Roosters staring down barrel of worst start to a season in 50 years

THE last time the Roosters lost six straight matches to start the season, Harold Holt was Prime Minister and the Dragons were closing in on a rugby league record.

THE last time the Roosters lost six straight matches to start the season, Harold Holt was the Prime Minister, the Australian dollar replaced the pound and the mighty St George Dragons were on track to win their record 11th consecutive premiership.

The year was 1966 and the then Eastern Suburbs Roosters collected the wooden spoon after failing to win a single match — the foundation club’s worst ever season.

Flash forward 50 years and history will repeat itself if Trent Robinson’s rookie Roosters fail to beat archrivals South Sydney at ANZ Stadium on Friday night.

Dejected Roosters players look on after conceding a try.

On top of trying to avoid this record, The Daily Telegraph can reveal no side in league history has made the finals after losing their first six matches.

It’s a damning statistic that will require the Roosters to rewrite the record books if they are going to qualify for the finals this season.

Back-rower Mitchell Aubusson acknowledges you can’t change history, but he is determined not to let it dictate his young team’s mindset with experienced campaigners Mitchell Pearce, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Boyd Cordner still on the sideline.

“It is what it is and that’s the stats,” Aubusson said frankly.

“We don’t look too much into it and we are just thinking about trying to get better each day.

“But we need to turn it into wins soon, because just putting in effort doesn’t get you wins in the NRL.

Captain-coach Ian Walsh is chaired off field by teammates Kevin Ryan and Johnny King after St George defeated Balmain in 1966 to record their 11th straight premiership win.

“We’ve also got a fair bit of talent on the sidelines, but they can’t help us at the moment.

“We’ve still got a couple of weeks before they come back and we’ve got an opportunity to try and get some wins before they do.”

For all the Roosters’ recent success, losing streaks at the proud club aren’t uncommon — as Aubusson can attest.

The back-rower is one of three current players, including Shaun Kenny-Dowall and Mitchell Pearce, who were part of a 2007 side that lost their opening five matches before going on to win 11 of their remaining 19 games.

Aubusson has found memories of senior players like Braith Anasta, Craig Wing and Craig Fitzgibbon guiding young stars like himself through the defeats.

Mitchell Aubusson and the rest of his teammates are feeling the pain. Picture: Gregg Porteous

Fitzgibbon and Anasta still work at the Roosters via their roles as NRL assistant coach and club ambassador respectively and Aubusson said their presence and knowledge has been invaluable for the current crop of Chooks.

“It’s good to have guys like Fitzy still here,” he said.

“He has been through this sort of stuff before and he has given us some guidance to try and help us out.

“It was a long time ago, but we’ve got something similar with a lot of young guys coming in and the senior guys trying to bring them through.

“I remember the back end of the year and the run that we went on.

“I’ve just been telling the guys that it’s a long season and we can still do some good.

“Having been through it and knowing that if you keep persisting and working hard it will change.”

Harold Holt saw the Roosters lose it all.

The Roosters’ quest for their first victory of the season starts against the Rabbitohs on Friday night — a side who belted them by 32 points in the opening round.

Aubusson admits the loss still hurts his side and they are determined to seek revenge.

“We were very disappointed with that game,” he said.

“We need to be a lot better than that and I reckon we definitely will be this Friday against the Rabbitohs.

“The guys will continue to work hard and we can’t wait for Friday night.”

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Originally published as Roosters staring down barrel of worst start to a season in 50 years