At some point in the near future, fans will witness a rugby league rarity – a Roosters rebuild.
The salary cap, despite snide suggestions to the contrary, can constrict even the most glamorous club in the game. For proof, look no further than the imminent departures of Joseph Manu, Joseph Suaalii, Luke Keary, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Sitili Tupouniua.
While their recent record against heavyweights Penrith and Melbourne – who they meet on Friday in a preliminary final – suggests otherwise, they showed enough against Manly to suggest fairytale farewells remain a possibility.
That will require a marked improvement on what they produced against the Sea Eagles, an opponent still feeling the effects of their exertions the previous week against the Bulldogs. Yet, there were signs to warm the hearts of the Tricolours faithful. There was the return of Waerea-Hargreaves, the sight of James Tedesco slicing through the opposition ruck and Suaalii extending his extraordinary goalkicking run.
A positive spin can even be put on the concerning record of winning just one of their 20 matches against the “Big Two”. The Roosters are due!
Victor Radley and the Roosters celebrate a try.Credit: Getty
The Tricolours have already ended a hoodoo, of sorts. This was just their third finals win from eight appearances. It could not have been secured in more emphatic fashion.
Both sides arrived at this point after similar journeys. They began with historic victories under the bright lights of Sin City and won a sufficient number of games to qualify for the finals without really suggesting they would trouble the two favourites once they got there.
And yet, a trek that has taken the Roosters from Allegiant to Allianz could still end at the final destination of Accor.
Sandon Smith has had to field Nicho Hynes-esque questions about his ability to navigate his side to victory at this time of the year. Neither definitively stuck it to their critics, but the recent signs are positive.
Like Hynes, Smith left it to his No.6 to call the shots and instead focused on what they do well. In Smith’s case it’s his running game, which he employed to great effect with a stunning solo try. Significantly, the halfback has enough quality players around him not to have to do it all himself.
This was a tale of two shoulders. While Cooper Cronk attended a grand final in a dinner suit, Victor Radley – nursing the same injury, a fractured scapula – brought his overalls. There is no hiding in the middle of the field, yet the Sea Eagles couldn’t lay a finger on him when he burst through virtually untouched for the opening try.
There can’t be enough needles in the world to numb the pain Tom Trbojevic must be feeling. Take a grade three-AC joint injury, add the burden of shouldering his team’s expectations and then the shock of seeing big brother Jake getting knocked out in the opening collision of the match. For Turbo, full-time and a much-needed off-season couldn’t come quickly enough.
The Roosters, meanwhile, don’t want this run to ever end. Radley’s apparent season-ending injury didn’t end his season, Tedesco will give Kalyn Ponga a run for the Kangaroos No.1 jersey and Luke Keary has a proven ability to steer clubs to glory.
This is rugby league’s version of The Last Dance, a chance to do something special before their empire is picked apart. Should it come to pass, after the injuries they have been forced to overcome, it will go down as just as storied a tale.
NRL is Live and Free on Channel 9 & 9Now
