For Trent Robinson, he doesn’t just know the revamped Allianz Stadium is home, he also feels it.
He references the three logos on the outside of Sydney’s $830 million shiny new toy and only one of them being an NRL club, the eastern grandstand dedicated to the Roosters’ new offices and his phone pinging with requests for tickets to its grand opening, and understands why it will always be the tricolours’ home.
South Sydney’s too?
His chairman Nick Politis certainly doesn’t think so, and Robinson was a little more conservative in his thoughts.
“No, I don’t [have any feelings on that] to be honest,” Robinson said. “I don’t think it’s got anything to do with rivalry. I think Nick was just stating fact. This has been our home. This area within a couple of hundred metres from where we’re standing now has been our home since we started. We haven’t left the area.
“To be honest, I don’t think there’s any barbs being thrown. I think he’s just stating fact. [But] that’s a debate that’s been had. It’s not going to be my decision. It’s not something I’m going to have to worry about.
“It’s written on the walls as the home of the Sydney Roosters. Three of us are on there, and I really enjoy that. We’re in the centre of Sydney. I know there’s a lot going around it, but I know it’s our home. It’s not I know it, I feel it’s our home.”
Then there’s a gatecrasher at the house warming party, who doesn’t want to squat, but move in permanently.
Despite attempts to play their home games out of the new Allianz Stadium next year, the Rabbitohs are resigned to spending at least another season at Accor Stadium. Their bitter rivals have blocked attempts to let them train on the ground this week. The tit-for-tat has been brilliant theatre.
One guest who won’t be there is Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou, who returned a positive PCR test to COVID-19 on Thursday and will be in isolation when his teams runs onto the new venue in front of a sold-out crowd.
Roosters coach Trent Robinson is ready for the opening of the new Allianz Stadium.Credit:Getty
South Sydney assistant Ben Hornby will take over as interim head coach, and Robinson doesn’t expect it to have a major bearing on the result.
“Most of our stuff is done during the week and it’s over to the players,” said Robinson, who also missed a game earlier this year due to COVID-19.
“There’s a lot of importance put on what we do, but for me personally I’d rather have myself missing than a player. It’s not great to hear, but players get on with it from both sides. I think we overstate us coaches.”
South Sydney star Latrell Mitchell returned to training at Redfern after a brief escape to Taree earlier this week, keen to land a psychological blow on his old club before the finals series.
“Keeping him smiling is great for our team, he’s keen and raring to go,” Hornby said. “A couple of days in Taree always do that for him.
“He’s in the best shape of his life and the best headspace. He’s looking forward to the end of the year. Obviously, the last couple years he hasn’t played in the finals, so this is exciting for him.”
Robinson launched a spirited defence on Storm prop Nelson Asofa-Solomona, and said he was glad to see him playing this round despite howls of criticism he attracted only a fine for a low-level charge for his elbow to Joseph Suaalii in the AAMI Park epic last week.
Victor Radley could still be available for the first week of the finals despite convulsing after a heavy concussion in the same match.
“I don’t know what people will think about me saying this, but based on his symptoms he could have played this week because he didn’t have any,” Robinson said. “But as we know there must be things we don’t know – and that is why he is not playing this week. We were never going to play him after what we saw.
“But as far as symptoms go, he remembers the whole game, he was in our review talking through different things and what he was saying at different moments. So, he was clear on all that. But that doesn’t mean he was going to play this week.”
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