The news of David Fifita backflipping on his deal with the Roosters to instead trigger his player option and remain with the Titans for 2025 and 2026 shocked the NRL world, with Fox League’s James Hooper accusing the Gold Coast star of “taking the piss”.
The Roosters pulled their four-year, $3.3 million deal to Fifita early on Wednesday morning after to a 10pm phone call the night before from the Titans forward to Roosters kingpin Nick Politis, where Fifita expressed trepidation and uncertainty about the move to the Bondi-based club from next year.
Hooper revealed just what went down and the train of thought between the two parties in the lead up to Politis and the Roosters pulling the rich deal off the table.
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“It was a late night phone call from David Fifita’s management to Roosters kingpin Nick Politis. It came through at about 10pm last night,” Hooper said on NRL360.
“I’m sure in the aftermath from it, Uncle Nick probably dropped the phone when he heard the news that Dave Fifita had been wavering a little bit and the Gold Coast had dropped the weights on and were beginning to apply pressure. Des Hasler had been at his negotiating finest. And Uncle Nick said, OK, all right, I’ll go to bed, let me sleep on it.
“I’m tipping Nick Politis didn’t have a lot of sleep last night … Knowing the businessman he is, he doesn’t want a player at his club who isn’t 100% committed and doesn’t want to be a Rooster so he picked the phone up at 5:30am this morning and said pull the deal, all bets are off.
“Nick’s jumped the gun. He’s decided, you know what, if this guy is having second thoughts now, what’s going to happen next year when he comes down and he’s the star signing and then after a couple of games he thinks he’s home sick … so he’s called his bluff and pulled the deal.”
The Daily Telegraph’s Dean Ritchie said the wheels for Fifita’s backflip were put in motion not long after news broke of the Queensland rep’s decision to link up with the Roosters last Thursday.
“This started about four days ago. Des and Fifita spoke, it grew legs from there. They went to an off-site cafe. Des then brought Steve Mitchell in, the CEO of the Titans,” Dean Ritchie.
“Remember, last week, Des was very coy in that press conference. He was very cordial towards Fifita … Looking back now, Des hasn’t given up hope. He was still convinced he could keep him.”
NRL360 host Braith Anasta wanted to dive a little deeper into why Fifita would notify the Roosters of his interest on his own volition only to ultimately leave them in the dark.
The Roosters and Panthers had both met with Fifita in the lead up to his decision, and after he didn’t elect to trigger his option with the Titans by last Thursday’s deadline, it appeared the Roosters and Panthers were the two clubs in the running.
Fifita then picked the Tricolours over the defending champions.
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“So David’s rung Nick up and said I’m coming to the Roosters and then he’s backflipped?” Anasta asked.
“I find it highly disrespectful that last week David Fifita picks up the phone and is speaking in Greek, he’s ingratiating himself, he’s virtually playing footsies with him under the table with him, right?” Hooper said.
“Then he spends 45 minutes on the phone with Robbo (Roosters coach Trent Robinson) and they go over a variety of things and how everything would piece together in terms of the Roosters’ attacking and defensive puzzle.
“Then he rings Uncle Nick the next day, and when he answers, Fifita says ‘I’m yours. I want to be a Rooster’.”
Ritchie added: “I mean, no-one treats the Roosters nor Nick Pilatwith such disdain. Let’s be honest, this is tantamount to a slap in the face for the Roosters.
“Very few do it to Nick Politus. Given the esteem he has held in this game.
“He’s (Fifita) talking about family. I want to stay up near my family. He’s reconnected with his dad, his mum and grandmother are close. He lives with his girlfriend, but at the same time, he agreed to go last week and his family still lived on the Gold Coast.
“It’s very confusing.”
James Graham wondered what “new information came to light” to make Fifita want to change his mind, to which Hooper had a theory.
“I think on that Jimmy, I think the biggest issue Dave has is whoever the most recent person that he had a conversation with has the most influential and loudest voice,” Hooper opined.
“When he was dealing with Uncle Nick and the Roosters last week, he was all in at the Roosters.
“Penrith thought the same thing, to the point where Ivan was still sending text messages to him, even after he had agreed that he was going to go, I think it was the night before that he was going to go and join the Roosters.
“I think David Fifita, the way he’s conducted himself, he’s taking the piss.
“You can’t carry on like that in the modern world. Elite football is serious business these days. It’s a billion dollar game, and I just think he’s done himself a real disservice.”
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Ritchie also revealed that Fifita’s management preferred their client to take the deal with the Roosters despite a pay packet worth $150,000 less per season.
“I was told also, Hoops, and you may back me up here, that his management team wanted to send him to the Roosters,” Ritchie said.
“They’d made a deal, they wanted to honour that commitment to Nick Politis, because Nick is held so highly, but David went against that and said no, I’m now staying.”
“Yeah, you’re spot on, Bulldog,” Hooper replied.
“He started to waver, and then that’s how we’ve landed, where we’ve landed.”
Source Agencies
