The Name Change

[Sproose Moose]

Hi all,

I post here very rarely and am an inconsistent reader. Not a Roosters fan but a rugby league nut who likes to soak in as much info as possible.

Something that's always annoyed me is the Sydney and Sydney City names, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

I love the tradition that RL holds and I would like to see the club revert back to Eastern Suburbs one day.

I wanted to see what the opinions were of the die hard supporters like yourselves at the time of the change in the mid-90s for Sydney City and in 2000 for Sydney.

Was there much uproar, or did you guys just accept it? Was it an appropriate move at the time? Is it too late to revert back? I'm interested to see what you guys have to say.

Cheers,

Sproose

[QWERTY]

as long as we don't relocate, i am fine. Although, it would be an interesting prospect to revert our name back to yee old

[crikey chris]

For me supporting for over 40 years, its always been just... EASTS.

[Flipper Hands]

Always been Easts, as in E.S.D.R.L.C.

ESDRLC is still the holding company IIRC.

[4 the all in brawl]

Yeah good thread, it irked me when we changed our name to Sydney City Roosters and then Sydney Roosters.

Its Easts for me too.....

[Easts75]

Always have and always will refer to us as Easts. Would love to see it go back to that but it wont happen

[Random Rooster]

The team has been registered with the NSWRL/ARL/NRL with the same name every year since 1908....Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club (ESDRLFC). You can't uphold tradition any better than that.
Tricolors, Roosters, Easts, Sydney City, Sydney Roosters..... whatever you want to call them, they are just nicknames

[zac]

At the time didn't like the change, although respected the club's reasons - it was in a period when our continuing existence was unlikely and it was thought that we might have broader appeal if we had Sydney in the name.

Remember, the continuing existence of our club is one of the great survival stories of rugby league. We helped start the comp, brought over the great Dally M and have survived demographic changes because we've had smart leadership.

Now that we've won a couple of premierships as Sydney, I'm not fussed about changing back, although will always call us Easts. No one calls us Sydney anyway, it's either Easts or the Roosters.

[Salvatori Grubber]

As much as I’d love to be Easts again, I think it’s the “Sydney” that will keep us in Bondi when the NRL begins looking at relocations in the coming decades. So a good piece of business afaic.

[eddie]

Agree with SG, there's logic behind being Sydney, and the younger generation will take it for granted. I've got used to mainly refering to us as the Roosters.
Go Easts.

[ccfc bondi]

When we were Sydney City, that's what the press and commentators called us. I didn't mind the change to that as it's a fair description, and 'Easts' doesn't really fit in with a national competition.
The change to 'Sydney' was a mistake, imo. It was an attempt to grab the Sydney name when survival was on everyone's mind. The Tigers and the Bulldogs both tried it, but realised their mistake and changed back. I've never once heard any commentator call us 'Sydney'. I've never once seen 'Sydney' written in a newspaper article or on a competition table. It's sometimes Sydney Roosters, but mostly The Roosters. Uncle Nick even wanted to change to Bondi Roosters a few years back, I think, which wouldn't have been too bad. But whatever the official name, we'll still all yell out 'Easts!' at the ground.

[Darkone]

Easts

Not Norths, not souths, not wests.....just Easts

[Freddy]

Easts for me. Should revert to Eastern Suburbs however can understand the Sydney appeal so why not Eastern Sydney Roosters? Everyone would still call us Easts

[Tommy Smith]

I'm probably a good example of why the name "Sydney" is used.

Although I was born in Sydney I moved to England early, but came back in 1999 when I was 13. I was looking for a team to follow and I immediately identified with Sydney (and the colours and Freddy) where as the suburban named teams didn't hold any meaning to me.

So the name really does have that broader appeal and you probably can't quantify just what effect it's had on expanding the supporter base.

[Freddy]

When we were Sydney City, that's what the press and commentators called us. I didn't mind the change to that as it's a fair description, and 'Easts' doesn't really fit in with a national competition.
The change to 'Sydney' was a mistake, imo. It was an attempt to grab the Sydney name when survival was on everyone's mind. The Tigers and the Bulldogs both tried it, but realised their mistake and changed back. I've never once heard any commentator call us 'Sydney'. I've never once seen 'Sydney' written in a newspaper article or on a competition table. It's sometimes Sydney Roosters, but mostly The Roosters. Uncle Nick even wanted to change to Bondi Roosters a few years back, I think, which wouldn't have been too bad. But whatever the official name, we'll still all yell out 'Easts!' at the ground.

couldnt agree more. Why name the club Sydney if you’re never going to use it? I’ve never heard someone in the club or media call us Sydney. I can’t stand just being called Roosters as I believe every club need an area/identity.

Club should go back to Eastern Subs Roosters or Eastern Sydney Roosters. If they are hellbent on keeping it Sydney Roosters then use the Sydney name and really promote it. Let the media know we want it used. Run advertising saying “We are the most successful Syd RL club that has played every year since 1908” imagine the blow ups that would cause haha