The Sydney Roosters have announced today that they will no longer field under 16’s or under 18’s teams in a move they have claimed is aimed at cutting costs.
The Roosters have claimed that they will still offer selected junior players scholarships and will recruit players from other clubs at an older age.
This is a disgrace and there should be ramifications for such a move.
The Roosters have basically wiped their hands of the propagation of the game.
The Roosters have the nerve to put selected players under “scholarships”, meaning they are signed to a contract to play for the Roosters, then have these players play in other teams junior Leagues, meaning other teams will be paying to develope contracted Roosters players!
On top of that, as other clubs spend their own money to develope players over many years, the Roosters feel they have the right to step in and and sign them up, having put in no work at all, and everyone else will just have to put up with it.
Its a synical move by a club that obviously cares about its own success in first grade and nothing else. Damn the game and stuff junior development.
The Roosters are famous for not having their own Junior League. While every other Sydney based NSW club runs entire junior competitions, all grades, all teams, all age groups, the Roosters relied on the Souths junior system.
On top of this the Roosters have a tiny supporter base, the smallest in the competition.
If the Roosters were forced to have to apply for an NRL licence in the same manner the Gold Coast Titans were, they wouldn’t even get close. They would fail at the most basic levels of having a football club.
So the Roosters have now made a decision to be a shop front. They are no longer a football club, they are a fast food outlet.
They buy everything from other clubs, they do nothing for the game below their existance in the NRL and we should all be thankful for their presence in the top grade.
The NRL should act right now with the support of the 15 other NRL clubs CEO’s. They should bring in a rule that to compete in the National Rugby League that you must be involved in all the major junior grades, that you should have a certain number of development officers and that you should show some commitment to the game of Rugby League.
This selfish move shows the mindset of those that run the Roosters. As always, its all about them, and everyone else can go to hell.
