The real story at Bondi isn't DCE. It's the homegrown Roosters revival
As always, wheeling and dealing at Moore Park has been a fascinating narrative this season. Brandon Smith's exit. Dom Young's on-again, off-again departure. Once again, why exactly did they let Terrell May go?
The spectre of Daly Cherry-Evans' potential arrival which, given the rising form of Savala and diminutive five-eighth Sandon Smith, has plenty asking if the Roosters really do need the Manly and Maroons skipper.
Meanwhile, Robinson has blooded six rookies in 11 games this year. The club's dramatic generational shift comes after $4 million worth of talent and more than 900 games of experience walked out the door last season.
A season-opening 50-14 thrashing from Brisbane, in which Rob Toia, Salesi Foketi and Taylor Losalu all played NRL for the first time, was followed by an upset win over defending premiers Penrith when the Roosters were the rankest of $11 outsiders.
Losalu, who was earning $20,000 a year on a NSW Cup contract at the time, was back pouring concrete 12 hours after one of the biggest upsets of the NRL era.
Already, the Roosters' 5-6 campaign has delivered similar boilovers against the Broncos and Sharks and a slew of eclectic origin stories among their next generation.
Like Savala, the 193cm halfback, local junior and part-time Randwick bagman for his dad, bookmaker Scott Savala.
Impressive young lock Blake Steep told the story back in February of how he saved his own old man from drowning when he suffered a heart attack underwater while spearfishing.
Toia, the prodigious centre who has pushed through two ACL ruptures, back stress fractures and a broken jaw to be making his Queensland Origin debut after just 10 NRL games.
When Laurie Daley asked Roosters and NSW assistant Matt King for some intel on Toia last week, King told him he would already be a Maroons rep if it hadn't been for three straight years on the sidelines.
From a reporter's perspective, Robinson has always been at his most expansive when talking about a young player's progress and rugby league's various learning curves.
But we can't recall one of the game's most measured and considered coaches flying out of his seat to celebrate a try like Va'a's against Cronulla.
Skipper James Tedesco and vice-captain Victor Radley are playing with the same enthusiasm. Meanwhile, Mark Nawaqanitawase's remarkable rugby league learning curve – thrills, spills, tries of the decade and all – already makes him a player worth watching each week on his own.
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Reinvigorated is the kind of word that belongs in a shampoo ad before a rugby league story, but it's difficult to go too far past it with the Roosters. Even with each stirring upset followed by a loss as a youthful side comes to terms with the weekly demands of the NRL.
The club has been spruiking the virtues of its Roosters Academy for some time, which was inspired by a 2021 visit to Barcelona FC's famed La Masia nursery.
The investment by Nick Politis and Roosters directors is starting to pay serious dividends. Siua Wong, Steep, the Va'a brothers, Ioelu, Foketi and Toia are just some of the Academy's first-grade graduates.
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Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
Angus Crichton calls out Maroons' team-list mind games
Angus Crichton has accused Queensland of subterfuge by naming a hard-to-believe team list for State of Origin II, vowing to terrorise new half Tom Dearden regardless of which forward is beside him. In a wide-ranging interview from NSW camp, Crichton also took a subtle jab at the Maroons for refusing to kick off to Spencer Leniu or Payne Haas in the Origin series opener. But it is the Maroons' published line-up for Origin II in Perth next Wednesday that Crichton finds hardest to believe after the Blues' series-opening 18-6 win in Brisbane. Aside from axing captain and halfback Daly Cherry-Evans, Queensland coach Billy Slater has also dropped Jeremiah Nanai and Pat Carrigan back to the bench. The changes leave Kurt Capewell listed to start at second row and Trent Loiero at lock, but Crichton is having none of the Maroons' claims. "Surely Nanai's not on the bench and surely Patty's not on the bench as well," Crichton said. "I think they're trying to play mind games with us by naming those guys there. I can't see Patty or Jeremiah not starting. He (Nanai) was one of their best last game. "They played all right in that last game. Jeremiah was a point of difference for them on the kick chase, and some of his defence was good. "Then Patty, he's won the Wally Lewis Medal before, so it goes without saying ... they might be trying to play mind games, but we're more focused on ourselves." Regardless of what the Maroons do, Crichton is looking forward to getting at Dearden. The NSW second-rower earned man-of-the-series honours last year after the way he physically went after Cherry-Evans, and he plans to target Dearden in the same way. "It's my job as a back-rower to try and terrorise the opposition halfback," Crichton said. "The more I can get into a physical battle with them, the less we see them. "Some of my best games have been when I've done that, so I'm looking to recreate that with Tommy. I really like him, but it's different when you're playing. "He is a strong little bastard, so he will be running hard. It's a big call for Queensland, he is stepping into the No.7 jersey for the first time. "I know he will be able to bring his best. I just have to make sure I am bringing better." The other major talking point from Origin I was the Maroons' decision to not send a kick-off in the direction of Leniu, who has become arch-enemy No.1 in Queensland. Queensland kicked off to the left and away from Payne Haas for the game's first two restarts, setting up Mitch Barnett and Max King for the return runs. They then sent the next two kick-offs to the right and away from an infuriated Leniu after he had entered the field, again setting up King for the returns. Slater claimed this week it was a decision made "on the run" due to the Maroons being stripped for numbers, but Crichton suggested he knew it was a premeditated call. "I know it was a deliberate decision," Crichton said. "I've heard that from people that were in there. They were told don't kick it to Payne (Haas) or Spencer. "Every rugby league fan wants to see (Leniu take the return), so hopefully they'll do it this time."
