Alan Katzmann, an executive with a leading Australian company, said this in an email to me this week: "When the game was torn apart in the mid '90s, the loyalty that the Roosters displayed in remaining with the then establishment and not joining the rebels was instrumental in ensuring that neither competition was strong enough to stand on its own, and a compromise [the NRL] was created. This club, having won more games than any other team in history, played for more seasons and produced more internationals than any other club, is steeped in the deepest history and traditions of the game.
"Many other clubs who have joined the throng attacking the Roosters were the first to grab the money and run when the chequebooks were opened in the mid '90s. Whose interests were they thinking about then?"
In reference to claims by journalists that the Roosters just buy quality players from other clubs, Katzmann had this to say: "Stop living in the past - you are only embarrassing yourself. The Roosters, since the appointment of Phil Gould in late 1994, have put in place development programs which are now the envy of many of its rivals.
