Jake Friend

[crikey chris]

Give jake 2 years then Sam will take over from Aubo as a utility , good to learn different rolls , Jake can play 50 min at hooker and sam for 30min .Then in 2 years have a perfect replacement.
Sam will stay

Agree.

Re Verrils.. Need to be on our toes so Manly don't re-poach him from us. They need a hooker. One signed with the Riff, and the other one in deep shit regarding "allegedly" playing with knives

[OMR]

Verrills is a must stay, and friend can play lock ( strong defense) when Radley is rested, and we’ll have a 3 man rotation.
after 2021 Verrills can be the full time hooker

[zac]

I believe Verrills is already signed until 2021 and given his young age I think we're entitled to keep him even if he's offered a regular starting spot somewhere else.
Jake is already signed for next year, and a one year extension would mean that the two of them are coming off contract at the same time and we can make a more informed decision then.
Maybe Jake could play lock, but that might mean we don't play Butcher. We can decide how we feel about that in 2021.

[Bahrain Rooster]

I think we let Verrills take over full time in 2021 since Friend will be off contract. I don’t see Robbo having a hooker on the bench in 2020 since there will be a prop/back rower who misses out and that leaves us light.

[Rooster_6]

And lose Verrills?

If Verrills chose to leave then that would be up to him. We can't just give up on our long serving players as soon as they turn 28-29 because there's a newer shinnier option who we may miss out on.

Verrills comments and Robbo's man management gives me optimism to believe this wont be the case though.

[Yak]

The smart move for Sam would be to ply his trade for two years under Friend, learn a lot defensively and develop his kicking and running. And then have the next 8-10 years as the Roosters starting hooker. That’s if he measures success on winning premierships, rep honours and growing as a leader and human. If he measures it on his immediate pay cheque then I’m sure we’ll see him at the Tigers surrounded by a lot of overachieving 9th placers.

[Mad_Rabid_Rooster]

Hopefully Sam has watched the Latrell saga and thought that there are some valuable lessons to note/learn. The future is so bright at the Roosters.

[ism22]

Agree.

Re Verrils.. Need to be on our toes so Manly don't re-poach him from us. They need a hooker. One signed with the Riff, and the other one in deep shit regarding "allegedly" playing with knives

Was gonna say he's too small but yeah... him, Radley and Maubs are all about the same height (Maubs is a tiny bit taller).

IMO it's pretty cool having a few guys who are big enough to be forwards (so long as they are quick/smart forwards) who can also slot in at #9.

[Rooster_6]

Hopefully Sam has watched the Latrell saga and thought that there are some valuable lessons to note/learn. The future is so bright at the Roosters.

He would have also seen SKD and Pearce moved on from the club. We havent been the pin ups for loyalty.

The balancing of that will be seeing players like Maubs, JWH and Friendy see out their careers in the RWB. It's why Friend is a must re-sign.

I think younger players are more idealistic than the media and fans give them credit for and for a lot they want to be one club players.

[mattyh]

i think it is important to remember that friend has had one bad season with injury and is not yet 30. he is an absolute defensive beast , verrills is not on that mould. i think the defensive aspect of the game gets downplayed often, friend deserves a 2 year extension minimum , verrills can share the hooking role with him , nice little yin and yang imo. verrills still needs development , im sure he is willing to stay and learn , but friend must be retained. do not forget friends 2018 gf performance and he was also great coming on in the 19 gf creating a near try for teddy. just my 2 cents .

[Bruce Pickett]

Never knock a champion. Friend is a proven performer, almost mom in 18 GF and outstanding defense in 19 GF.
Verills was outstanding and massive potential, but we need to ensure he doesn't suffer from 2nd year syndrome.
I can see Hasler using the Manly junior card to entice him back.

[zac]

How to think of Jake's 2019 season? Never give up. Tear your biceps? Work hard to get back. Break your arm? A mere trifle. Play his first game of footy in a couple of months in a GF? No time to fret, there's a job to be done.
I hope he looks on this GF ring as one of the more stunning achievements of his career.

[Tommy Smith]

He would have also seen SKD and Pearce moved on from the club. We havent been the pin ups for loyalty.

We gave SKD his start in first grade and he went on to score 100+ tries for the club. We also supported him through the toughest period of his life.

As for Pearce, it's well documented that this club supported him through numerous incidents. He played at the club for over 10 years and played more games for the Roosters than all bar 4 players in our history.

What more loyalty do you want? And at what price?

If it were up to you I'd imagine we would have never dumped Pearce for Cronk, and as a result we'd likely have two less Premierships. And maybe we would have lost Joey Manu because we kept SKD well beyond his prime out of misguided loyalty.

Alas that's not the Roosters. That's the Wests Tigers who kept/brought back Farah and Benji well beyond their primes. And look where that's got them.

The club is all for loyalty. Both ways. But Uncle Nick and Robbo aren't running a charity. The players understand this. It's high level, professional sport and there's no place for sentiment when it means the team suffers as a consequence.

But back on Friend, his time is far from up. I've no doubt that he'll kill it for the next two years (let's imagine he gets a 1 year extension). But again, if at that point you're choosing between a 32yr old Jake Friend or a 22yr old Sam Verrills then the club should choose Verrills every time.

I'm sure Jake Friend would understand and respect this. After all we stuck by him after his early troubles and he'll go on to play 250+ games for the club. That's loyalty.

[Rooster_6]

We gave SKD his start in first grade and he went on to score 100+ tries for the club. We also supported him through the toughest period of his life.

As for Pearce, it's well documented that this club supported him through numerous incidents. He played at the club for over 10 years and played more games for the Roosters than all bar 4 players in our history.

What more loyalty do you want? And at what price?

If it were up to you I'd imagine we would have never dumped Pearce for Cronk, and as a result we'd likely have two less Premierships. And maybe we would have lost Joey Manu because we kept SKD well beyond his prime out of misguided loyalty.

Alas that's not the Roosters. That's the Wests Tigers who kept/brought back Farah and Benji well beyond their primes. And look where that's got them.

The club is all for loyalty. Both ways. But Uncle Nick and Robbo aren't running a charity. The players understand this. It's high level, professional sport and there's no place for sentiment when it means the team suffers as a consequence.

But back on Friend, his time is far from up. I've no doubt that he'll kill it for the next two years (let's imagine he gets a 1 year extension). But again, if at that point you're choosing between a 32yr old Jake Friend or a 22yr old Sam Verrills then the club should choose Verrills every time.

I'm sure Jake Friend would understand and respect this. After all we stuck by him after his early troubles and he'll go on to play 250+ games for the club. That's loyalty.

You can't say the club is "all for loyalty" but then say that there's "no place for sentiment". The two statements contradict each other.

I'm not arguing that player x, y or z should have been kept but that there needs to be balance between making smart business decisions and creating a family culture at a club.

Letting Friend, JWH and Aubo play out their careers in the RWB will go along way to balancing that ledger after we did some real damage post Gould, pre Robbo.

[Random Rooster]

Letting Friend, JWH and Aubo play out their careers in the RWB will go along way to balancing that ledger after we did some real damage post Gould, pre Robbo.

What and who do you mean??