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Sydney Roosters chairman Nick Politis, 85, is back in the NRL grand final after seven years and will walk the trophy onto the field before kick-off against Newcastle at Accor Stadium on Sunday night.
Sydney Roosters chairman Nick Politis will walk the NRL trophy onto the field before kick-off against Newcastle at Accor Stadium on Sunday night, capping 50 years of involvement with the club.
Aged 85 and after more than three decades at the helm, the billionaire powerbroker is still not slowing down. His Roosters are back in the premiership decider for the first time in seven years and are favourites to claim what would be a fifth title since Politis took charge in 1993. Politis is the largest shareholder in Australia's biggest car dealership group, Eagers Automotive.
He would be the last one to make it about himself, but the pre-match honour is fitting for a man whose fingerprints are on every corner of the club. Ask Mark Bouris how hard Politis chases the players he wants, and the long-time club director is blunt. He said: If he is overseas, or it is 4am and he is in bed and someone wants to talk to him about a player, he will answer or ring back.
He might exist on three or four hours sleep a day. That is how he gets the deal over the line. It was in 1976 that Politis first became involved with the Roosters, striking a $150,000, three-year agreement for his company, City Ford, to become their jersey sponsor, the first deal of its kind in Australian sport.
Whether in his office at Rushcutters Bay, inside one of the private dining rooms at Darlinghurst institution Beppi's, or out and about with his phone to his ear, he has made countless big deals since then. Among those signings are Brad Fittler, Sonny Bill Williams, Cooper Cronk and Daly Cherry-Evans.
Politis secures Mark Nawaqanitawase for Roosters
Then there is the most prized acquisition of the Roosters class of 26, wing sensation Mark Nawaqanitawase. Nawaqanitawase was lured to the club after the Wallabies disastrous World Cup campaign in 2023 in an effective switch with rugby-bound Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii. He has been such a game-changer that the Roosters are already discussing how to get him back after his rugby stint.
Wingers are not paid $1 million contracts in the NRL, that is so-called fullback money, but Nawaqanitawase's impact and ability to manufacture a try make him a potential outlier. If he does return to the Roosters, Politis fingerprints will be all over it. One player agent, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Politis is as proactive as any other chairman he has seen.
He is a fair guy, he wants to get the best deal, but he will also listen and be pragmatic. He is a hunter. That is ultimately why the Roosters are good, at player level, sponsor level, every level. Khoder Nasser, who managed cross-code superstar Williams, said Politis reputation preceded him when entering negotiations, and his firm grip at the club also played to the Roosters advantage.
Negotiators praise Politis commitment to talent
Nasser said: He wants to win and he knows talent. He does not play games with talent, either. If he wants you, that is it. He lets that be known, and he will do whatever it takes to make it happen.
You also know Nick is going to be at the Roosters. A CEO or a chairman at any other club, you do not know they are going to be there in two to three years. But you know he is going to be there.
The connections that can be made through Politis and the Roosters are another obvious selling point, whether through board members such as high-profile businessman and podcaster Bouris or former directors like David Gyngell, the ex-Channel Nine boss. The wealth associated with the club has led to the familiar salary cap sombrero jibes from sceptics over the years. But those who have seen Politis operate say his edge lies in how meticulous he is.
Politis meticulous approach extends beyond money
That includes meeting personally with the parents of a young player the Roosters are courting, and the regular dinners the board has held with members of the club academy. Gyngell said: What people miss with Nick Politis is it is 50 years of detail. If you think Nick Politis is only about money, you are completely misreading the situation. Detail and integrity is what Nick Politis stands for.
Under Politis, the well-heeled Roosters board is also the antithesis of the blazer-wearing brigade. They have to pay for their own seats at games and there are no free meals for them at the leagues club, or even complimentary sandwiches at board meetings. Politis and coach Trent Robinson were there to watch Nawaqanitawase play his first game for the Roosters in reserve grade at Wentworth Park in 2024.
Bouris, himself a Roosters director for 25 years who joins Politis for a two-hour walk every weekend, puts the secret of his success down to a strong sense of duty and a humility that seeps throughout the entire organisation. Bouris said: Once he gets placed in a responsibility like the position he is at the Roosters, that duty becomes first and foremost in everything he does.
That means turning up to every game, talking to every manager, talking to the coach and players and being the last board member to leave the sheds. If a player is in need, his sense of duty will extend to that player's family. That sense of duty is driving him to do things that most 85-year-olds are probably incapable of doing. The Roosters are lucky that he feels a sense of duty to us.
theage 
brisbanetimes:‘If he wants you, that’s it’: Nick Politis and the secret to his success at the RoostersThis story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
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