Chris Anderson Quits Roosters

Sydney City Roosters head coach Chris Anderson has fallen on his sword, or may have been pushed by Roosters power broker Nick Politis tonight as the turmoil continues at the inner city NRL club. Anderson has himself cited medical reasons for his departure; stress and the need for a younger coach at the helm.

Anderson was apparently bed ridden the day after the heavy loss to Manly and after previous heart problems in 2001 did not want to continue on the current path.

Former Roosters playmaker and current trainer - Brad Fittler will takeover as head coach for the remainder of the 2007 NRL season. NRLnews.com hinted at Fittler taking over some weeks ago at the Roosters and it seems the mail was right on the money.

The horror loss to Manly on the weekend was the straw that broke the back of Anderson, the 2-time premiership winning coach was always going to be a target from here on in. Sources began fueling the fire, suggesting Anderson may be past his prime and may not have the touch to rebuild the young and shattered Roosters.

While Politis and the Roosters try to get some creditability back at Bondi, one person sitting back in amusement would be Ricky Stuart. The former head Rooster was sacked last year after poor results and was left in the cold after previously taking the Roosters to a premiership in 2002. Stuart eventually finding a happy home at the helm of the Cronulla Sharks and putting together some impressive results and has seemingly improved an NRL side with limited big names in the roster during 2007.

It will be interesting to see the change if any in the Roosters playing style with Freddy Fittler at the helm, one would imagine some Phil Gould influence would be a part of the Fittler coaching mold - purely through time the two have spent together in NRL circles - we may even see visits and coaching tips from the experienced Gus Gould at Roosters sessions.

Another party that would be happy about the Rooster headline would be the Parramatta Eels. The woeful Eels would be happy to have media attention diverted from them after a poor showing against the Knights in Monday night football.