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Prodigies snatched from QLD and Souths, plus real local juniors: How Roosters GF team was built
It was pieced together over a number of years, from superstar signings to local juniors, to players who arrived at Bondi from places nobody expected.
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One of the best fullbacks of the modern era, Tedesco arrived at the Roosters ahead of the 2018 season much to the dismay of Wests Tigers fans. A childhood supporter of the club, the Roosters were able to win him over with the promise of offering him a stable environment and the opportunity to work closely with club legends such as Anthony Minichiello.
The move quickly paid off as he won back-to-back premierships in his first two years at the club and will go down as one of the best players to ever done the famous jersey. School State Australian Touch Tournament on the Gold Coast in 2004, with NSW's Under 12 James Tedesco of St Pauls Camden.
A proud Bulldogs supporter growing up, Tupou surprisingly came through the Parramatta Eels pathways system where he played a handful of matches for them in the Under-20s NYC competition.earlier in the week, the veteran explained it was Peter O’Sullivan – the current head of recruitment at the Newcastle Knights – that signed him to the Roosters. It came as a bit of a surprise at the time, with the winger contemplating whether he would be able to crack it into the NRL.
One of the many local juniors in the side who were born and bred in the Eastern Suburbs, Smith was came through the ‘Roosters Academy’ before progressing on into the NRL. A product of Scots College, the outside back also played rugby union growing up but his eyes were always solely focused on going down the path of rugby league.
Despite making his debut in 2019, he has only featured in 62 matches for the club having gone through a number of debilitating injuries such as an ACL rupture and consecutive shoulder injuries. A Redcliffe Dolphins junior, Toia was playing at the Under-15s Met North Trials in Brisbane when then-Roosters recruitment boss Daniel Anderson stopped to watch him play.
Anderson, who missed his flight was there for barely two minutes with a colleague but during that time he saw enough of the Redcliffe Dolphins junior and was keen on bringing him into the club.5. MARK NAWAQANITAWASE A Concord-Burwood Wolves and Leichhardt Wanderers junior, Nawaqanitawase decided to switch codes to rugby union at the age of 14 and never looked back.
That was until 2023 when the Roosters announced he would be joining them for the 2025 season, with Joseph Suaalii heading the opposite direction to the 15-man code at the end of the 2024 campaign. Surprisingly, before he was brought into the club, the Tricolours were keen on fellow union standout Jordan Petaia rather than the Olympian and NSW Waratahs winger.
After announcing in March last year, he would be departing the Manly Sea Eagles it wasn’t until November when he officially put pen to paper to move to Bondi following months of constant speculation. Linked to the Dolphins before signing with the Roosters, the veteran wanted to sign with a premiership contender and the move has gifted him the opportunity to end his career with a second title.
“We’d heard about it and then by the time it was official, everyone was over it. I think that was everyone’s reaction, to be honest with you. ”The most highly talked about teenager during his junior days, Walker signed with the Roosters on a two-year contract, days before his 17th birthday, after previously being involved in the Broncos pathways system.
The son and nephew of former NRL players, he also held talks with the Canterbury Bulldogs, Gold Coast Titans, North Queensland Cowboys and Rugby Australia before opting to join the Tricolours.in 2021.
“I wanted to go to a club where I could play my best football. I felt there were people at the Roosters, like Trent Robinson, who were there to support me.8. NAUFAHU WHYTE Recruited from New Zealand by former club recruiters Fifita Hala and Adam Hartigan – who are now at the Bulldogs – Whyte could have easily found himself on the track to play for the All Blacks one day.
Instead, he decided to remain in rugby league and eventually make the move to Sydney, Australia where he has emerged as one of the best forwards in the NRL over the past two seasons.
“I remember my first game I came, I was playing centre back in New Zealand and I remember looking at the team list and looking at where my jersey was with my name and it had an eight on it,”“I didn’t tell the coach I didn’t play prop before, but I was in my head. I was saying, ‘Oh man, I haven’t played this position before, what am I meant to do?
”They thought they had what they were looking for when they recruited Brandon Smith from the Storm but it ended up being a failed experiment. Smith’s departure to the Rabbitohs opened up the door for them to recruit the Robson from the North Queensland Cowboys.
In the prime of his career, the incumbent NSW Blues shocked the rugby league world at the time when he moved down to Sydney but he does share the same management stable as star spine members James Tedesco and Daly Cherry-Evans. The grandson of former Australian international Lionel Williamson – played 11 international Tests and ten games for Queensland – Collins started his career as a member of the Brisbane Broncos system.
