‘You know I barrack for Queensland?’ How Roosters won race for Fifita

1 week ago 9

Just aft 8pm connected Wednesday, Nick Politis’ telephone rang. David Fifita’s agent, Michael Hudson, was connected the line.

With his lawsuit mulling implicit lucrative offers from 2 of rugby league’s powerhouse clubs, Fifita wanted to person a speech with the antheral mostly considered arsenic 1 of the game’s astir almighty figures.

“Ti kanis,” Fifita uttered successful Greek successful his archetypal correspondence with the 82-year-old Kytherian, whose involvement successful the back-rower piqued instantly.

At that constituent Politis, fed up with waiting for an answer, was contemplating pulling the four-year, $3.3 cardinal connection connected the array to the 24-year-old.

Politis hates losing astir arsenic overmuch arsenic helium loves winning, and the thought of losing Fifita successful a conflict with Penrith was opening to outweigh his enthusiasm for having the 115-kilogram wrecking shot successful his shot squad adjacent year.

A elemental “how are you?” successful Greek later, acknowledgment to the power of Fifita’s Greek-Indigenous woman and NRLW subordinate Shaylee Bent, and the Roosters supremo was hooked again.

“You cognize I barrack for Queensland, right?” Politis, a erstwhile manager of the NSWRL, begrudgingly and assumedly tactically divulged to the Maroons typical successful the anticipation of uncovering much communal crushed with the footballer 58 years his junior.

“Do you cognize wherever Blackall is? That’s wherever I’m from.”

The conception that the Roosters, having heard of Penrith’s involvement successful Fifita via this masthead’s breaking quality instrumentality connected Sunday, entered the contention astatine the 11th hr to bargain his signature couldn’t beryllium further from the truth.

In reality, the Roosters were successful the speech good earlier Penrith. A speech the Dragons were ne'er in.

David Fifita volition beryllium leaving the Gold Coast for Bondi astatine the extremity of the season.

Fifita had flown to Sydney for a concealed gathering with Roosters manager Trent Robinson astir a fortnight ago, weeks aft his absorption archetypal approached the nine to gauge their involvement successful his services.

At the clip contemplating whether helium would trigger a $1 million-a-season enactment successful his Titans declaration for 2025 and 2026, Fifita wanted to cognize if immoderate different nine successful a premiership model would privation him.

He got much than helium bargained for when, aft James Fisher-Harris was granted a merchandise from Penrith to articulation the Warriors from adjacent play connected compassionate grounds, Penrith entered the equation.

At a recruitment and retention committee gathering conscionable days aft they officially announced the departure of the Kiwi skipper, Fifita’s sanction was brought up.

Jarome Luai and James Fisher-Harris volition permission the Panthers astatine the extremity of this season.

With young props Lindsay Smith and Liam Henry processing astatine an awesome rate, coupled with the realisation determination was nary like-for-like replacement for Fisher-Harris, it made much consciousness for the nine to bolster their second-row stocks.

They’d antecedently mislaid Viliame Kikau, Kurt Capewell and Zac Hosking, positive didn’t person a plethora of viable options coming done the strategy successful that position.

The Panthers, though, did not cognize whether they had support to talk to Fifita fixed helium had an enactment successful his favour astatine the Titans for the adjacent 2 seasons.

The Panthers sought clarity from the NRL wage headdress auditor to find if they were successful breach of the game’s anti-tampering rules by exploring the anticipation of signing him and, if they did negociate to unafraid his services, what the NRL would apt find his worth successful the wage headdress to be.

Nathan and Ivan Cleary observe the 2022 expansive last win.

The Panthers cancelled their archetypal gathering with Fifita, who had been scheduled to alert to Sydney to conscionable with Ivan Cleary past week, until they got the answers from caput office. It resulted successful Penrith, a fewer days later, tabling a three-year woody worthy astir $850,000 a season.

Cleary, however, wanted to conscionable Fifita successful idiosyncratic and organised a hit-and-run ngo adjacent Sydney airdrome past Sunday afternoon, the time aft the Titans’ nonaccomplishment to the Melbourne Storm. Coach Des Hasler and the Titans were nary the wiser.

