The Sydney Roosters hold both the NRL and NRLW crowns following a triumphant Grand Final day, but with stars galore saying goodbye, how long can they remain at the top of the pecking order?

“WE play for premierships.”

This is the mantra the Sydney Roosters have embraced under veteran chairman Nick Politis and trophy-hungry coaches Trent Robinson and John Strange.

And the motto rang true just after 10pm on Sunday, 4th October 2026, when James Tedesco and Isabelle Kelly clutched the NRL and NRLW silverware respectively.

The Roosters completed the double this year, after the women demolished the Broncos 30-6 and the men held off the plucky Knights 19-18.

It provided a perfect send-off for the long list of departing players in each dressing room, particularly the men.

Seven members of Robinson’s best 17 — Daly Cherry-Evans (Hull FC), Mark Nawaqanitawase (rugby union), Spencer Leniu (Parramatta), Connor Watson (St George Illawarra), Angus Crichton (rugby union), Daniel Tupou (retirement) and Fetalaiga ‘Junior’ Pauga (Hull FC) — are saying goodbye.

The looming exodus added a layer of urgency to the Roosters’ 2026 title tilt, as the perennial contenders hunted their first Provan-Summons trophy since 2019.

The Sydney club looked like premiership front-runners when they overcame Penrith in round 24.

But the wheels fell off in the last three weeks of the home-and-away campaign, falling to the Tigers, Dolphins and Rabbitohs.

Worse still, ace playmaker Sam Walker suffered what looked like a season-ending ankle injury against the Phins.

Robinson’s men lost no admirers in their tight defeat to the Panthers in the qualifying final, then swept aside Cronulla in a sudden-death semi-final.

Walker somehow returned from surgery in the commanding preliminary final defeat of the Dolphins to help book the Chooks’ place in the decider.

A rematch with Penrith looked all but certain when Phoenix Crossland was sent off for breaking Nathan Cleary’s leg in the other prelim.

But the 12 men of Newcastle somehow conjured one of the biggest upsets in memory to clinch a first Grand Final berth in 25 years.

The Novocastrians almost came up with another miracle against the Roosters.

But the boot of Cherry-Evans — which supplied two tries and the decisive field goal — banked the win for Goliath over David.

In his last match down under before moving to Humberside, the 37-year-old finished his NRL career the same way he started it with Manly way back in 2011: with a premiership.

Even one-eyed Roosters fans would have to admit this wasn’t a popular result.

The Knights’ fairytale run from wooden spooners to Grand Finalists under new coach Justin Holbrook commanded all the spotlight in the build-up to the decider.

The match pitted the working-class mining town of Newcastle against the well-heeled Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, a young group of relative unknowns against a squad of superstars, and a club that’s won five titles since the other claimed their last.

If any neutral wasn’t already supporting the underdogs by kick-off, the Knights’ backs-against-the-wall defensive effort to somehow hang in the contest despite a dearth of possession and territory won them over.

Ultimately, the Tricolours’ talent won out.

Naysayers label the Roosters a transit lounge, joking their greatest weapon is Politis’ chequebook.

Under Robinson, the signature of Sonny Bill Williams helped them land the 2013 crown, then Cooper Cronk’s arrival delivered back-to-back success in 2018-19.

This year, Cherry-Evans’ one-year cameo was vital. North Queensland recruit Reece Robson also excelled at hooker, and rugby union superstar Nawaqanitawase added star power on the wing.

Rival supporters will accuse the Roosters of buying their success.

But Chooks fans won’t care. They’ve got a 16th premiership sitting in their trophy cabinet.

The seven key departures — offset only by the arrival of Reuben Garrick from Manly — make a 17th in 2027 feel unlikely.

So much hinges on the retention of 24-year-old half-back Sam Walker, who’s contracted until the end of 2027 and failed to agree the club-record offer put in front of him.

With the Papua New Guinea Chiefs yet to sign a number seven and the salary cap expanding in 2028, Robinson will be sweating on Walker’s signature.

On the women’s side, the Roosters’ Grand Final victory over the Broncos secures a perfect season at the second time of asking.

John Strange’s outfit won all 11 games in 2025 to finish top of the ladder, before Brisbane dashed their hopes of an unbeaten premiership thanks to a controversial Male Hufanga try late in the Grand Final.

The 2026 decider presented an opportunity for revenge and they took it ruthlessly.

The Tricolours posted six tries in the first half, then winger Brydie Parker completed her hat-trick in the second to stroll to a 30-6 win.

The win made it three premierships in six seasons under Strange.

Like their men’s team, the Roosters women boast stars across the park.

They contribute eight of Jess Skinner’s 23-player Jillaroos squad for the World Cup: captain Isabelle Kelly plus Tarryn Aiken, Millie Elliott, Jocelyn Kelleher, Olivia Kernick, Keeley Nizza, Sariah Paki and Jessica Sergis.

Not to mention England’s Jasmin Strange, Samoa’s Amber Hall, Fiji’s Taina Naividi and New Zealand’s Otesa Pule.

Key to their success this year was the halves pairing of Kelleher and Aiken.

Aiken — who won back-to-back titles as a rookie at Brisbane — tore her ACL on the eve of last year’s finals, ruling her out of the heartbreaking loss in the decider.

The 2026 play-offs were a different story, with Aiken starring during her club’s run to the silverware.

Stand-off Kelleher — who’s played her whole career in red, white and blue — emerged as one of the premier playmakers in the women’s game in 2026, particularly with the boot.

She wore the number six jumper in New South Wales’ clean sweep of the State of Origin series, steered her club to a premiership and was rewarded with a maiden Australia call-up for the World Cup.

The Grand Final was a fitting farewell to gun duo Corban Baxter and Millie Elliott, who are retiring at the end of the 2026 campaign.

The pair leave a sizeable hole on Strange’s team sheet, but having lost just once in the last two years, no one would suggest the Roosters will be knocked too far off their perch in 2027.

First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 526 (November 2026)