History of The Sydney Roosters - Batting For The Century

Batting For The Century

With promising signings in both Braith Anasta and Ashley Harrison and alongside talented youngsters such as Iosia Soliola, the Sydney Roosters looked to have a promising 2006 season ahead of them. However playing in their 99th season, the Roosters could be compared to a nervous cricketer with 99 runs waiting to break the century mark.

Winning only eight games for the entire season for one of the worst performances in the clubs history, the Roosters showed capable signs of winning most games. However, poor game plans and a lack of team composure saw the tricolours outdone by most of the opposition.

Coach Ricky Stuart would pay the ultimate price for such a poor performance, being sacked of the coaching role having only been told months earlier that the club would see out his contract that lasted until the end of 2007.

Marching on to their 100th season in 2007 with 999 wins under their belt, the Roosters signed two-time premiership winning coach Chris Anderson to head coach for the 2007 and 2008 seasons with the notion of blooding newly promoted assistant coach Brad Fittler to top position in season 2009.

The centenary season celebrations were delayed after the Roosters lost their opening five games, including the 'Monday Night Football' blockbuster between arch-rivals South Sydney Rabbitohs in round 1. The 1000th win finally came in the annual ANZAC Day clash against St George Illawarra Dragons downing the Dragons 18-4. Victories were few and far between and the lowlight of the season came in round 17 when the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles defeated the Roosters 56-0.

The defeat would end Chris Anderson's coaching career thus far, deciding to step down from the head coaching role and allowing Brad Fittler to step into the top job. Fittler's late season charge showed promising signs of hope in 2008, although the Roosters would miss out on the finals, Fittler managed to lose only 2 matches for the remainder of the season and recorded significant victories against eventual grand final winners the Melbourne Storm and arch-rivals the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the final round.

Also in 2007 the Sydney Roosters High Performance Centre and Administrative departments set up their headquarters at the Sydney Football Stadium.

The Roosters built on their late 2007 promise in the 2008 season, finishing in the top 4 of the minor premiership. However they ended the regular season with a series of losses which effectively derailed their momentum going into the playoffs. They were eventually knocked out in the second round of the finals series by the New Zealand Warriors.

Despite this, hopes were high at Bondi going into the 2009 season, however so far it has proved to be a disaster, with the Roosters currently dead last on the NRL table with the worst defensive record in the league. Their long term sponsor, Samsung, has dumped them because of poor player behaviour and their season. The Roosters are considering changing their name to the Bondi Roosters, but it has not been confirmed yet.

After a horrible season in 2009, Roosters started to rebuild their team with the signing of Brian Smith from Newcastle Knights as their coach to replace sacked Brad Fittler for 2010 season. They also signed a new major sponsor, Steggles. Roosters then signed Todd Carney, Daniel Conn, Aiden Guerra, JP Du Pulessis and other players to rebuild their season in 2010. Overall, after 26 rounds of 2010 season, Roosters have finished sixth which secured them finals berth. In their first Finals match of 2010 the Sydney Roosters pulled off a miraculous come-from-behind victory over the Wests Tigers in what has been dubbed 'The Greatest Rugby League Game In History.' They then went on to record comprehensive victories over the Penrith Panthers and Gold Coast Titans. The Sydney Roosters qualified for their first grand final since 2004.