Former Roosters playmaker Braith Anasta has explained how the club are able to sign so many stars after Gorden Tallis questioned their salary cap.
In the past week, the Roosters have recruited Panthers premiership prop Spencer Leniu, Knights winger Dominic Young and re-signed star lock Victor Radley.
The Tricolours have long been accused by their rivals of playing under a salary ‘sombrero’ instead of the salary cap.
It’s a sledge they fiercely deny and point to their culture as the reason they’re able to sign almost anyone.
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Anasta made a high-profile move from the Bulldogs to the Roosters in 2006 and explained how he was recruited to Bondi Junction.
“There is an appeal there… there’s a fair chance they’re going to be successful, they’re professional, they’re run well, but also it’s the people you meet through the Roosters,” Anasta said on NRL 360.
“All these guys (on the board), if you form relationships with them off the field that can help set you up when you retire, it’s connecting you make off the field that are invaluable.
“A lot of players know if they go there they’ll leave there a better person and financially probably better off, not so much for the money they get but they can potentially earn through those connections.
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“So there’s definitely appeal there where you’ll take less on your contract to be involved in a club like it.
That explanation came after Tallis suggested the Roosters might not be playing by the rules following Buzz Rothfield’s story that the Tricolours team is worth $1.8 million above the cap.
“Dare I say what everybody is thinking, the sombrero is back, I laugh you know,” Tallis said on Footy Talk.
“Last week with the Dominic Young situation, Newcastle go find this kid, they put all the effort in and then you get someone to come and grab him and it comes down to money.
“I saw an article from Buzz and he reckons in his calculations that they’re over, I just don’t want fans to get disheartened, and Penrith lose another player but that’s what happens when you get success.
“I like (Leniu), he’s a real aggressive player, he comes off and it’s like he’s always got boxing gloves and the mouthguard every time he runs on the footy field,” Tallis said.
“It’s a great buy for the Roosters but I’m not sure how the fans will feel about it.
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“I’ve got to be careful here because they say well that’s the salary cap working (Leniu having to leave Penrith).
“But if you look at the Roosters – Manu on $1 million, Tedesco on $1 million, Keary over $700k, Crichton over $700k then Suaalii and Big Jared, like it’s a lot of lollies to fill up one bag.
“Then they can go buy a young Dominic Young when a lot of clubs were offering him over 500k and the Bulldogs have a fair bit of money to spend and they chase him and don’t get him.”
Tallis declared the major deciding factor behind almost all deals on today’s game is cold, hard cash.
“I’m not saying anything, it’s a great buy from the Roosters and I guarantee they got him cheap and he went there to play Roosters football and he’s a Roosters type of guy,” Tallis said while chuckling.
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“I can see the headline – it’s about the culture, it’s not about they money that goes into my bank account, it’s never been about that (laughing). I’m going to make a comeback, I might get a get gig there.
“In life, with kids, what I find now is they want the shiniest toy so you can’t say they go there for the culture because that’s just a buzz word. Dare I say it – you go there for the most money.
“The only other thing that keeps you at a club is the camaraderie and their mates they love playing with. The rest of it comes down to the paper and the bling.
“There’s an elephant in the room, they keep on signing players and I don’t know how, it’s a running joke but I just don’t know how.
“You can’t keep saying it’s a culture and they want to play Roosters football, it’s rugby league, it’s always been rugby league, they just want to get paid more money to play the same game.”
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