Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson revealed he “had a bit of a chuckle” to himself when he received news of David Fifita’s stunning backflip to remain with the Gold Coast Titans.
Fifita was all set to join the Roosters in 2025 on a $3.3 million, four-year deal after he exercised a clause in his contract which allowed him to become a free agent at the end of the 2024 season.
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However, the Gold Coast forward sent shockwaves through the NRL when the club announced Fifita had reneged on his agreement with the Roosters and elected to take up his player option to remain with the Titans until the end of 2026.
“I woke up and saw the text from the night before and thought, ‘Oh well, that’s footy’, and moved on,” Robinson said.
“It was pretty simple. I had a bit of a chuckle to myself on the circus that our game is and went back to work and got on with tomorrow night.”
Robinson, who got “a little bit of a feeling” Fifita had gained cold feet on the deal early in the week, ultimately felt the reversal was the best thing for the club.
“Yeah, it’s always disappointing but when that happens, you know it wasn’t right,” Robinson said.
“So you just end up going, ‘OK, well that wasn’t meant to be.’ Therefore it was the better position for us to be in, him not coming.”
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The Roosters coach also revealed Fifita had not phoned him to explain why he elected to stay with the Titans, nor does he expect a call any time soon.
Robinson also addressed the comments of Roosters star Angus Crichton, who initially declared he “doesn’t want to be sitting behind anyone” and would “definitely look” for an opportunity elsewhere that made sense.
However, now that Fifita has slammed the door shut on a Roosters move, it allows the Bondi club to throw more money at retaining the forward.
Even though Robinson conceded the Fifita saga had been a “distraction” within the club and sparked Crichton’s comments, he was happy his star man had such an explosive reaction.
“We’ve had a chat about that and I understand you want guys that are passionate about the way they feel about those moments, and want to play for the club and want to be here,” Robinson said.
“You want that sort of reaction.”
Robinson and the Roosters will look to put the wild week behind them as they take on the high-flying Sharks at 5:30pm on Saturday.
Source Agencies