West Australian
an hour ago
- West Australian
Angus Crichton calls out Maroons' team-list mind games
Angus Crichton has accused Queensland of subterfuge by naming a hard-to-believe team list for State of Origin II, vowing to terrorise new half Tom Dearden regardless of which forward is beside him. In a wide-ranging interview from NSW camp, Crichton also took a subtle jab at the Maroons for refusing to kick off to Spencer Leniu or Payne Haas in the Origin series opener. But it is the Maroons' published line-up for Origin II in Perth next Wednesday that Crichton finds hardest to believe after the Blues' series-opening 18-6 win in Brisbane. Aside from axing captain and halfback Daly Cherry-Evans, Queensland coach Billy Slater has also dropped Jeremiah Nanai and Pat Carrigan back to the bench. The changes leave Kurt Capewell listed to start at second row and Trent Loiero at lock, but Crichton is having none of the Maroons' claims. "Surely Nanai's not on the bench and surely Patty's not on the bench as well," Crichton said. "I think they're trying to play mind games with us by naming those guys there. I can't see Patty or Jeremiah not starting. He (Nanai) was one of their best last game. "They played all right in that last game. Jeremiah was a point of difference for them on the kick chase, and some of his defence was good. "Then Patty, he's won the Wally Lewis Medal before, so it goes without saying ... they might be trying to play mind games, but we're more focused on ourselves." Regardless of what the Maroons do, Crichton is looking forward to getting at Dearden. The NSW second-rower earned man-of-the-series honours last year after the way he physically went after Cherry-Evans, and he plans to target Dearden in the same way. "It's my job as a back-rower to try and terrorise the opposition halfback," Crichton said. "The more I can get into a physical battle with them, the less we see them. "Some of my best games have been when I've done that, so I'm looking to recreate that with Tommy. I really like him, but it's different when you're playing. "He is a strong little bastard, so he will be running hard. It's a big call for Queensland, he is stepping into the No.7 jersey for the first time. "I know he will be able to bring his best. I just have to make sure I am bringing better." The other major talking point from Origin I was the Maroons' decision to not send a kick-off in the direction of Leniu, who has become arch-enemy No.1 in Queensland. Queensland kicked off to the left and away from Payne Haas for the game's first two restarts, setting up Mitch Barnett and Max King for the return runs. They then sent the next two kick-offs to the right and away from an infuriated Leniu after he had entered the field, again setting up King for the returns. Slater claimed this week it was a decision made "on the run" due to the Maroons being stripped for numbers, but Crichton suggested he knew it was a premeditated call. "I know it was a deliberate decision," Crichton said. "I've heard that from people that were in there. They were told don't kick it to Payne (Haas) or Spencer. "Every rugby league fan wants to see (Leniu take the return), so hopefully they'll do it this time."
West Australian
2 hours ago
- West Australian
Maroons star's damning stat that NSW 'don't care about'
Recalled Queensland second-rower Kurt Capewell has the most missed tackles in the NRL this year but neither he nor NSW counterpart Angus Crichton is reading anything into it. NRL statistics reveal that the 31-year-old has missed 75 tackles in his 13 games for the Warriors this season, 20 more than Wests Tigers hooker Api Koroisau (55) who is next on the list. Capewell has played nine games in the back-row and four at centre this year but was not fazed by those defensive numbers ahead of game two of the State of Origin series in Perth. "I am not aware of that stat but we are winning games at the Warriors so it obviously doesn't mean too much," he said. Missed tackle stats can be somewhat misleading, given players who make an effort to stop an opponent are negatively marked as opposed to those who make no contact and no effort. "Probably a lot of them are effort plays where you are pushing someone across field or trying to make a cover tackle," Capewell said. "I don't read too much into the stats and I just do what I can for the team to win." Crichton, who does not believe the Maroons will run out as their team list suggests, has no interest in Capewell's defensive statistics. "I just don't care about their stats," Crichton said. "I don't care about their team. I don't care about their changes. "All I care about is our team and how we're going to get a better performance out of this side that I know we can produce." Capewell was overlooked for the 18-6 loss in game one of this year's series but played the last two matches of 2024 that the Maroons lost. He was a key man in 2020 and 2022 series wins for the Maroons and is highly regarded for his leadership, attacking instincts and push supports. Capewell has helped the Warriors surge into the top four this season after missing the finals in 2024. He was asked if he thought his Origin career had passed him by before getting the call-up for Perth. "Obviously it crosses your mind but I just worry about my form at club level and luckily the club has done really good and that has helped me play better," he said. "It has been a highlight of my career to come into these camps and I'm honoured to be back again. "Something about my game that I pride myself on is that I will do whatever the team needs. "I will come in and try and do what I do well and try and get our game on. I feel like in game one (Queensland) probably missed the mark at getting our game on so we will work on that this week. "There is a lot of feeling and emotion in this game so that's something we have to be ready for and we can't miss the start."