He played three seasons for the club’s Under-20s NYC side and even represented the Under-20s Queensland Maroons before being scouted by Peter O’Sullivan to join the Roosters. While Collins was reluctant to leave Red Hill, the promise of a longer-term deal and minutes in the NRL ultimately swayed his decision.
Another prospect to come out of New Zealand, Foketi was a member of the Warriors pathways system before eventually making the move to the Roosters ahead of the Under-17s Harold Matthews Cup competition. Playing in the halves at the time, Foketi attended the famed St Paul’s College but as soon as he met with the club he was eager to join their famed ‘Roosters Academy’.
While he has since moved to the forwards, he joined the Roosters alongside Benaiah Ioelu, from whom he knew across the ditch. Another Roosters players who was scouted from New Zealand, Wong caught the eye of Daniel Anderson in Christchurch before successfully progressing through the grades and coming through the ‘Roosters Academy’. Wong ended up moving to Australia at the age of 14 and attended the famed Scots College alongside fellow teammate Hugo Savala.
Although he thrived in the 15-man code and also made a host of representative union team at the junior level, he decided to remain with rugby league. A local junior who attended Marcellin College and played for the Clovelly Crocodiles, Radley was always destined to end up at the Sydney Roosters.
Born and bred in the Eastern Suburbs, Radley first arrived at the club in 2016 and went on to have a stellar junior career which included representing the Junior Kangaroos and Under-20s New South Wales Blues sides. To this day, he still credits former club captain Adrian Lam – who coached him at Clovelly – as one of his biggest mentors.
“He did everything. Without him, there’s no way I’d be playing first-grade right now,” he said on Lam.
“I was really lucky to play with Lachie Lam and have him as my coach because I probably would have just been doing exactly what my brothers are doing. “There’s nothing wrong with that. They’re having a good life and we still see each other at times but without him, there’s no way I’d be playing first-grade.
”After spending three seasons with the Roosters arch rivals, Crichton departed the South Sydney Rabbitohs at the end of 2018 having previously been one of the highest rated cross-code prospects coming through the ranks. Beginning his rugby league journey with the Roosters in the Under-19s SG Ball Cup competition, he found himself poached by the Cardinal and Myrtle by then-captain Greg Inglis and the club’s recruitment officer Grant Jones – after meeting with Michael Maguire on numerous occasions.
One of the main reason was due to him supporting the club as a kid, while he held a close relationship to the club’s recruitment office Adam Hartigan.
“The sway for him was pretty simple, the Roosters were the team that he grew up following as an eastern suburbs kid, having moved from the country,”“He used to sit and watch their games as a kid and when the opportunity came he jumped. ”Originally playing with the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the lower grades, the former Australian Schoolboy made the switch to the Roosters in 2015 and has since progressed through the clubs ranks.
A South Eastern Seagulls junior, his arrival at the club created a minor stir between the two arch rivals at the time. Since switching, he captained the Roosters to an Under-20s premiership and has become a cornerstone of their forward pack with 178 matches and 27 tries. A three-time premiership winner with the Penrith Panthers, Leniu was recruited by the Roosters to become the future heir to Jared Waerea-Hargreaves in the forward pack.
Initially offered around $525,000 a season – a price that has since been increased – Leniu was also seeking a fresh challenge and wanted increased game time on the field instead of spending the majority of minutes on the interchange bench like he did at Penrith. A Coogee Dolphins junior and product of The Scots College, he could have easily gone down the route of either AFL or rugby union but decided to remain in the 13-man code and has flourished.
Even when it looked like he could be departing the club, following the arrival of Daly Cherry-Evans, he decided to remain loyal and ink an extension with the Tricolours. One of the stories of the season, Ramsey made his return to the NRL field this year, four years after he played for the St George Illawarra Dragons in 2022.
Coming back from ulcerative colitis, the utility back played NSW Cup for the Dragons last season but wasn’t offered a contract for him to stay at the club. This opened the door for the Roosters to pounce as they looked for someone who could be a back-up fullback for James Tedesco.
Contracted to the New Zealand Warriors as a junior, Ioelu was destined for stardom from a young age and was recognised as one of the best young prospects to come out of Auckland at the time. Previously named in both the Under-16s squads for New Zealand and Samoa, he eventually made the switch to the Roosters after being scouted by Daniel Anderson.
“They had an open invitation in New Zealand. My agent said come along to the training and Daniel Anderson was there and just did some drills and played a game,”“I was signed with the Warriors but I wasn’t fully locked in. When Newcastle came over to verse the Warriors, they saw me play that game and Daniel wanted to confirm a deal.
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