Why teamwork makes the dream work for rebuilt Sydney Roosters

THE Roosters may have gotten back to the top of the NRL but there are some key differences between this team and their 2013 premiership side.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — SEPTEMBER 08: Latrell Mitchell of the Roosters celebrates with his team mates after scoring a try during the NRL Qualifying Final match between the Sydney Roosters and the Brisbane Broncos at Allianz Stadium on September 8, 2017 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

THE Roosters have always been built on stars — it’s just the way it goes when you’re one of the competition’s glamour clubs.

Look at their last premiership team for instance. Fifteen of the 17 players who took the field in their 26-18 defeat of Manly in 2013 played either Origin or Test football. By any measurement, that’s an absurd amount of star power.

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James Maloney, Michael Jennings, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and the most famous man in rugby league at the time, Sonny Bill Williams, meant the 2013 Roosters were an extremely Roosters team — they weren’t just a great footy side, they were stars in the way only a Roosters team can be.

But this year’s edition, who will take on North Queensland in Saturday’s preliminary final, are a little different.

The Roosters have undertaken serious turnover since 2013.

For starters, there’s only seven players left from that 2013 side — Daniel Tupou, along with Mitchell Pearce the only backline survivor from that premiership team, says he can feel the changes from then to now.

“We had marquee players in that 2013 side, like Sonny. We’ve got an awesome side (now) but not as star-studded,” Tupou told The Daily Telegraph.

“I see it as we worked hard as a whole team to get where we are now, that’s probably been the difference in my opinion.

“All the boys on the same page and we work hard for each other. It’s good to see.”

The return of the Roosters to the business end of the competition is yet more proof that coach Trent Robinson is one of the best in the league.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — SEPTEMBER 08: Latrell Mitchell of the Roosters celebrates with his team mates after scoring a try during the NRL Qualifying Final match between the Sydney Roosters and the Brisbane Broncos at Allianz Stadium on September 8, 2017 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Robinson won the premiership in his first season as a first grade coach but the way he’s been able to remodel his squad and get back to the top is a mark of his quality.

He’s changed as well, Tupou says, but in a way the Roosters winger can’t quite describe.

“I can’t see a difference, but I can feel the difference. I can’t put it into words.”

While there is still tremendous talent in this Roosters team, and players like Luke Keary and Latrell Mitchell are well on their way to hitting the highest heights in rugby league, there is not as much reliance on a single player anymore.

That’s not to say the Bondi boys are some pack of battlers just giving it a red hot crack — but they’re not packed with out and out superstars like teams of the past.

At stages this season the Roosters have lost key players like Boyd Cordner, Jake Friend and Michael Gordon for extended periods and just kept on going, never dropping lower than fifth on the ladder.

There are still stars, because this is the Roosters and that’s what they’re built on, but this run to the preliminary final is a team effort in every sense of the word.

Tupou is one of the few survivors of 2013.

Aidan Guerra, another veteran of 2013, says that strong team spirit comes from the hardships the playing group suffered last season.

Anchored to the bottom of the ladder in 2016 and never escaping the bottom three spots on the ladder, Guerra believes the horror year retaught the players how to trust each other, strengthening the bond among the team.

“I think a bit of character building happened last year, we relearnt what it was like to lose and it’s not a good feeling,” said Guerra.

“The trust in the side is a big thing. If everyone does their own and role and trusts that the bloke next to them is going to do their role then we’re all going in the same direction.

“That was a big thing that I got — when you’re struggling, some people are trying too hard and some people are trying to go against them and it’s all a little mumbled up.

“But this year that’s what’s got us across the line, I think we’re all going in the right direction.”