‘Beautiful’ twist after Roosters coach’s selfless premiership gesture
Trent Robinson received plenty of praise for giving his NRL premiership ring to Roosters star Connor Watson after Sunday night’s grand final, but there’s been a touching twist in the story – and it’s all thanks to Peter V’landys.
The four-time premiership-winning coach made the selfless gesture in the moments after the 19-18 win over Newcastle, giving his own piece of silverware to Watson, who was ruled out of the decider due to concussion.
Connor Watson with his premiership ring. iPhone/Liam O'Loughlin
Watson fought hard to get cleared for the grand final, in what would have been his final game for the Roosters before moving to the Dragons next year and the PNG Chiefs for their inaugural 2028 campaign.
The 30-year-old was emotional when speaking to nine.com.au after the match and explained his gratitude towards Robinson, who he said didn’t have to give up his own part of the premiership triumph but did it anyway.
All is well that ends well however, with Robinson telling 9News Sydney on Tuesday that NRL executive chairman V’landys had already prepared for the situation.
“I knew it was his ring, but later that night, Peter and the NRL knew what he’d gone through and gave me a ring to give to him a couple of hours later,” he said.
“I didn’t know that, but they’d already made a No.14 up. That was a beautiful gift.”
It meant that all 19 players – including unused substitutes Hugo Savala, Benaiah Ioelu and Cody Ramsey – plus both Robinson and Watson got their ring.
For the long-time coach, who has now won four grand finals from as many attempts since arriving at Bondi in 2013, the fuel is still there to continue.
“I love this place, that’s why I’ve got the fire,” Robinson said.
“I don’t know how long, but I’ll be doing it again next year and we’ll be coming up with different reasons, because every year has a different personality.
“The fire is still there. It is [stressful] but it’s a gift as well. To walk in and spend time with players and staff every day, it gives you so much energy.”
Robinson acknowledged that while the lead-up to the grand final was all about Newcastle’s incredible rise, the Roosters had their own story and motivation stemming from the horrific terror attack last December.
Players were all given a jar of sand from Bondi Beach to sprinkle around the turf at Accor Stadium at their final training session before the Knights clash.
“That week should have been built up around what they [Newcastle] did, coming from last to the grand final – it’s just we had our story as well,” Robinson said.
“It wasn’t as loud and that’s fine, but it was for us. That story was pretty loud within our own walls and our own community.
Roosters players and staff at the Bondi memorial. Nine
“December 14 was really impactful for the wrong reasons on our community, we’re part of that community and we felt that deeply. It formed a big part of the why for this year for us - starting with Bondi, our heart and soul.
“We just wrote on a jar a little thanks to the people we were gonna play for and the people that had carried us there, it was a bit of a dedication to them.
“We went and put it on the areas of the field that you were gonna stand and need their help - it was nice for us to do that.”
