Bellamy is pretty clearly the best in the business, and they've certainly got lucky or else they are very very good judges of cattle (or both) with some of the players they've brought in during their 21 seasons, and particularly under Bellamy. I think they reached their peak last year and are now on the way down. They were lucky to get such a banged up Sharks side.
The Roosters are different. Robbo is obviously a good coach, he's poised to win his second comp next week, so he must have something going for him, but it's some side he's got there, as it also was in 2013 when they were able to bring in SBW. I don't suggest they are cheating, what I think they are doing is legal but shouldn't be. It involves regularly having years like 2009 and 2016.
There's also the calls, which all year have favoured both of these sides. Why there is felt to be a need to do this is completely beyond me.
In 2013 the only internationals we bought In the GF squad were Jennings and SBW, and The Riff were paying the majority of Jennings contract while he was at the roosters. As soon as that ended we shipped him off to Parra.
I’m sure you’ll retroactively apply star factor to Maloney, but don’t forget he was playing reserve grade for the warriors in 2012.
Of the rest of our GF side that year, 9 debuted for us, 2 (JWH and Guerra) had played a handful of first grade games for another club, Sam Moa and Luke ODonnell had been brought back from the NRL scrap heap in England.... and the last one was Daniel f**king Mortimer.
In 2018, our team will consist of 2 x players purchased as established rep players in Teddy and Cronk.
It will then feature 11 debutants, 1 prop (SST) that played 1 game for the warriors before signing with us, a winger who no club wanted in fergo, a half that got fired by his old club in Keary, and lastly Zane f**king Tetevano.
Yes, we have quite a number of rep players in our squad. Very few of them are at that level before playing for us though, and plenty of other clubs have pillaged players from us once we get them to that level.