Reports indicating that Wests Tigers captain Robbie Farah might be on his way to Bondi to play for the Roosters in 2016 and beyond seem very, VERY strange to me.
First and foremost, I cannot see any way the Roosters can fit a player likely to command up to $900,000 a season until their incredible line up.
I fully understand that the club has lost both Maloney and RTS to the Sharks and Warriors respectively but Blake Ferguson and Jackson Hastings are believed to sign big contract upgrades, while the Roosters have also added English international Joe Burgess.
For the Roosters to work a player of Farah’s stature into their cap, they’ll be forced to shed a major star or two, as I don’t suspect the Tigers will be too keen to kick in for Farah’s contract.
That is where the potential move makes zero sense.
Why would the Roosters move on a player to fill a position they already have an excellent option to fill?
Jake Friend is arguably one of the top five number nines in the game, and is a player capable of playing 80 minutes.
If not for a certain Cameron Smith he may very well have an Origin jersey or two to add to his PM XI honour.
Friend has 165 first grade games to his name, as well as Grand Final and World Club Challenge medals.
At 25 years of age his football is arguably still ahead of him.
I don’t think I’m alone in thinking that he had a much better 2015 than Robbie Farah and if I were recruiting, there is no way I would put his future at the club in jeopardy to bring in a 31 year-old.
If the idea is to bring Farah in to play 40 minutes off the bench along with Friend, which would certainly form one of the league’s best number nine rotations.
It would certainly form the league’s most expensive.
I can’t see the Roosters wanting to spend almost a million dollars on a bench player.
The only reason I can see a link to the Roosters is if Trent Robinson and his brains trust believe Farah has a future in the number six jersey.
It’s not beyond possibility that a club would pay a substantial amount for a first choice halves partner for Mitchell Pearce, but once again, I don’t see how they can afford Farah’s services.
Judging by the way they brought Jackson Hastings through last season, the plan always seemed to be he was the obvious choice to take over from James Maloney.
Young Hastings performed extremely well in the absence of Mitchell Pearce, and looks at home in the first grade halves pairing.
If the club didn’t think he was a very important player going forward they would surely have gone with a more experienced player while their first choice halfback was on the injured list.
There were plenty of rumours around last season that clubs were interested in securing Hastings, but the Roosters were unwilling to entertain those potential suitors.
At 19 years of age he played 19 games of first grade, perhaps the Roosters are looking for more experience in the halves.
If that were the case, it would contradict every sign we have seen from the Roosters since James Maloney signed for the Sharks.
The move would is a head scratcher, without even reaching the fact that Farah is a specialist number nine, who is absolutely no guarantee to star in the halves.
He has played the very large majority of his Tigers career in the dummy half role, and hardly set the world on fire when he was asked to play in the halves.
Are the Roosters about to take a $900,000 gamble?
I don’t know where the link started, and I certainly don’t understand it.
The Knights and Titans still look like the only possible destination should the Farah/Tigers saga ever find a resolution.
Laurie Daley Promising Spots Is Dangerous Business
Most Origin players are not even back to pre-season training with their clubs, yet NSW Origin coach is already promising Origin jerseys for 2016.
I can’t believe Laurie Daley would be promising any player a role with the squad this far out, let alone a player who doesn’t even have a first grade position wrapped up for next season.
For those who missed it, Daley came out and said that Farah will be in the squad even if he were forced to play in NSW cup for the Tigers.
I’m a strong believer that unless your name is Thurston, Smith or Cronk that you have to earn your way into the side, and form should be a big part of that.
How can anyone possibly know what form Robbie Farah, or any player for that matter, will be in come Origin One?
Farah doesn’t even have a first grade spot wrapped up next season, and is currently involved with whatever the debacle at the Tigers and progressed too. Surely his mind is not on footy right now, let alone Origin footy.
What message does this send to Michael Ennis, Mitch Rein and the like?
Play as well as you can, but don’t get your hopes up re an Origin jersey next year unless Farah is injured?
I can appreciate Daley showing support for Farah, but Robbie is a very experienced player. He doesn’t need his hand held in this situation.
I’m not one for telling coaches how to do their job, but I wouldn’t be promising jerseys before pre-season has even begun.
A lot can happen between now and Origin One.
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