Sydney Roosters local junior Billy Smith remembers visiting a synagogue and meeting Rabbi Eli Schlanger last December. Less than a week later, Schlanger was one of 15 people killed in the Bondi Beach massacre.
The horrific events of December 14 have not been forgotten by Smith, or the Roosters players who would love nothing more than to win Sunday’s NRL premiership in the hope it will bring some joy to a community still reeling from the trauma of the mass shooting.
In a week when Newcastle are preparing to ride a groundswell of popular support, with thousands of their fans are expected to travel down the M1 to support their underdog team at Accor Stadium in Sunday’s grand final, the Roosters insist they are not without strong community backing.
Roosters players accept their own supporters might be outnumbered at Sunday’s grand final, but they also know their connection with their suburb has never been stronger.
“I live five minutes away from where it all happened,” Smith told this masthead. “I wasn’t there that day, but friends and family were on the beach.
“One of the Rabbis who was shot dead, we met four days earlier. It was really close to home. Bondi is the heartbeat of our club. It’s tough when something like that happens in your home.
“It’s sat with us all year. I know Newcastle are riding on a bit of a high at the moment, and their town is getting around them.
“But rugby league means a lot to the people of the eastern suburbs. It’s been a tough couple of years, and if we can repay our respects by winning on Sunday, it would be nice.
“You never rely on external motivation. Everything we’ve worked towards this year has all been internal. But things like that are bigger than football, and that event, as disastrous and tragic as it was, it does galvanise a community.
“Our job as the eastern suburbs footy team is to represent the community, and we’ll do it the best way possible on Sunday night and honour the people who were involved in that incident.”
The Roosters held as media event at the world-famous beach in the new year and to spread the message it was perfectly safe to return. There was also a touching tribute before their first home game against South Sydney in March.
Alex Ryvchin, the co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, who recently co-authored Bondi Terror: The Tragedy, The Courage, The Aftermath, applauded the Roosters for taking an active interest in the local Jewish community, even before the Chanukah by the Sea massacre.
“Sport is immensely powerful, it doesn’t have the power to bring back the dead, or heal wounds of that severity, but it has the ability to uplift, bring hope, and bring joy to people,” Ryvchin said.
“So many people in the local area and who were affected are die-hard Roosters fans, and they’ll certainly be cheering them on Sunday.
“It’s such a beautiful sentiment. They came to us to learn about our community, but we also learned about sport and rugby league and how a club isn’t just a collection of blokes playing footy on the weekend. They’re like us; they’re a community of people who care about each other and are bound together by something.
“Now our community and their community are one. That’s going to continue for a long time, and we hope they get the win on Sunday.”
Skipper James Tedesco visited a survivor from the Bondi shootings who had shrapnel in his eye, and remembers the joy the victim felt after being paid an impromptu visit.
Just as Tedesco looked out into a sea of Canberra green during the 2019 NRL decider, the Roosters captain is expecting a lot of love for Newcastle on Sunday.
“Everyone wants a different team to win a grand final – they don’t want us, or Penrith or the Storm to win a grand final,” Tedesco said.
“It’s pretty understandable, as players we get that – if you’re not supporting the Roosters, you want the Knights or someone else to win.
“Newcastle have a massive fan base and they love their footy. We have a great community as well. We’ve been through a lot the last year, and we want to represent them well.
“We’ve rallied around the community, I feel like we’ve really been involved in our community this year, and our fan base has been great. We know they’ll turn up for us, and that’s all that really matters.”
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