Great Article by Gus

[Johnny Tobin]

for those who think he hates our club-

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/it-...20-p51frr.html
It's player development, not cash, that keeps Roosters on top

By Phil Gould

April 20, 2019 — 4.22pm

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Normal text sizeLarger text sizeVery large text size The Good Friday clash between heavyweights the Sydney Roosters and Melbourne Storm was an outstanding game of rugby league.

The match was highlighted by so many great moments. There were 40 points scored in the first 52 minutes. There were no points scored in the final 28 minutes as these two masterfully coached teams schemed their way to try and break the 20-20 deadlock.

In the end, it took a towering golden point field goal from the Roosters' Latrell Mitchell to decide it.
The power of one: Latrell Mitchell (centre) is mobbed by teammates after the final play.CREDIT:AAP
A draw would’ve been a more fitting result. However, if no extra time period was played, we would’ve been denied that magical moment from Mitchell, a drop goal that will live long in our memories.
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I suppose if any team can afford the loss it’s Melbourne. It’s also fair to say our game can always benefit from the wonderful theatre created by magical moments like these.

As I left the ground I listened to the friendly banter between rival fans. Nothing sinister; just friendly ribbing with plenty of mutual respect for each other’s team. They know they will meet again come September.

Among the exchanges, though, were the age-old accusations that the Roosters buy their premierships by poaching representative-class players from rival clubs. This is one of the great myths of our game and these comments always grate on the Roosters faithful.
Another one off the production line: Nat Butcher takes on the Storm on Friday.CREDIT:AAP
What is rarely highlighted is that in the past 20 seasons the Roosters have become one the leading developers of young talent in the game.

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Friday night's win, in particular, emphasised this. Before I explain, let’s have a history lesson.

Roosters' 2002 premiership

Of the 17 players in that premiership-winning team, nine (Shannon Hegarty, Anthony Minichiello, Simon Bonetti, Peter Cusack, Luke Ricketson, Bryan Fletcher, Andrew Lomu, Chris Flannery and Michael Crocker) made their NRL debuts with the Roosters.

Roosters' 2013 premiership

Of the 17 players in that premiership team, 10 (Anthony Minichiello, Daniel Tupou, Shaun Kenny-Dowall, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Mitchell Pearce, Aidan Guerra, Boyd Cordner, Jake Friend, Frank-Paul Nuuausala and Mitchell Aubusson) made their NRL debuts with the Roosters, while Jared Waerea-Hargreaves played just 6 matches for Manly in 2009 before joining the Club.

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Glory days: The Roosters, boasting a host of locally developed talent, take out last year's title.CREDIT:AAP
Roosters' 2018 premiership

Of the 17 players in that premiership team, 10 (Tupou, Mitchell, Joseph Manu, Friend, Cordner, Aubusson, Victor Radley, Isaac Liu, Dylan Napa and Ryan Matterson) made their NRL debuts with the Roosters, while two others (Sio Siua Taukeiaho and Waerea-Hargreaves) played just seven NRL matches prior to joining.

The Roosters went into Friday night's clash with the Storm missing six internationals (Taukeiaho, Liu, Manu, Friend, Brett Morris and Ryan Hall) and then lost a seventh (Luke Keary) during the match. The premiers had just nine of their grand final team in action, while the Storm had 14. The Roosters bench contained four players aged 21 or younger, with a total of just 19 matches between them. Three players (Sitili Tupouniua, Sam Verrills and Josh Curran) had played a total of 14 minutes in the NRL prior to Friday night.

The Roosters have now used 24 players in the first six rounds and are yet to give a debut their big off-season signing, Hall, the 38-cap England winger.

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Eleven of the Roosters team on Friday night made their NRL debuts with the tricolours.

Radley, Tupouniua, Nat Butcher, Poasa Faamausili (who has played four matches for the Roosters this season after making his debut last season) and the suspended Manu were all members of the Roosters' 2016 NYC premiership team. Two others (Paul Momirovski and Grant Garvey) made their NRL debuts at the Roosters from that premiership side.

Tupouniua, a junior Kiwi representative, who joined the Roosters for that 2016 NYC season, is destined to be a long-term NRL player and his superb tackle-busting run in golden point was crucial in giving the Roosters the required field position for Mitchell to kick that winning field goal.

