{"id":393948,"date":"2024-05-15T04:42:48","date_gmt":"2024-05-15T04:42:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=393948"},"modified":"2024-05-15T05:04:42","modified_gmt":"2024-05-15T05:04:42","slug":"consequences-of-fifita-circus-for-scorned-roosters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=393948","title":{"rendered":"Consequences of Fifita 'circus' for scorned Roosters"},"content":{"rendered":"

David Fifita<\/a> put forth a late audition for Australian athletics' Olympics team by performing the best backflip seen in rugby league since Daly Cherry-Evans<\/a> scorned the Titans nine years ago.<\/p>\n

The powerhouse State of Origin forward walked back on a deal to join the Roosters<\/a> on Wednesday, and instead agreed to stick with Gold Coast for a further two years.<\/p>\n

The bombshell turnaround has left the Chooks fuming – and rightfully so.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Roosters fume as Fifita backflips on $3.3m deal<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> 'Cashed-up' club chasing in-demand cult hero<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Prized Schumacher items sold for eyewatering price<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The club had already made moves in regards to Sitili Tupouniua\ufeff, reportedly giving the back-rower permission to negotiate for 2025 and beyond.<\/p>\n

And then there's Angus Crichton<\/a>, who clearly had his nose out of joint after the Roosters signed Fifita on a huge deal, despite his own form placing him in NSW contention.\ufeff<\/p>\n

It now leaves the Bondi-based outfit with egg on their face and facing plenty of huge decisions and question marks, while Fifita remains on the glitter strip for 2025 and 2026.<\/p>\n

IS THE DOOR STILL OPEN FOR FIFITA AT BONDI?<\/h3>\n

Short answer? No – not in this lifetime.<\/p>\n

Roosters chairman Nick Politis<\/a> is one of the most powerful men in rugby league and he's also a no-nonsense operator.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

He famously doesn't react well to being jilted or messed around. The club statement on Wednesday hinted at how filthy the club was at Fifita, despite wishing him well.<\/p>\n

It's well known Politis hasn't spoken to Wayne Bennett since the great coach reneged on a handshake deal to join the club in 2005.\ufeff<\/p>\n

That's two decades without a word shared between two of the game's biggest figures.<\/p>\n

So if you think Politis will forgive Fifita any time soon, you're sorely mistaken.\ufeff<\/p>\n

CAN THEY KEEP ANGUS CRICHTON?<\/h3>\n

The pursuit of Fifita raised plenty of eyebrows \ufeffin the first place – none moreso than those of Phil Gould<\/a>, who questioned why the Roosters needed the explosive back-rower.<\/p>\n

The club already have the aforementioned Tupouniua, Nat and Egan Butcher and Siua Wong signed for several more years\ufeff – not to mention Crichton, who is still unsigned.<\/p>\n

\"Angus<\/p>\n

Fifita's deal looked certain to push Crichton out of the club, just as he had regained the form that saw him represent the Blues and Kangaroos two years ago.<\/p>\n

Crichton's $600,000-a-year contract \ufeffis expiring in October and reports claimed he may have had offers from Rugby Australia and South Sydney at a minimum.<\/p>\n

The 28-year-old publicly expressed his dismay that "no one has talked to me" about the Fifita signing<\/a>, and several teammates on Tuesday expressed a desire for the club to re-sign Crichton.<\/p>\n

\ufeffThe Chooks will surely now put a deal in front of the star who has rediscovered a home on the team's left edge this season.<\/p>\n

\ufeffAnd no one could blame Crichton – who is all but assured a spot in the Blues lineup for State of Origin – for demanding the $850,000-a-year Fifita was going to pocket.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/mrchrisnico\/status\/1790521356272259101?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw<\/a><\/p>\n

H\ufeffOW WILL ROOSTERS USE THE MONEY?<\/h3>\n

As mentioned above, the club may just put the $3.3m Fifita contract in front of Crichton and hope it smooths over any ill feeling between the parties.<\/p>\n

But the Tricolours still have buckets of money going forward thanks to the looming exits of a number of big-money stars.<\/p>\n

\"Joseph<\/p>\n

High-paid centres Joseph Suaalii and Joey Manu are both jumping ship to rugby, while halfback Luke Keary and prop Jared Waerea-Hargreaves are retiring.<\/p>\n

The club has been busy combing through the NRL marketplace in recent times, too.<\/p>\n

They narrowly missed out on the signature of veteran Knights centre Dane Gagai last week, while fresh reports have linked superstar Newcastle fullback Kalyn Ponga to a move south after some recent dramas involving his deal at the Knights.<\/p>\n

\ufeffBlaize Talagi<\/a> is another player who will be in high-demand after turning down a player option to remain with the Eels for 2025, placing him firmly on the open market.<\/p>\n

\"Blaize<\/p>\n

The teenager's early glimpses in the top grade could have Roosters officials excited, as well as Talagi's ability to cover a number of backline positions.<\/p>\n

The lack of quality middle-forwards available for next season, as well as the emergence of Terrell May and Naufahu Whyte, could see the Chooks opt against signing a prop to replace Waerea-Hargreaves. \ufeff<\/p>\n

While the departures of the high-profile quartet listed above will see plenty of money available to spend immediately, Trent Robinson and the club's powerbrokers may opt to wait until November 1 and attempt to find marquee names for the long-term. \ufeff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

David Fifita put forth a late audition for Australian athletics' Olympics team by performing the best backflip seen in rugby league since Daly Cherry-Evans scorned […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":393950,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393948"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=393948"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393948\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":393953,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393948\/revisions\/393953"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/393950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=393948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=393948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=393948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}