The clearest sign the Roosters partied deep into Sunday night after their grand final triumph over Newcastle came from playmaker Daly Cherry-Evans just after 10am on Monday, in front of a few thousand fans at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
“Thank you very much for everyone supporting tonight,” Cherry-Evans said from behind dark sunglasses. “We’ll see you in the Clovelly [hotel] soon.”
In Cherry-Evans’ mind, the magic of Sunday night hadn’t quite ended.
Fronting up for a grand final takes little motivation, but plenty of resilience was shown by Roosters players – male and female – after their dual premiership wins at Accor Stadium on Sunday.
A public holiday in Sydney gave several thousand Roosters supporters the chance to descend on Moore Park and catch a glimpse of players looking a little the worse for wear. Late on Sunday night, they’d rolled into the Eastern Suburbs Leagues Club after starting celebrations at the ground.
Soon-to-be Waratah Angus Crichton, who was filmed wearing a rooster mask at one point during the night, fronted up with an alcoholic Hard Rated drink in his hand and premiership rings on his fingers. He wasn’t the only one.
Roosters enforcer Lindsay Collins was still sporting his jersey from the previous evening as he sipped Japanese lager in the sun alongside his teammates.
Some players still had ski goggles hanging around their necks.
Mark Nawaqanitawase took the microphone and thanked fans for their support during his memorable two-year journey at the Roosters ahead of a stint in Japanese rugby in 2027 and 2028.
“See you in 2028,” yelled one fan, as another implored the try-scoring machine to “come back” to the club.
“Ask Robbo,” Nawaqanitawase replied.
While the turnout wasn’t quite what it would have been in Newcastle had the Knights made the most of a 12-point first-half lead, the Roosters faithful were delighted by the players’ efforts to show their faces.
Women’s coach John Strange, operating on zero sleep, happily obliged when asked for an impromptu breakdance on stage, while Trent Robinson was less forthcoming but eventually got into the spirit with a five-second demonstration of his best moves before exiting stage left.
From there, both teams boarded a private double-decker bus normally reserved for tourists, with no signs of the party slowing down.
With cars and motorbikes beeping their horns and onlookers trying to catch a glimpse of their heroes, the bus travelled down Anzac Parade before turning right onto Moore Park Road and passing the Roosters’ home ground, Allianz Stadium.
Nawaqanitawase, on the top deck of the open-air bus, stood up at one point and was nearly collected by an overhanging tree. Some players waved regally to those at street level.
The bus zigzagged its way through the eastern suburbs and into Bondi for what was expected to be further celebrations of the club’s first NRL title since 2019 and third NRLW premiership in six seasons.
There will be player movement at the Roosters in the coming months, which is why this party will be one to savour. Men’s players Nawaqanitawase and Crichton are off to rugby, Cherry-Evans is heading to English Super League and Connor Watson will join the Dragons. In the women’s team, Millie Elliott and Corban Baxter are both now officially retired from the NRLW competition.
Spencer Leniu has also most likely played his last game for the club, with Parramatta flagged as his next destination.
For one last day, though, the premiership band was still together – and nobody seemed in any hurry for this party to end.
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Tom Decent is the chief sports writer for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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