnt to brush off very quickly. “It’s a very easy insult for fans of other clubs to throw around without putting much thought into. It only comes from a place of envy because of how successful we’ve been. When you hear the same thing so often it just becomes amusing.”

Moving on to something not at all amusing, I asked for their thoughts on the Latrell Mitchell tackle on Joey Manu.

“Oh Latrell,” Mick sighed. “I loved him when he was at the chooks. He has it in him to be a game changer and that’s what the fans love. He has the hot head to get fired up and prove his dominance, however he also has it in him to go that one step too far.

“A lot of people said he just got it wrong. I don’t think he did, I think he saw the opportunity to hurt, and he took it. He may not have intended to fracture Manu’s eye socket, but he was out for blood. When you line someone up from 15m away and hit them the way he did, you intend to do damage. I’m all for going out there and playing hard, but not to put anyone in hospital. He has a lot to contribute to the game and I hope he can clean that side of his game up.

“Manu’s reaction was perfect though. Gave him a what for but didn’t carry on like a pork chop.”

“That whole situation was infuriating,” added Tessa. “I was furious when it happened, with how it was handled on the field, with the bunker and with the reaction of some of the fans. I think Trent Robinson handled himself much more graciously than any of us fans could in the media afterwards. People still argue about the severity and the punishment and whether it was fitting, I don’t think there is a ‘right’ answer to what should have happened, I just hope I never see an incident like it again.”

Speaking of Robbo, I’ve asked many fans during this series if they were happy with their coach. That one wasn’t on my list today.

“Yeah, there’s no question Lord Robbo is the man,” Mick replied proudly. “He is an unbelievable coach. What he has done with what he had available speaks for itself. I don’t think there would be a better fit for a coach at the Roosters than him.”

Tessa added: “There are not enough words in the world to explain how much I love and respect Robbo and everything he’s done for our team. And it goes far beyond what he’s achieved in terms of premierships. The culture, respect and loyalty that he’s instilled in the club is incredible.”

I wanted to know who are their favourite past and present players. Normally I can guess from previous responses. But from this interview so far, I had no idea.

“Growing up Anthony Minichiello was my favourite human being on earth,” Tessa gushed. “He was such an incredible player that Dad loved him too, so I just latched onto it, but as I got older, I also gained so much respect for him. I have such a soft spot for loyal, one-club players.“I find it much harder to pick favourites now, I really do love all of the boys and they’re all incredibly talented. I do love the last two boys left from the 2013 Grand Final team, Daniel Tupou and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves. I’m lucky enough to have met them both and they are just the definition of gentle giants, so kind and always so happy to meet fans.”

Jared Waerea-Hargreaves of the Roosters. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Mick’s favourite player was Mitch Aubusson. “‘Mr Reliable’ It didn’t matter where you played him or what you asked of him, he would stand up to the task. He may not have been the best to ever play the game, but you could always count on him to make that tackle or take that run.

“As for current players, it’s hard to choose from so many stars. Luke Keary is up there. He just makes something out of nothing, but also has it in his game to just play simple footy when it’s required. Put him alongside James Tedesco and they’re an unstoppable duo.”

Who were the fans expecting big things from this year?

“The most exciting prospect is seeing how Sam Walker develops as a player now that Keary is back from injury,” answered Tessa. “

He got thrown in the deep end a little last year given our injuries, but with a solid pre-season behind him and a regular halves partner, I’m excited to see him become the superstar we know he can be.

“We have an incredibly strong team coming back from injury and we are genuine contenders, which is always exciting. I’m also excited to see how some of the other teams go, especially the Bulldogs who have recruited so strongly. It’s going to be an interesting season and I think there’s going to be a few upsets.”

“I’m expecting a lot out of Keary this year,” added Mick. “After all the time he has had off I have a feeling he will be back sharper and stronger than ever. We missed him in a big way last year.

“I also think most chooks fans will agree that we’re all looking forward to being able to field a full first grade squad. Hopefully we see a good, strong team on the field playing exciting footy and giving the fans what they want to see.”
And last as always, if you could say anything to the team, what would it be?”

“Thank you for giving me a community I belong to, for being a team I can always be proud of, and for giving me some of the greatest years of my life.” Tessa said gratefully.

“Keep doing whatever Robbo is telling you to do!” Mick exclaimed “It works and you’re all doing a stellar job. And give it to the grubbitoes! OOHH AHHH ROOSTTAA!”

Love them or loathe them, you can’t deny the kind of powerhouse the Roosters are.

And after last year’s efforts with a team full of walking wounded, the rest of us better be ready for a full-strength Roosters side in 2022.

Because their fans are – and they cannot wait.