The Roosters hated ? Not in my book, I respect the club for what they bring weekly to this premiership and for raising the bar in this premiership which forces the hand of ALL clubs to better themselves.
The Roosters do have juniors, do not kid yourselves in light of the fact that they are not full of a team packed by former Rooster juniors. What team is ? You could argue the point using Newcastle as your example, perhaps Brisbane, but not many teams can claim they are packed with their own junior talent.
* Sydney City Premier League Team: 24G, 19W, 4L, 1D, 758For, 423Ag, 43pts coming in 2nd on points differential to the Dragons.
* Sydney City Jersey Flegg Team: 24G, Won 24W, 0L, 0D, 976For, 352Ag, 52pts finishing as minor premiers.
Hmm...no juniors ? :roll:
Keep in mind the following
* They have produced Anthony Minichello who now commands respect world wide in the test arena.
* Picked up former QLD, Australian winger Shannon Heggarty from Redcliffe area recognising a talent and bettering the player in their junior system
* Ryan Cross is a Roosters junior who is now on the cusp of rep football
* Under the coaching of Ricky Stuart, Brett Finch has from a immature kid with a load of talent not producing, to a NSW origin player and runner up in the 2004 Dally M
* Craig Wing has all but lost the 'pretty boy' tag and since joining the Roosters has found respect from his peers which his play commands
* Ned Catic a Penrith discard was picked up by the Roosters and is now a solid performer in this competition
* Michael Crocker was picked up from QLD as a junior and is now a QLD, Australian Test player
* Craig Fitzgibbon was on the improve for the Dragons, but you cannot argue the fact that he has gone from strength to strength each season under the Roosters regime.
* Anthony Tupou's talent was recognised after being dumped as a Knights junior, he is now amongst the top 3 young talents in the game
* Chris Flannery is a Rooster junior who plays regular Origin football
The Roosters know what they are doing when looking after their juniors and recognising a rough diamond...if this was my club, I would be over the moon as would ANY Rugby League fan not driven to criticise for the only apparent reason being jealousy or founded respect they won't admit too.
Congrats on another brilliant season Sydney City, brings me back to the days where we at Brisbane were the team 'running the game' ;-)