Steely character drives hard-working Roosters, says Victor Radley
The Roosters have copped sledges for seasons despite their standing as one of the NRL’s premier clubs. But the “pretty boy” sledges are just white noise for the players.
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The Sydney Roosters have been branded “pretty boys” and “latte sippers” who don a “salary cap sombrero” but lock Victor Radley says there is a working-class toughness that defines the Tricolours.
The Roosters have copped sledges for seasons despite their standing as one of the NRL’s premier clubs.
Retired Broncos and Queensland hardman Gorden Tallis penned an explosive column in The Sunday Mail earlier this month claiming that the Chooks’ pack can be bashed.
“For all their undoubted skill, I wonder if the Roosters have the steel upfront to go back-to-back,” Tallis said.
Balmain legend Steve ‘Blocker’ Roach also questioned whether the Roosters possess the mongrel to reach the grand final without suspended prop Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.
Talk to Radley, though, and the jibes are just white noise.
The versatile forward says coach Trent Robinson has created a steely character within the team.
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Radley will never forget the passion with which Robinson spoke to the playing group about the Eastern Suburb’s working-class heritage.
During the pre-season pep talk Robinson recalled tales of suburbs like Bondi and Bronte being hubs for sandstone quarries and the production of many homes and buildings in Sydney.
“We built this city,” Robinson said.
Radley will never forget the passion and purpose in Robinson’s voice.
“Trent does a great job building a culture and an identity here at the Roosters,” Radley said.
“He always talks about what it means to play for the club and the importance of history.
“I know the players draw a lot of inspiration from it.”
Robinson confirmed the players will again dig deep into the eastern suburbs’ past when they take on Melbourne in tonight’s preliminary final at the SCG.
“The area we live in now is quite affluent but we worked for this area,” Robinson said.
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“The people that founded our club in 1908 lived in a working-class area.
“The immigrants moved to this area and they fought.
“Everyone moved out of the eastern suburbs to move to better pastures, either to the north shore or the inner west to get away from Paddington and Darlinghurst.
“We’ve fought this area and we’ve built it up and our club has grown throughout that.
“And we feel like that is our club. We are strong and we believe in that but we’ve had hard-working foundations and it is okay for us to feel that way.
“We’ve earned it as a club and we need to invest in that again against Melbourne.”
Former Storm champion Cooper Cronk also spoke about lining up against his old club in what could be his final NRL match.
Cronk has thoroughly enjoyed his stint at the Roosters, largely due to coach Robinson’s influence.
“If you ever go to a trivia night, Trent is the man to take with you,” Cronk said.
“His knowledge on a broad range of topics is very impressive.”
Originally published as Steely character drives hard-working Roosters, says Victor Radley