Babyface O'reilly
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http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...om-ashes-of-pain/story-e6frexnr-1225822654404
NICK Politis is a proud man whose passion for the Roosters borders on obsession. At last year's sombre presentation dinner, he addressed the crowd and shouldered all of the blame. It is a line he has repeated in quieter moments since.
"This is my responsibility," Politis told the players, staff and sponsors. "I am the chairman."
Politis has always wanted the best for his beloved Chooks.
He had their best interests in mind when he pursued Wayne Bennett at the end of 2006, yet the club has never really recovered from the Broncos master coach reneging on the deal at the 11th hour.
That decision had a tectonic effect, forcing Politis to pluck Chris Anderson out of retirement before appointing an inexperienced Brad Fittler.
Fittler's appointment was always going to end in tears. A likeable but green coach who was never going to be challenged by a playing group that adored him.
His flawed alcohol policy that prevented players from drinking the night after games is pinpointed by many as the trigger for last season's disciplinary problems.
Yet the love for Fittler behind closed doors remains high - even if he is keeping his distance from all at the club right now.
Fast forward from the presentation dinner to the present day and the chairman is beaming about his team again. "I go to the club now and walk away with a buzz," Politis says. "There's a good feeling in the place. It's crazy what happened last year. I can tell you it won't happen again."
When Brian Smith assumed control from Fittler late last year, he was surprised the club was lagging behind others in the science and technology at the playing squad's disposal.
He established a high-performance unit, comprising hardened conditioner Cherry Mescia and two recruits from the Waratahs next door in Damien Austin and Jason Schulman.
True to his reputation, Mescia gutted the club's gym weeks before his start-date.
Smith installed his assistants from the Knights - the highly respected Trent Robinson and Smith's son, Rowan - and their modern-day thinking is often challenged by Mescia's self-taught ways.
"A lot of clubs would say, so what?" Smith says of the high-performance unit. "And it will only be a high-performance unit if we high perform. But we needed it."
This shocks because the Roosters have long been considered Sydney's most cashed-up club.
Car tsar Politis has been a major backer since 1976 and Business Review Weekly most recently valued his worth at $220 million.
The club's high-powered board features David Jones boss Mark McInnes and former Wizard Home Loans owner Mark Bouris.
When Politis learnt that the football department needed money, it translated into a large six-figure sum of assistance from the Chairman's Club - a coterie of well-heeled supporters.
"It wasn't quite like that," Smith said when asked how he went about asking the chairman for funds. "I pointed out that to prepare our players at the level we need to prepare to win footy games, we didn't have the necessary equipment. He asked how much that would cost and I told him. Now we have it and the players use it."
(The important subtext here is that Fittler was forced to coach after the budget was slashed in 2008 as the harsh realities of the global financial crisis started to kick in.)
Yet wads of wisely spent money won't be the panacea to all of the Roosters' ills.
They have secured former Dragons prop Jason Ryles, who has signed from Catalans in the UK Super League. And Kiwi international Jared Warea-Hargreaves had blown away everyone since arriving from Manly - until he suffered a dislocated shoulder at training on Monday. But if there is to be a renaissance in the east, it's the younger players who will be fundamental.
Smith stands in the middle of the training paddock and points some of them out. Young centres Cheyse Blair and B.J. Leilua are players he values highly. Then there's Daniel Fepuleai, a 21-year-old hooker who played under-20s for the Dragons in 2008 but went to Shellharbour.
He'd lost interest in the game but is here, kicking and passing balls alongside Mitchell Pearce and Todd Carney, after knocking on Smith's door, looking for a chance.
He fits snugly into a club where individuals are trying to make amends. "He'll play some first grade this year," the coach predicts.
Of course, it's easy to run an eye over what's happening at the Roosters right now and see a new dawn. It's just as easy to be cynical and say it's January when every club is having the best off-season in their history.Make no mistake: they are under no such illusions at the club. A new dawn often becomes a false one. Oh, and they are still searching for a major sponsor to fill the void left by Samsung. Yet the changes are more than superficial.
Club sponsor Geon threw some phrases at them when it came to finding a fresh slogan for this season: Strengh in Foundation; 2010: We're Back!; Dream, Believe, Succeed.
They opted for New Attitude, New Beginning, and while it's easy to dismiss it as nothing more than expensive marketing hyperbole, it's the maxim they're to abide to in Rooster Land.
"We're trying to live it," says chief executive Steve Noyce.
"I appreciate it when people say we look like a new club.
"But it will mean nothing unless we actually keep it going throughout the season."
Captain Braith Anasta is too wounded from last year to predict a new dawn, either.
Yet he realises a club without a soul is a club without a future.
"I've been playing a lot of years now, and the closer and tighter the team is, the more successful you're going to be," he says. "It's as simple as that. If your team isn't unified, you aren't going anywhere."
