Sydney Roosters

The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won fifteen New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) and National Rugby League titles, and several other competitions. First founded as the Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club (ESDRLFC), it is the only club to have played in each and every season at the elite level, and since the 1970s has often been dubbed the glamour club of the league. The Sydney Roosters have won 15 premierships, equal to the record of the St George Dragons. Only the South Sydney Rabbitohs have won more premierships. The club holds the record for having won more matches than any other in the league, the most Minor Premierships and the most World Club Challenge trophies. The Sydney Roosters are one of only two clubs (the other being the St. George Illawarra Dragons in 1999) to finish runners-up in their inaugural season. Currently coached by Trent Robinson and captained by James Tedesco, the Roosters play home games at the Sydney Football Stadium.

The club was founded in 1908 in Paddington, Sydney, as Eastern Suburbs; in 1995 the club's name was changed to the Sydney City Roosters, and in 2000 to the Sydney Roosters. The team's Leagues Club is based in Bondi Junction and its home ground, administration and training facilities are located at nearby Moore Park. The Roosters have long-standing and fierce rivalries with other Sydney-based clubs, especially the South Sydney Rabbitohs, a fellow foundation club based in neighbouring Redfern.

History

The Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club (ESDRLFC) was formed on 24 January 1908 at a meeting at the Paddington Town Hall in SydneyCollis and Whiticker, p. 16. after it was decided that the district should enter a team in the newly formed New South Wales Rugby Football League.Collis and Whiticker, p. 12. The ESDRLFC was formed, under its articles of association with the NSWRFL, to represent the geographic areas in Sydney covering the Waverley, Randwick, Woollahra, Paddington, Darlinghurst and Vaucluse local government municipalities, as well as the eastern parts of the Sydney CBD. Indeed, the locality of Sydney, with postcode 2000, falls entirely within the official boundaries of the ESDRLFC.

Unofficially nicknamed the "Tricolours" due to the red, white and blue playing strip,Collis and Whiticker, p. 29. Eastern Suburbs won its first match, defeating Newtown 32–16 at Wentworth Oval on 20 April 1908. In 1913 it became the first club to win three consecutive premierships;Collis and Whiticker, p. 381. the line-ups during this period included the likes of Dally Messenger, Harry "Jersey" Flegg and Sandy Pearce, all regarded as all-time rugby league greats. However, the club rapidly declined and failed to win the premiership for the next nine seasons.

Eastern Suburbs missed the finals once from 1926 to 1942, and in that time won four titles and the minor premiership on seven occasions. During this period, Dave Brown set several point-scoring records that still stand.Collis and Whiticker, p. 20. In 1935, the team lost just one game,Collis and Whiticker, p. 21. and recorded the highest winning margin in their history, an 87–7 (equivalent to 106–8 using the modern scoring system) victory over Canterbury. In 1936, Eastern Suburbs became one of five teams in premiership history to remain undefeated for an entire season, a feat they repeated the following year. It is the only club to remain unbeaten for two consecutive seasons.

Despite claiming the premiership in 1945, Eastern Suburbs failed to make the finals for the following seven seasons. A runners-up finish in 1960 was the closest the club came to claiming the premiership during this era. Eastern Suburbs were soundly defeated 31–6 in the grand final that year, by the famous record-beating St George outfit. In 1966, the club fell to new depths and was winless for the first time in its history.Collis and Whiticker, p. 23.Andrews, p. 658. It was also the last occasion in which the Roosters won the wooden spoon until claiming it again in the 2009 season. It ended a poor run for Eastern Suburbs; from 1963 to 1966, they won 8 of 72 matches, finishing second to last in 1964 and last in the other three years.Collis and Whiticker, p. 24. The club underwent a renaissance in 1967 after appointing Jack Gibson as coach (1967–68), and introducing a new emblem on the playing jerseys, the rooster.

From 1972 to 1982, the Roosters won four minor premierships and played in four grand finals, winning two consecutively. Gibson, now dubbed as "Super Coach", returned to lead the team from 1974 to 1976.Collis and Whiticker, p. 25. In 1974 and 1975, the team won 39 of 44 matches, both minor premierships, and both grand finals and set a premiership record of 19 consecutive wins. The 38–0 grand final victory in 1975 against St George was the largest margin in a first grade grand final,Collis and Whiticker, p. 26. and the record stood for 33 years until superseded by Manly's 40–0 win over the Melbourne Storm in 2008. Although the 1975 grand final was played during an era of a now-obsolete scoring system - with 3 points awarded for a try - the scoreline using 4 points for tries would mean that the record winning margin for a grand final would still hold with an adjusted score of 46–0. With line-ups including Mark Harris, Elwyn Walters, John Brass, Bill Mullins, Russell Fairfax, Johnny Mayes, John Peard, Ron Coote, Ian Schubert and captain Arthur Beetson, the Centenary of Rugby League panel considered the Roosters of 1974 and 1975 to be among the greatest club teams of all time.

Between 1984 and 1995, the Roosters reached the semi-finals once, and became known to critics as the "transit lounge", due to the high frequency of player purchases and releases.Collis and Whiticker, p. 27. The club came close to reaching the premiership in 1987 under coach and favourite son Arthur Beetson, being defeated by eventual premiers Manly in a "bruising" major semi-final, 10–6.Middleton, p. 108.

As the Super League war built up in the mid-1990s, the Roosters recruited high-profile coach Phil Gould and star five-eighth Brad Fittler, both from the Penrith Panthers. This helped to quickly send the Roosters back to the upper end of the ladder. Fittler's presence proved invaluable; during his reign, the Roosters competed in four grand finals in five years. In 2002, the club captured its 12th premiership – the first in 27 years – defeating Minor Premiers the New Zealand Warriors 30–8 in the 2002 NRL grand final.Collis and Whiticker, p. 28.

In the 2003 NRL grand final against the Penrith Panthers, the Roosters lost 18–6 in what was their heaviest defeat for the year. A decisive moment occurred midway through the second half: with the scores tied at 6-all, Roosters winger Todd Byrne made a clear break down the sideline and looked set to score a try before being chased down and tackled into touch by Penrith lock forward, Scott Sattler. From then on, the momentum of the game was with Penrith. The Roosters' made the Grand Final in 2004, when they ceded a 13–6 half-time lead to be defeated by the Bulldogs

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