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The Roosters are again copping it from all angles over poaching players from other teams.
But is it their fault that other clubs are run in such a slipshod fashion that they can convince potential recruits to leave?
Or that a switch to the Roosters is often seen as the best option by stars leaving successful clubs who have been squeezed out by the salary cap or bigger names ahead of them on the pecking order like young Penrith prop Spencer Leniu?
The Roosters rarely put themselves in a position where they have to offload a player with a year or more left on their contract because they’ve overvalued someone on a long-term deal.
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Their success in managing their roster should make fans from other clubs angry … at their own teams for not following suit.
In a salary-capped sports league, the best competitive advantage you can have is competence in the front office and the Roosters exploit this off-field superiority.
Like Wes Mantooth’s anger for Ron Burgundy, you can pure, straight hate them but you have to respect them.
It wasn’t always the case with the Roosters.
This was a club known as the Transit Lounge.
In the 1990s, the club was notorious for signing washed-up players who were well past their best like Paul Vautin after he was dumped by Manly and Dale Shearer or they were brief stopovers for star players who quickly headed elsewhere like Gary Freeman, Terry Hill and John Simon, or Martin Offiah dropping in for a couple of short-lived stints.
Other clubs now have that mantle of cycling players in and out of their set-up, often picking up the freight when they’ve shipped them off to their next port of call.
Brandon Smith talks to Roosters coach Trent Robinson and teammate Victor Radley. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
The Wests Tigers have been the poster child for this flawed thinking in recent years after overpaying for a slew of recruits who didn’t work out as hoped and moving them on rather than continuing to fork out top dollar.
St George Illawarra have come up with a policy of taking on players under contract but unwanted at other clubs in recent years – that ain’t Moneyball, that’s accepting sloppy seconds. There was a reason why those other teams were happy to see the backs of players who didn’t live up to their perceived value on the field or detracted from the club’s value off the field with grubby behaviour.
Culture is one of the most overused terms in the modern NRL lexicon but the Roosters have established an identity over the past couple of decades since Ricky Stuart capitalised on the groundwork laid before him by Graham Murray to win the 2002 title.
Since then the Roosters have added three more trophies in the decade since Trent Robinson began his no-nonsense stint at the coaching helm – no other club has won as many legitimate premierships in that timeframe. The Roosters are the only club that has won four Grand Finals in the past two decades.
Spencer Leniu. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
They must be doing something right and unless anyone can locate the second set of books that proves the existence of the mythical salary sombrero, they should be afforded begrudging respect.
Of course there should be a rule in place in the NRL that rewards developing local talent.
There should be discounts for players who have grown up in the area, progressed through the junior system and beaten the tremendous odds to become an NRL player from a pool of thousands of hopefuls.
But that debate has been raging for decades and head office has shown little inclination to bring in these incentives. A cynic would say it’s because a couple of the most well-connected clubs who wield plenty of power behind the scenes – the Roosters and the Storm – have miniscule nurseries compared to most of the other clubs.
Although the Roosters have officially announced Knights winger Dominic Young’s acquisition for next year they are yet to do likewise with Leniu but you don’t have to be a salary specialist to see how they’ve tempted both players with lucrative deals.
Out wide, Joseph Suaali’i has until midway through the season to let the club know if he is sticking around and if he does, then off-contract veteran Daniel Tupou may be deemed surplus to requirements.
Dominic Young. (Photo by Ashley Feder/Getty Images)
In the front row, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves will be 35 by the time next season kicks off and is also a free agent at season’s end. He’s already out of Round 1 with a back injury and after 300-plus combined matches in the NRL and Test arenas, his sizeable frame and salary will create space for Leniu.
Kangaroos prop Lindsay Collins defended the latest barrage of criticism when he fronted the media on Tuesday. The 26-year-old Maroons forward came to the club six years ago after representing Queensland under 20s while in the Broncos pathways.
He was an example of a rising star at another strong club having his path to the NRL blocked by more experienced players so he was open to the overtures from the Roosters.
“I think it’s pretty self-explanatory, really. We’ve got a great culture here. Those who come here play their best footy,” he said.
“I think we have got some really great coaching staff – they strive to be the best which feeds down to us striving to be the best and get the best out of us.
“If players are looking to squeeze the juice out of the lemon as much as they can, they probably want to see what the talk is about and come here and experience it and get the best out of their careers.
“The more you get professional, the less you worry about money and the more you worry about winning.”
Collins added the potshots from critics don’t affect the players whatsoever.
Brandon Smith. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
The Roosters enter Sunday’s Suncorp Stadium stoush against the Dolphins with all eyes on star recruit Brandon Smith. He should prove to be an impactful signing for 2023 and beyond but they will also get plenty of bang for much less buck from a few other astute purchases.
Utility back Corey Allan, who played for Queensland a few years ago but was unwanted by the Dogs, and young winger Jaxson Paulo, who was tipped for big things at Souths before his confidence was shot after one poor performance last year, will also make their Roosters debuts.
Former Broncos hooker Jake Turpin has been listed as the standby player in the jersey No.18 – it’s these kind of players that the Roosters have cashed in on big time in recent years to fill around the edges of their roster to complement their stars. Bargain basement pick-ups like Drew Hutchison, Adam Keighran, Kevin Naiqama, Paul Momirovski and Matt Ikuvalu.
There’s finite space in the salary cap and the smart clubs get value for money. It’s a far cry from the Transit Lounge era.