NICK Politis is a proud man whose passion for the Roosters borders on obsession. At last year's sombre presentation dinner, he addressed the crowd and shouldered all of the blame. It is a line he has repeated in quieter moments since.
"This is my responsibility," Politis told the players, staff and sponsors. "I am the chairman."
Politis has always wanted the best for his beloved Chooks.
He had their best interests in mind when he pursued Wayne Bennett at the end of 2006, yet the club has never really recovered from the Broncos master coach reneging on the deal at the 11th hour.
That decision had a tectonic effect, forcing Politis to pluck Chris Anderson out of retirement before appointing an inexperienced Brad Fittler.
Fittler's appointment was always going to end in tears. A likeable but green coach who was never going to be challenged by a playing group that adored him.
His flawed alcohol policy that prevented players from drinking the night after games is pinpointed by many as the trigger for last season's disciplinary problems.
Yet the love for Fittler behind closed doors remains high - even if he is keeping his distance from all at the club right now.
Fast forward from the presentation dinner to the present day and the chairman is beaming about his team again. "I go to the club now and walk away with a buzz," Politis says. "There's a good feeling in the place. It's crazy what happened last year. I can tell you it won't happen again."
When Brian Smith assumed control from Fittler late last year, he was surprised the club was lagging behind others in the science and technology at the playing squad's disposal.
He established a high-performance unit, comprising hardened conditioner Cherry Mescia and two recruits from the Waratahs next door in Damien Austin and Jason Schulman.
True to his reputation, Mescia gutted the club's gym weeks before his start-date.
Smith installed his assistants from the Knights - the highly respected Trent Robinson and Smith's son, Rowan - and their modern-day thinking is often challenged by Mescia's self-taught ways.
"A lot of clubs would say, so what?" Smith says of the high-performance unit. "And it will only be a high-performance unit if we high perform. But we needed it."
This shocks because the Roosters have long been considered Sydney's most cashed-up club.
Car tsar Politis has been a major backer since 1976 and Business Review Weekly most recently valued his worth at $220 million.
The club's high-powered board features David Jones boss Mark McInnes and former Wizard Home Loans owner Mark Bouris.
When Politis learnt that the football department needed money, it translated into a large six-figure sum of assistance from the Chairman's Club - a coterie of well-heeled supporters.
"It wasn't quite like that," Smith said when asked how he went about asking the chairman for funds. "I pointed out that to prepare our players at the level we need to prepare to win footy games, we didn't have the necessary equipment. He asked how much that would cost and I told him. Now we have it and the players use it."
(The important subtext here is that Fittler was forced to coach after the budget was slashed in 2008 as the harsh realities of the global financial crisis started to kick in.)
Yet wads of wisely spent money won't be the panacea to all of the Roosters' ills.
They have secured former Dragons prop Jason Ryles, who has signed from Catalans in the UK Super League. And Kiwi international Jared Warea-Hargreaves had blown away everyone since arriving from Manly - until he suffered a dislocated shoulder at training on Monday. But if there is to be a renaissance in the east, it's the younger players who will be fundamental.
Smith stands in the middle of the training paddock and points some of them out. Young centres Cheyse Blair and B.J. Leilua are players he values highly. Then there's Daniel Fepuleai, a 21-year-old hooker who played under-20s for the Dragons in 2008 but went to Shellharbour.
He'd lost interest in the game but is here, kicking and passing balls alongside Mitchell Pearce and Todd Carney, after knocking on Smith's door, looking for a chance.
He fits snugly into a club where individuals are trying to make amends. "He'll play some first grade this year," the coach predicts.
Of course, it's easy to run an eye over what's happening at the Roosters right now and see a new dawn. It's just as easy to be cynical and say it's January when every club is having the best off-season in their history.Make no mistake: they are under no such illusions at the club. A new dawn often becomes a false one. Oh, and they are still searching for a major sponsor to fill the void left by Samsung. Yet the changes are more than superficial.
Club sponsor Geon threw some phrases at them when it came to finding a fresh slogan for this season: Strengh in Foundation; 2010: We're Back!; Dream, Believe, Succeed.
They opted for New Attitude, New Beginning, and while it's easy to dismiss it as nothing more than expensive marketing hyperbole, it's the maxim they're to abide to in Rooster Land.
"We're trying to live it," says chief executive Steve Noyce.
"I appreciate it when people say we look like a new club.
"But it will mean nothing unless we actually keep it going throughout the season."
Captain Braith Anasta is too wounded from last year to predict a new dawn, either.
Yet he realises a club without a soul is a club without a future.
"I've been playing a lot of years now, and the closer and tighter the team is, the more successful you're going to be," he says. "It's as simple as that. If your team isn't unified, you aren't going anywhere."
