Unacceptable reality hanging over the head of the Sydney Roosters

Even though the Sydney Roosters miraculously revived their 2023 season, they have been criticized for an “unacceptable” issue.

The injury-plagued juggernaut’s season was ended on Friday night by Melbourne, and since then, praise has been pouring in for the team’s efforts to revive a dead season and an even deadlier squad.

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Anyone who believes the Chooks’ “fairytale” run was sufficient to pass the 2023 exam, however, should open their eyes and prepare to be blinded by the reflection of their payroll.

For lack of a better phrase, a designer club like this cannot let a wet sail conceal a season that was largely marked by subpar poultry.

Trent Robinson’s team should have been nipping at Penrith’s earlobes in the top four rather than taking advantage of Cronulla’s and the league’s erratic results.
They started the year as the favorites to win the premiership.

This Roosters season was a complete failure by their own gilded standards, despite their six-game winning streak and its piece de resistance, the cancellation of Souths.

Robinson, to his credit, graciously acknowledged this on Friday night, admitting that you can’t turn a muttony season into lamb just by “pumping up the end.”.
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Chairman Nick Politis does not do “admirable” as much as he “does” coaching careers, though, when the premierships dry up as they have.

To bare his teeth after falling two wins short of the Grand Final would undoubtedly be the height of rich man angst.

However, Politis, ever the uber-ambitious doyen, will be feeling every inch of his club’s agonizing four-year drought, not to mention the intolerable dearth of victories over teams in the top four that drives it.

The Roosters have joined Peter Sterling in writing off Grand Final day for golf rather than trophies after losing eight straight games to Penrith and defeating Melbourne just once since Cooper Cronk retired.

The Bondi club has undoubtedly dealt with its fair share of distractions this season, including Angus Crichton’s health issues, Joseph Sua’ali’i’s switch to rugby, and Jason Ryles’ liaison with the Dragons, which led to his even more egregious switch to rugby.

But since they are a group of professionals who live close to the Golden Sheaf and beautiful beaches, distractions are nothing new for this organization.

In the end, this is a lavish playing squad with a roster full of well-known players that is supported by a salary cap that is visible from the moon.

Instead of receiving meager ticket allocations for Shark Park elimination finals, they ought to be competing for minor premierships.

Given Politis’ impatience and his title drought, this late-season surge will be seen objectively as a 23% increase in a season that is flatlining; this is far from being a return that will ensure Robinson a softening-up period in 2024.

With a roster that includes numerous Origin players, the upcoming arrivals of Dom Young and Spencer Leniu, as well as the rise of Sandon Smith, Terrell May, and Siua Wong, Robinson’s bungled starts and sporadic losing streaks can no longer be explained away by pointing to his rings and bobbing his head in the Fatman fashion.

The three-time premier will also need to recover from his bizarre decision to bench Sam Walker, as many people are still perplexed as to how a lack of fluency can be attributed to a youngster who is 68% peach fuzz.

Robinson will also have to explain why he has turned into the polar opposite of Roosters culture.

This recent run of form has reinforced his recent habit where the worse the players available, the better he coaches, much like the devastation of his injury-hit, concussion-affected 2021 when he overachieved with a squad of semi-pro North Sydney Bears.

If everything works out, he would be a great choice for the position of NSW.