Butcher joined the Roosters when he was 17. The former Australian Schoolboy broke a myriad of records during the 2016 NYC season and played a key role in James Tedesco's try on Friday night. He made his NRL debut for the Roosters in the final match of 2016 when just 19. A player with an ability to play long minutes, he's been a star in the lower grades at the Roosters for a number of years.

Verrills, last season's Arthur Beetson medallist at the Roosters for under-20s player of the year, is in his second season at the Roosters and is still eligible to play at that level. The wily young hooker put the pressure on Brodie Croft late in normal time on Friday that prevented Croft from getting the space he needed to kick the winning field goal in regulation time.

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Curran was a schoolboys star at Patrician Brothers Blacktown. He played under-16s for NSW in 2015, under-18s in 2017, under-20s in 2018 and Australian Schoolboys in 2016. He is another that the Roosters identified at a very young age, joining the club at 17 and graduating to the senior squad this season, along with Verrills.

What sets apart players such as Tupouniua, Butcher, Verrills, Curran, Faaumasili and another Roosters 2019 debutant Lachlan Lam from so many other NRL youngsters is the football education they receive at the Roosters. Despite their young age, when they make their debut at the Roosters they are ready. They have been at the club since a young age and the development programs that they go through have them as prepared for the NRL as a youngster can possibly be.

Look through the team lists and you will find a myriad of players who were at the Roosters prior to making their NRL debut, but are now playing elsewhere. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the Roosters have had to let many of these players go, but the players will still speak highly of their early years with the Roosters. They are all in the senior squads at their current clubs: Kenny-Dowall, Guerra, Tautau Moga, Connor Watson, Pearce (Knights); Joseph Leilua, Jack Murchie, Iosia Soliola (Raiders); Ryley Jacks, Treymain Spry (Titans); Jahrome Hughes, Sandor Earl (Storm); Brad Takairangi, Kane Evans (Parramatta); Tuivasa-Sheck, Jackson Frei, Leivaha Pulu, Taane Milne, Blake Ayshford (Warriors); John Asiata, Javid Bowen, Nene Macdonald (Cowboys); Momirovski, Matterson, Esan Marsters, Luke Garner (Tigers); Rhyse Martin, Napa (Bulldogs); Sean O'Sullivan, Joe Ofahengaue (Broncos); James Tamou, Frank Winterstein (Panthers); Ethan Lowe (Souths); Brendan Elliot, Lloyd Perrett (Manly); Kurt Capewell, Braden Hamlin-Uele (Sharks).

That's 37 players, plus 19 of the 29-man Roosters squad, and it's possible I have missed a few. It's impressive, to say the least.

The Roosters have played in 11 preliminary finals in the past 21 seasons, in seven of the last 19 grand finals, won four of the past six minor premierships and won three of the past 17 titles. They do so, not by buying premierships, but by identifying and developing talent at a rate better than the rest.

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They are able to buy players such as Tedesco, Cooper Cronk, Keary, Hall and Angus Crichton because so many of their other squad members have been developed in-house. They are worthy premiership favourites again in 2019 on the back of another squad dominated by products they have developed.

[Easts75]

Great read and something all of our supporters are aware of. The sheep will continue to run with the same old lines. Until other clubs try to replicate us instead of bagging us there will always be a fair gap between us and them

[ROC181]

Gus calls it as he sees it. Sometimes he will stick up for the Roosters like during the PM final last year v Souths when Rabbs started talking about ‘The Feud’ and how it all started when we poached their players and then went on to say that we are now poaching Angus which then Gus almost scalded him saying ‘No Angus started at the Roosters!’ and something like get that right! In which Rabbs then said I knew you’d say that...But at the end of the day Gus has to sound objective and when we’re playing crap, he will say so and then 10 mins later we start playing great he will praise...In fact most commentators will do the same in their own footy lingo. I like listening to Gus even when I don’t like to hear the truth. So it doesn’t surprise me he felt compelled to write about this but like Easts75 said, the numbnuts of other fans will keep whinging about the sombrero and that Gus is in Nicks pocket... We are the Champions my Friends!

