The Rumours Thread

[Harry Bath]

1975

I was at that horrible GF, it killed my grandfather

 

[Captain Apollo]

Larry Writer!

Oops. My bad. Sorry about that Chief

I'll fix it. I'm amazed I made that mistake considering the number of times I've read Larry Writer's book. Must be because I've watched too much of the NBA this past month or two.

 

[TheRedVisApartOfMe]

Flanagan is trying to sell Stefano the vision of being the leader of our pack for the next 5 years. A front row pairing of him & Loko Tonga could be devastating for years to come followed by Su'a & Halangahu in the back row & Finau Latu at 13. However given his current output i'd say Stefano is not value for money at the moment but we probably do have to pay overs a tad.

 

[maestro1]

Oh so you saying they are smart. You could have just said that.

Yes they are smart, but they are allowed to do a lot of stuff that other clubs can't or aren't allowed to do.
Do you remember when Vlandys told us they wouldn't register Israel Folau back to the NRL when we were interested..... If it had been the Roosters it wouldn't have been a problem. No one ever says NO to Uncle Nick. If they even look like saying NO, he threatens legal action

 

[TheRev]

There is 5yrs between even Stefano and Tonga, 6 between him and Latu/Halangahu.. by the time these young bulls r hitting their prime, Stefano is retiring.. but it is what it is.. you need a constant flow through of players, and we still dont know which of them will make it yet, nothing is a guarantee (though I like their odds).

 

[RedVee]

Yes they are smart, but they are allowed to do a lot of stuff that other clubs can't or aren't allowed to do.
Do you remember when Vlandys told us they wouldn't register Israel Foley back to the NRL when we were interested..... If it had been the Roosters it wouldn't have been a problem. No one ever says NO to Uncle Nick. If they even look like saying NO, he threatens legal action

Thank heavens they did say no

 

[Dragon David]

Yes they are smart, but they are allowed to do a lot of stuff that other clubs can't or aren't allowed to do.
Do you remember when Vlandys told us they wouldn't register Israel Foley back to the NRL when we were interested..... If it had been the Roosters it wouldn't have been a problem. No one ever says NO to Uncle Nick. If they even look like saying NO, he threatens legal action

i'd say that V'Landys and Politis would be best mates now. Whatever Politis wants V'Landys would see to it I reckon. Nick getting the Rah Rah guy to come to his club, V'Landys would have told Abdo to clear it so that he can register as a player in the NRL without any dramas for this year. "Don't worry about the Salary Cap" he would say to Old Nick. "I have had your Cap checked and I've been told that you have heaps to spend - just keep the big ones under your hat though". "Oh by the way Nick, any chance of me getting an upgrade of my Merc with the usual 70% discount?"

 

[Phantom V]

I

Roosters have lost a heap of talented players and brought in new ones and they do it so well. I don't get this roosters hate. Radley, Collins, Walker, Manu, Toupo, Butchers, etc all made their debuts for Roosters. Teddy came in for RTS who won Daly M fullback of the year the year before. Cronk for Mitch Pearce. etc. They replace quality with quality. They lose one and have one ready to fill unlike Saints losing Lomax with nobody to sign. Do you think the Chooks would let Lomax go and if so not have a ready made replacement?

They missed out on Fafita at the GC and Gagai from the Knights so they do not get who they want all the time. Chad Townsend is at the end of his career. Nobody wants him anyway. He is just prolonging his career with a last year contract like they did to Josh Morris and Saints are doing with Cookie.

I think the Dogs who have bought a bunch of players who have made their debuts and played for top notch sides are the bigger issue. They have brought in all these players last year and just signed Sitili from the Roosters on 650k a year. The whole team is bought hardly a junior made their debut at that team compared to the Chooks. Do a comparison on the current teams and who made his debut at another club and I bet the Dogs are No.1 by a mile. The rest will be similar if not much different. As for the TPG going to boxing? Roosters have not done rubbish like that. In fact nobody has and yet they got away with it to save 850k and bring in 2 more players.

I’m not questioning their ability to develop players and turn them into class players. However, what I do question is how they manage to retain these players once they become internationals etc and still fit them under the cap. On paper they have the best side in the competition and no one bats an eyelid.

 

[Phantom V]

Flanagan is trying to sell Stefano the vision of being the leader of our pack for the next 5 years. A front row pairing of him & Loko Tonga could be devastating for years to come followed by Su'a & Halangahu in the back row & Finau Latu at 13. However given his current output i'd say Stefano is not value for money at the moment but we probably do have to pay overs a tad.