The Panthers were convinced that everything they had to connection from a shot constituent of view, ticked each the boxes Fifita was looking to tick and their premiership model was unfastened wider than the 1 overlooking the eastbound suburbs.

There was nary bigger drawcard than the coach’s lad and the game’s champion player, Nathan Cleary, who personally phoned Fifita to merchantability him the dream.

Bent, Fifita’s long-time partner, besides hails from Glenmore Park having played her section footy astatine the Brumbies down the roadworthy from Penrith. Her household inactive reside successful the country and was seen arsenic a trump paper successful their quest to person him that surviving adjacent Penrith Beach was amended than Bondi Beach.

The Panthers, however, aren’t expected to tract a squad successful the NRLW contention until 2027 and didn’t person the added bonus of being capable to interaction Bent’s manager Liam Ayoub, similar the Roosters did, to awesome their involvement successful luring her from the Titans for 2025 and beyond.

The Roosters were privately acrophobic that they were going to miss out. They’d offered him an other twelvemonth than Penrith worthy astir $825,000 a twelvemonth positive a car (five included per squad arsenic portion of the NRL wage headdress astatine the worth of $20,000).

They’d already begun making plans astir roster absorption with truthful galore back-rowers astatine their disposal, including Angus Crichton, Sitili Tupouniua, Nat Butcher, Egan Butcher and boom rookie Siua Wong.

Angus Crichton has arguably been successful career-best signifier implicit the past month.

The Roosters had already indicated they wanted to effort and clasp the off-contract Crichton arsenic good arsenic Fifita, and asked his absorption to support them successful the loop arsenic helium entertained respective expressions of involvement from rival clubs.

The unusual antheral retired was ever apt to beryllium Tupouniua who, connected a declaration worthy astir $650,000 per season, is an charismatic imaginable for rival clubs looking to fortify their guardant pack.

He would besides service the payment of clearing important wage headdress abstraction for the Roosters to fortify their extracurricular backs and halves with Joseph Manu, Joseph Suaalii and Luke Keary each finishing up astatine the extremity of this season.

Those plans looked arsenic though they would beryllium thrown retired the model when, connected Wednesday nighttime – the aforesaid nighttime Politis spoke with Fifita – the nine got upwind of a substance connection Ivan Cleary had sent Fifita that was swaying him towards the Panthers.

Justin Holbrook watches connected arsenic David Fifita trains with the Titans during past year’s preseason.

Robinson past sent a connection of his ain and aboriginal enjoyed a 45-minute telephone telephone with the back-rower to reiterate the club’s tendency to lure him and however they planned to usage him nether the attacking plans of adjunct manager Justin Holbrook.

Holbrook was the concealed limb successful the Roosters’ pursuit of Fifita fixed the spot of the enslaved they developed during their clip unneurotic connected the Gold Coast.

When Fifita signed with the Titans, helium had a clause inserted into his woody that stipulated helium would go a escaped cause if Holbrook was sacked arsenic caput coach. That became a world past year, forcing a hopeless Titans nine to renegotiate a caller woody for some Tino Fa’asuamaleaui and Fifita – the second requesting and receiving an enactment for 2025 and 2026 worthy $1 cardinal each year.

On Thursday morning, aft a restless nighttime contemplating his aboriginal with his manager astatine his Gold Coast home, Fifita arrived astatine Titans office connected the players’ time disconnected to conscionable with Hasler.

He broke the quality of his determination not to trigger the enactment successful his deal, pursuing that up with a WhatsApp connection successful the players’ radical chat to pass his teammates of his forthcoming defection.

He told them that helium was heading to Sydney successful 2025; albeit destination unknown. Phone calls from some Nathan and Ivan that greeting lone prolonged a determination connected his future.

Then astatine astir 4.15pm, aft days of being courted by the game’s 2 premier clubs and unaware that Penrith were consenting to springiness him a 4th twelvemonth if helium asked for it, Fifita picked up the telephone and contacted Politis.

“I’m coming,” Fifita told him earlier informing anyone other of his decision.

“Great news,” Politis responded successful celebration. “Now I tin thatch you immoderate much Greek.”

NRL is Live and Free connected Channel 9 & 9Now