[Johnny Tobin]

I watch the nine coverage only because Gus is there.

[mattyh]

we as a club owe gus a lot, pretty grim times the decade before he arrived with a player who as i recall could play a bit.

[Easts to Win]

Terrific article by Gus. Really good reading for us Easts fans. Embrace the hate fellow Roosters.

[SupermanSupportsEasts4Eva]

The smartest thing I've heard Gus say in years. Unfortunately this article won't do the rounds in NRL circles.

I keep having to point out to people two facts that other supporters conveniently like to ignore.

1. A huge amount of Souths juniors really should be ours. The boundaries never should have been adjusted to suit them. Especially now in hindsight that teams like Glebe, Newtown and Norths are no longer in 1st grade.

2. Every single NRL first grade squad has a non-local majority. Most players come from league heartlands in NSW or QLD or have a Pacific Islander allegiance. Melbourne is a prime example.

It's a lot easier for supporters of other clubs to throw up the sombrero line than admit their clubs can't manage the cap.

Haters are gonna hate. A lot easier than admitting you aren't good enough

[Random Rooster]

Yeah i know a lot of Chook supporters on here complain about Gould but as a long time supporter i can tell you his arrival as coach was the turning point for the club.

He writes that article knowing that he was the man most instrumental in setting up the foundations to what the club has achieved in the last 20 years. Just the fact alone that he bought Fittler to the club is enough proof to what he has done for the Roosters

So please before you bag him for saying something negative about the Roosters-which he does from time to time- please remember we would still be a "transit lounge" for other teams rubbish if it wasn't for Gould with nothing coming through our junior teams and no direction for the future

[Kingbilly]

He makes good points, but misses the big one. That the players have been taught to play for the jersey not themselves.

Is gould trying to weasel his way back into the Roosters, **** I hope not.
He has made Penrith worse and sorry JT but his commentary is pathetic and makes me want to vomit. There are several things that need to be done to improve RL and one of them is get rid of Gould from the game altogether , another is to also remove CH9 especially Ray Warren

[Kingbilly]

Yeah i know a lot of Chook supporters on here complain about Gould but as a long time supporter i can tell you his arrival as coach was the turning point for the club.

He writes that article knowing that he was the man most instrumental in setting up the foundations to what the club has achieved in the last 20 years. Just the fact alone that he bought Fittler to the club is enough proof to what he has done for the Roosters

So please before you bag him for saying something negative about the Roosters-which he does from time to time- please remember we would still be a "transit lounge" for other teams rubbish if it wasn't for Gould with nothing coming through our junior teams and no direction for the future

Bull shit. Nick is the man he is the club. Gould did do some good things but ultimately Gould is about Gould. He is a festering virus on the game that considers himself the savior of RL but death rides it with hindsite

[bondi paul]

Indeed it’s a great read that’s all inclusive of the facts however the story has been written before by another whereas Gould has written a updated and more statistical story based on the original. Journalistic plagiarism by Gus however this read for the masses will only further the socio demographic hang up and dislike.

[Kingbilly]

Indeed it’s a great that’s all inclusive of the facts however the story has been written before by another whereas Gould has written a updated and more statistical story based on the original. Journalistic plagiarism by Gus however this read for the masses will only further the socio demographic hang up and dislike.

Hindsite is his favourite tool. Originality is not

[Random Rooster]

He makes good points, but misses the big one. That the players have been taught to play for the jersey not themselves.

Is gould trying to weasel his way back into the Roosters, **** I hope not.

a) He was the man who came to the Roosters and made sure the players played for pride in the jersey and not just for the money. If you were a supporter in the 80s and early to mid 90s you'd know what im talking about

b) He knows the Roosters don't need him now.....as he says himself " they are in the best of hands"

c) His knowledge is shared weekly in 100% confidence with Nick Politis. Their friendship is is rock solid

[Random Rooster]

Bull shit. Nick is the man he is the club. Gould did do some good things but ultimately Gould is about Gould. He is a festering virus on the game that considers himself the savior of RL but death rides it with hindsite

You really got zero idea- nil

[bondi paul]

Hindsite is his favourite tool. Originality is not

Classic Billy !