Rugby guys and the Roosters....good or bad???

[Headless Chook]

Wait till you see the crowds the Wallabies get at their games for the World Cup.
Last year when the Wallabies played the British Lions at Accor there was 80,000 people there.
I went to a Union school the same school that Adam Doueihi & Mark Nawaqanitawasa went to & playing Rugby on a Saturday morning with all your mates was unreal just as it was unreal playing League on Saturday arvo for Burwood United.
For me League is such a better game to watch but playing either League or Union is unreal.
You'd be surprised how many people follow Rugby especially the Wallabies & you'd be surprised how many kids play it because their parents like it & many schools play it.

Yeah but it's really only relevant once every 4 years in Australia, and its only so enticing this time around because the World Cup is being played at home. The ARU is incompetent. They will blow a truck load of money buying shiny new toys and then the crowds will dwindle again and they will be chasing the top end of town trying to get loans to get them out of trouble. Let them spend big money on a guy who will be 31 before he plays a game of top level rugby. That's hardly a smart signing, it's a sugar hit for them and their fans.

[David Sutherland]

The Rugby World Cup would only be bettered by the FIFA World Cup and Olympics as world/global sporting spectacles.

Rugby Australia will make a motza from it - They reportedly made 120 million from the British and Irish Lions Tour in 2025.

It would be something up and coming players would aspire to play in for sure so there will always be players going to Rugby Union from League.

I for one hope the Wallabies do well - Be a long stretch to think they could win it though.

[Mickie Lane]

Yeah but it's really only relevant once every 4 years in Australia, and its only so enticing this time around because the World Cup is being played at home. The ARU is incompetent. They will blow a truck load of money buying shiny new toys and then the crowds will dwindle again and they will be chasing the top end of town trying to get loans to get them out of trouble. Let them spend big money on a guy who will be 31 before he plays a game of top level rugby. That's hardly a smart signing, it's a sugar hit for them and their fans.

I see where youre coming from & I dont disagree but there will always be kids who aspire to play for the Wallabies & travel the world. League cannot compete with that.

[milanja]

Manu and Angus are no losses at their ages, we got out of them what union wont.

Marky mark is an exciting player, will be interesting how his 2nd year goes, Suaalii was fun to have, but probably a few years away before we saw his best, maybe a return in the future.

im happy to take the talent when it’s available.

[Chook2]

So many players coming up play both and rugby is massive in private schools
they can get thousands to schoolboy games it just has a small pathway in Australia to make it but plenty of opportunities overseas
you could say must league clubs and we do it most in signing these players

think of Cronk, jwh, Keary and rts all came from rugby
plus now suaali, Marky m, toia, Billy smith, savala, walker, Watson, Wong, critchon, steep plus others all came from private schools rugby
otherwise we won’t have a squad
yes it a pain at times loosing then but we also pick them up and will only continue

half our squad is from the Scot’s college or other schools

[Mickie Lane]

How was your Coma?

Welcome back

Hopefully the mods let him stick around & dont ban him again, he is a true blue long serving Rooster supporter.
He posted some things that he probably wished he didnt but he was under the pump about things that were said about his wife.
Yes he googles things which annoys some people but he also comes up with some good informative posts.

So are people now going to think Im King Salvo aka David Sutherland?
Probably but then theres people on here that think Im a Souths man, what can you do?
And Batesy you are the best sh!t stirrer on here but you add heaps of value to the place as well.

[Bates]

[QUOTE=Mickie Lane;n1121691]


Hopefully the mods let him stick around & dont ban him again, he is a true blue long serving Rooster supporter.
He posted some things that he probably wished he didnt but he was under the pump about things that were said about his wife.
Yes he googles things which annoys some people but he also comes up with some good informative posts.

So are people now going to think Im King Salvo aka David Sutherland?
Probably but then theres people on here that think Im a Souths man, what can you do?
And Batesy you are the best sh!t stirrer on here but you add heaps of value to the place as well.[/QUOTE]

Thanks mate. You've taught me well.

You may want to check my "Coma" post again.

Great news about the big dog playing 1 more season. I love a good comeback story. Please keep it on the down-low

[Mickie Lane]

Thanks mate. You've taught me well.

You may want to check my "Coma" post again.

Great news about the big dog playing 1 more season. I love a good comeback story. Please keep it on the down-low

The Big Dog said he'll play 1 more season if we buy Latrell back for 2027.

[QWERTY]

I’m fine with it. They’ve all been good for us

[Chook2]

It’s a tough one
as much as you would love to keep them you win and loose some as we still have many rugby guys in the squad
but it does hurt to loose $3m of talent with 4 players in 2 years but don’t worry we will get more
so can see how this hurts a lot and we are loosing the lions share compared to other clubs

however we can’t be to comfortable - in time if they come back chasing toia, Billy smith, savala or Wong etc we may loose more over time

[RoosterBooster]

I think having a world cup on home soil2027 is a big incentive for a lot of the boys .