I’m onboard if we can get him at a fair price. I think under Flanno and a good preseason, he would become a better player. A pack with those players you mentioned would be formidable indeed.

 

[KogarahWarrior]

It’s not a level playing field, Roosters roster is just ridiculous, they have every opportunity to win a comp every single year. They have the best stadium in the NRL. They get away games at home.
But they are plastic, no soul, no heart, winning a comp means not much to them.
I’m going for anyone but Roosters.
Or Sharks.

Some of the lowest numbers in terms of fans attendance. They are a soulless club (like the people who live in the eastern suburbs )

 

[Old Timer]

I was at that horrible GF, it killed my grandfather

My liver never recovered from all the Silver Bullets I drank out of my foam esky that day.

At the end of the game I cast a forlorn and tragic figure on the hill in front of the clock with my esky in a thousand pieces and my remaining cans piled up barely covered with the little bit of ice left on the ground.

After consuming the last of them with a few Dragons supporters all I wanted to do was push the Roosters supporters in the concrete piss trough in the shit house behind the Sheridan Stand.

Now there is a smell that will never be forgotten.

 

[maestro1]

Thank heavens they did say no

Not the point

 

[maestro1]

I

I’m not questioning their ability to develop players and turn them into class players. However, what I do question is how they manage to retain these players once they become internationals etc and still fit them under the cap. On paper they have the best side in the competition and no one bats an eyelid.

Footballers DO NOT SIGN CONTRACTS FOR 200K LESS per season. Unless there is a payback in another form. Only an idiot would take 200K less and only an even BIGGER idiot believes that said player took 200k less. The part that pisses me off is that the journos, instead of laughing and outing it as utter nonsense at these suggestions of players taking 200k less, continue with the narrative. If it is shouted often enough, it becomes fact. Even when everybody knows it is bullshit.

 

[Dragsters]

I was at that horrible GF, it killed my grandfather

I fell in love with the red v that year...

 

[TruSaint]

I fell in love with the red v that year...

Yep, me too. Just old enough to "get" the passion of my family, and then didn't take long to really enjoy the red V 2 and 4 years later.

 

[Dragsters]

Yep, me too. Just old enough to "get" the passion of my family, and then didn't take long to really enjoy the red V 2 and 4 years later.

Indeed, I was 10 and after a tough initiation in '75, '77 & '79 were the glory years. I'll never forgive Ray Higgs for those knees in the back of Mark Shulman and I will never forget the grand final replay. Along with '79 and '10, three of the best days of my life...

 

[TruSaint]

Indeed, I was 10 and after a tough initiation in '75, '77 & '79 were the glory years. I'll never forgive Ray Higgs for those knees in the back of Mark Shulman and I will never forget the grand final replay. Along with '79 and '10, three of the best days of my life...

Same age bracket brother. Im 2 years older.
Good years. Kogarah was a fortress.

 

[Crush]

What do you mean winning a comp means not much to them? The club, the players or the fans? You are kidding yourself. They all want to win the comp. They have developed a lot of players that were not superstars when they started. Collins, Butcher, Walker, May etc. They are all very good players now.

Pfft, the fans are mostly Waratahs or Swans supporters at heart. They’d win the comp, go to brunch the next day and barely raise it in conversation.
“Good win by Roosters last night, are you going to have smashed avo on toast or an açai bowl?”

 

[Dragons4me]

Indeed, I was 10 and after a tough initiation in '75, '77 & '79 were the glory years. I'll never forgive Ray Higgs for those knees in the back of Mark Shulman and I will never forget the grand final replay. Along with '79 and '10, three of the best days of my life...

I too was there in '75. I'm not going to bore you with my Dragons history. Suffice to say born a Dragon. Die a Dragon. Non negotiable.

 

[Captain Apollo]

Footballers DO NOT SIGN CONTRACTS FOR 200K LESS per season. Unless there is a payback in another form. Only an idiot would take 200K less and only an even BIGGER idiot believes that said player took 200k less. The part that pisses me off is that the journos, instead of laughing and outing it as utter nonsense at these suggestions of players taking 200k less, continue with the narrative. If it is shouted often enough, it becomes fact. Even when everybody knows it is bullshit.

Sorry but experience in proifessional sport, especially in the US, shows that is inherently incorrect. It is well established that players will sign for less money if they think they can win a title. Not all of them, but quite a few will and do.