The Sydney Roosters’ decision to cut ties with Spencer Leniu has raised plenty of eyebrows but the reasons behind his pending exit are starting to become increasingly clear.
A multi-time premiership winner with the Penrith Panthers, Leniu was brought to Bondi to emerge from Jared Waerea-Hargreaves’ shadow and establish himself as one of the game’s elite starting front-rowers.
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However, that hasn’t quite happened.
Instead, he is set to depart the club at the end of the season, before his current deal expires, to link up with the Parramatta Eels, where he will reunite with former NSW Blues teammates Jarome Luai and Mitchell Moses.
Speaking on NRL 360, CODE Sports reporter Brent Read revealed the Roosters decision to move him on is a combination of limited minutes, concerns about his discipline and the side’s growing salary-cap pressures.
“I think it’s a combination of things,” Read said.
“He was brought in to become a starting front-rower and he hasn’t become a starting front-rower. He’s paid to be a starting front-rower (but) he’s being playing 20-30 minutes a game basically.
“You can’t pay guys that amount of money. I think that’s part of it. Obviously there are some concerns around his discipline at times.
“I don’t think it has anything to do with him as a person because I think they love him as a player, but it’s value for money.
“I think they’ve also got some blokes going up next year in terms of salary cap – Naufahu Whyte, Siua Wong, Blake Steep, Savala. All those guys’ salaries are going up in the next couple of years.”
Fellow CODE Sports reporter Michael Carayannis agreed with his colleague’s comments.
He argued the Roosters simply aren’t getting enough production from Leniu who is being paid around $850,000 a season to play on average 32 minutes a match.
“For me, it’s more bang for your buck. He’s only averaging 32 minutes and if you’re going to pay top-end quality for a front rower, then you’re not going to get the production out of him,” he added.
“Parramata aren’t going to be playing him for 30 minutes. They’re going to want 60-65 minutes out of him and that’s what he was brought to the Roosters to do in a way.
“He was there to emerge from JWH’s shadow and become that enforcer and play big minutes.
“Jared played big minutes for a large chunk of his career but when you look at the average this year, 32 minutes (isn’t good).
“He’s on significant money and they’ve had to upgrade a lot of players and if you’re averaging 32 minutes per game, you’re not getting bang for your buck.”
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While the former NSW Blues forward may not have been worth the money he is on at the Roosters, his pending move to the Eels would benefit all three parties involved.
“On those numbers, he’s worth more to Parramatta because he will play longer minutes. I think it is about freeing up some money,” Read said.
For the Roosters, it would free up significant salary cap space, while the Eels would gain an enforcer capable of adding aggression and power to their forward pack.
And for Leniu, a change of scenery would benefit his long-term development and allow him to spend more minutes on the field while also leading the pack alongside Junior Paulo.
Carayannis added, “It’s definitely a necessity. You look at that Parramatta forward pack and they need someone like Spencer so I think he’s going to be a really good signing for Parramatta.”
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“But at the Roosters they’ve had these guys like Naufahu Whyte who have probably kicked sooner.
“When they signed Spencer, they probably knew Naufahu was going to be an outstanding talent, but he’s come a long way far quicker than we would’ve imagined
“He’s super valuable and he’s a point of difference. His body shape, physique, and speed it’s very rare but you can’t drop the ball when you’ve got it.
“That’s where you’ve got to control the aggression and you can’t change him and you know what you’re buying, but when it comes to the fine line, you don’t want it to happen at crucial moments.”