[caz]

With 3 of our players now going to Rugby, should we just stay away from rugby players unless they have achieved in that code and look likely to stay in league.JS was too young and was always going, Angus Im OK with going as he has had his time here and contributed (some good some bad).
Marky Mark I expected a few more years from but he was always a risk.

My main concern is the generation coming through our ranks who we place into elite private schools and are playing rugby. We will always be at risk of them going back if they are playing well.
Put all the time and money in and then its going to be touch and go every contract. I just want league die hards who have never played rugby and who have no interest from either party.

At the same time, hence the question marks, maybe if we do have cross coders, it could be advantageous to our cap. They can learn league and excel, do some quality time and contribute to us at reasoable prices knowing they can cash up big later on in rugby OS. (Joey Manu for example, Marky Mark to a degree) And maybe Sualii would come back at reasoable $$ once he does what eh wants in union and makes bank???

Is this a good strategy actually??? Can lead to insatbilitty every contract but also work to our advantage... thoughts??

it's an issue. we got pretty good value out of angus and so far excellent value out of marky. wong's looking good. but we didn't get the best of suaalii.
it would be better if we could direct younger guys to league playing schools but not if it ruled us out of a shot at a future champion.
there should be a bit of case by case reckoning. if we think we can get a couple of good years out of an established union star then why not. every year the team is different and nothing wrong with fielding the best team possible in a given year even if it's a short term proposition.

[SamKerrSimp]

Wait till you see the crowds the Wallabies get at their games for the World Cup.
Last year when the Wallabies played the British Lions at Accor there was 80,000 people there.
I went to a Union school the same school that Adam Doueihi & Mark Nawaqanitawasa went to & playing Rugby on a Saturday morning with all your mates was unreal just as it was unreal playing League on Saturday arvo for Burwood United.
For me League is such a better game to watch but playing either League or Union is unreal.
You'd be surprised how many people follow Rugby especially the Wallabies & you'd be surprised how many kids play it because their parents like it & many schools play it.

Australians love to bandwagon a sporting event. 99% of Australians don't care about Yawnion at all, 80,000 people at a game half of which were touring Brits is about the entire fanbase Yawnion has in this country that's why it is paywalled on Stan sports.

I live and work in western sydney these days and I think you would be surprised at how irrelevant the sport is there in the heartland I haven't met anyone out here who cares about the Wallabies and even the Kiwis + Islanders are NRL first. The only reason kids are playing it is because it is a pathway in to elite private school education because these schools won't acknowledge league

Wallabies and Yawnion don't generate buzz, people aren't at work talking about them in anticipation, they aren't must see TV and the average punter out there has no idea they exist let alone when they are on or who is in the team.

That is to say I'm not trying to yuck your yum.

[Vasco]

Wait till you see the crowds the Wallabies get at their games for the World Cup.
Last year when the Wallabies played the British Lions at Accor there was 80,000 people there.
I went to a Union school the same school that Adam Doueihi & Mark Nawaqanitawasa went to & playing Rugby on a Saturday morning with all your mates was unreal just as it was unreal playing League on Saturday arvo for Burwood United.
For me League is such a better game to watch but playing either League or Union is unreal.
You'd be surprised how many people follow Rugby especially the Wallabies & you'd be surprised how many kids play it because their parents like it & many schools play it.

Rugby test matches against NZ and The British Lions has always attracted big crowds.

I agree with you about playing rugby. I loved playing it at Waverley Colleage and after school for Waverley. The game is played a lot differently these days though. Back then you didn't have hookers and front rowers lurking in the backline. It was forwards and backs.

[Vasco]

lol
The Roosters dont put any young kid through one of the highest priced schools (Scots) or Waverley college we pinch them because Scots & Waverley are in our catchment area & we have fark all junior teams in our area. Scotts College offer scholarships to talented young Rugby Union & Rugby League players from Western Sydney & the Country areas just like Joeys, Riverview & Newington College. NRL scouts go to watch them play Rugby Union & then entice them & pay them to play in our pathways.
The pool of young boys playing a full contact sport is getting very thin.

Are you sure about that?

For Roosters-contracted players at schools like Scots or Waverley, fees are typically covered by the club as part of an education allowance, often via scholarships or direct payments. This is allowed under the salary cap.

Do you honestly think the parents of these kids, mostly from modest upbringings, would be able to afford $40K + per year in school fees?

This year I'm told Cranbrook, who have traditionally been like the Wests Tigers of schoolboy rugby, have a few gun players from New Zealand playing for them. They are contracted with the Roosters.

These schools would be approaching NRL clubs and probably even subsidising some of the school fees. It's prestigious for these schools to win the 1st XV, and sacrificing some of the school fees would be nothing to them.

You'll also find that the players have the right to withdraw from a 1st XV game if they are required to play SG Ball, Harold Matthews etc.