Building The Best We’ve Ever Seen: Foundation Funding Future Of The Roosters

A lot has been made of the on-field success of the crop of Sydney Roosters rookies who are lighting up the NRL competition week after week in 2025.

However, what is less known, is that the much-vaunted Sydney Roosters Academy has been entirely funded through donations to the Sydney Roosters Foundation from the most passionate of Roosters supporters.

In 2020, on the back of a pre-season trip to the La Masia Academy of FC Barcelona, Roosters Chairman Nick Polits had a vision.

He had seen the La Masia walls adorned with tales of Academy graduates passing through the system from a very young age and given all the on and off field support needed to become an FC Barcelona First Team player.

Global superstars of the sport such as Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol and Pique are just some of the names to have all come through La Masia together, and subsequently collect every trophy on offer across Spain and Europe.

The strike rate for success at La Masia is incredible.

Although not on the same scale as FC Barcelona, the need for the Sydney Roosters to recruit highly talented players to the Club at a young age is strikingly similar. A need that is far more relevant to the Roosters than the vast majority of it’s competitors in the NRL.

Throughout the years, some of the best ever Roosters have come from areas such as Country NSW, Queensland and New Zealand and migrated at a young age to play for the Club in junior representative competitions.

What the Barcelona trip highlighted was that perhaps not enough was being done to support and develop these players that land in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney at a young age.

Perhaps there was a need for a greater support system that would ensure we are not only producing quality players but quality people.

A support system that meant these players are ready to go from game 1 of their First Grade careers and ready to become long-standing Roosters players.

What has transpired since that pre season trip in 2020 is nothing short of astonishing.

The Club purchased a block of units in Kingsford for Academy players to live in, with house parents employed to teach them necessary life skills for first time living out of home.

Upon their retirements, Mitchell Aubusson and Jake Friend were appointed to build the Academy, to design and implement the training programs, and of course take charge of who is selected to be a part of the program.

Of the initial 10 players to enter the Academy Units, 5 have already made their NRL debut with the Roosters – an incredible strike rate.

There have been 7 debutants in total from the Academy program, and one of those, Robert Toia, was selected to represent Queensland in State of Origin after just 10 games at the first grade level.

It is not only the fact that these boys have made their debut for the Club, it is the way that they are contributing that has impressed, and maybe surprised, even the biggest of believers in what the Academy program might become.

Academy players are now forming a trusted nucleus of the first grade team, with trust also built amongst the group through years of living and training together, allowing them to capture their moment when it comes.

To create something like this and see results so quickly is a unique accomplishment and also unique is the means in which it has been funded.

From the very beginning, the Sydney Roosters Academy has only been able to exist through the commitment and generosity of the most passionate of Roosters people.

Working in conjunction with the Australian Sports Foundation, the Club established the Sydney Roosters Foundation – a functional body within the Club designed to raise funds for the on and off field success of the Sydney Roosters Club.

Since it’s inception in 2021, the Sydney Roosters Foundation has raised millions in funding, to establish, and run the Sydney Roosters Academy in it’s entirety.

Key elements of developmental benefits include house parents and welfare support, expert coaching and analysis from some of the greats of the game, educational opportunities,  Academy administration and leadership, elite training programs, physiotherapy and medical support as well as food and nutritional advice.

All with the aim of ensuring that, when these players arrive at the Club, they are supported in a way that will give them every opportunity to live out their NRL dreams with the Sydney Roosters.

With the continued support of the Sydney Roosters Foundation, the Academy is poised to produce more NRL talent, ensuring the future success of the Roosters both on and off the field.

As the Academy continues to grow, it remains a testament to the Roosters' commitment to developing elite junior talent and maintaining a strong presence in the NRL for years to come.

For more information, or if you would like to get involved in the Sydney Roosters Foundation, email foundation@sydneyroosters.com.au