It’s true: while Robinson holds Yoda-like reverence among his players and staff, he’s disliked by several other coaches. There’s a perception of arrogance, borne out of the haughty way he speaks in off-season coaches’ meetings and post-match media conferences. Rival coaches – and, to be frank, the media – grow tired of his mind games around team selections. Before Anzac Day, he insisted Latrell Mitchell would play in the halves. Then he picked Lachlan Lam. There was similar subterfuge around Cooper Cronk and his broken shoulder blade before last year’s grand final. Robinson and his grand final combatant, Canberra’s Ricky Stuart, have engaged in some notable tongue-fu fighting over the years, most recently over the Raiders’ “peel strip” tactic.

The Roosters coach whinged about it despite beating the Raiders in early August. Stuart handed him a tissue. He’s not particularly respected at Redfern either after offering this following the 30-6 public flogging of Souths in the first week of the finals: “Why didn’t we have 50-0? Come on.” That bemused the Rabbitohs but Robinson’s players knew he wasn’t twisting the knife into the arch rival. He meant it. “When we came in after that match, we were all happy about the performance,” captain Boyd Cordner says. “Robbo was straight into where we could be better. … And we knew that, too. When things are going so well, it’s easy to skip over the things that aren’t.” Robinson is different. He speaks fluent French at home, having coached two seasons at Catalans Dragons in 2011-12. He’s a football intellect who his players to a man describe as “the smartest person I know”. He approaches footy a little differently.

Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video There’s much to admire. Earlier this season, when Mitchell – a proud Indigenous man – started calling out racist on-line trolling, Robinson came out swinging for him straight away. He didn’t tell him to put his phone away. Other coaches wouldn’t offer that support behind closed doors. They’d abhor the distraction and tell Mitchell to concentrate on football. “His best trait,” offers Cronk, “is he does the right thing by his players and football club over winning and losing, and I don’t think too many coaches do that. There’s a lot of pressure around losing these days, but Robbo makes the right decisions by his players by dealing with players first, winning second.” But he’s a coach and wants to win and now has the Roosters poised to become the first back-to-back premiers since the Brisbane Broncos of 1992-93.

Following last year’s grand final win, he fronted the board and admitted the season he regretted most was 2014 – the year after he steered the Roosters to a premiership in his first season after taking over from Brian Smith, the greatest influence on his career. He felt a genuine opportunity was missed to defend their title because he’d approached that season in exactly the same manner as the previous season. “This year has been themed up around it being a new mountain to climb,” five-eighth Luke Keary says. “You won’t feel the same, don’t try to make it the same, don’t try to recreate.” Instead, Robinson identified the need to manage this season like he’s at the helm of an English Premier League side, which plays seemingly endless league and cup matches. He’s rested players and given injured ones longer than normal to recover. Cronk, Mitchell, Cordner, James Tedesco, Joseph Manu and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves have all been given time off.

He’s worn the brickbats for doing so. He rested Cronk against the Knights but then, when Keary was taken from the field with concussion, they ended up suffering their second loss of the year. But the pay-off has been the emergence of a team that's premiership ready, obliterating Souths and then holding its nerve against Melbourne and now clear favourites for Sunday’s decider at ANZ Stadium. Robinson discussed the strategy with the board – but he didn’t tell his players. “He’s never spoken openly about resting blokes, no,” Keary says. “That’s the thing about this group: we don’t have to be in the know. We just get on with it. I’ve been in some teams where there’s anxiety around people not playing. Loading

“We perform to a level where we can get wins without certain players. It played into our hands with Jared not being there for the preliminary final [because of suspension]. It was very comfortable. There wasn’t one bit of anxiety with him not being there. When the coach trusts you and gives you a rest, you want to go out and repay that, too.” Because most players want to play, regardless of injury and pain. Coaches put pressure on them, too, either needling them up or shoving prescription drugs down their throats. The line between duty of care and winning is regularly blurred. Keary’s immediate playing future was in serious doubt after a series of concussions but Robinson was in no rush to have his star playmaker back even after the club doctor cleared his return. “He said, ‘Mate, if you’re not 100 per cent you don’t have to play’,” Keary says. “There was no pressure whatsoever.” Robinson was approached for this story, like every story we write about him, and the answer didn’t surprise.

“Not keen,” he texted back, “as you could imagine.” RIP one of a kind Vale Jeffrey Sayle, former Wallaby, NSW rep but, mostly, devout servant of the Randwick Rugby Club, where he won 10 premierships — four as a player and six as coach. He loved a post-match beer and chat, always punctuated with a loud, booming laugh. “What a beauty,” was his favourite line. And that he was.

Facebook lit up with tales about the Galloping Greens icon soon as word got around that he’d passed away at the age of 77 after a long and courageous battle with ill health. There’s the story about his beloved dog, Sonny. He once went on a six-week tour of the UK and in that time his wife, Lorraine, hadn’t heard a word from him. Then she received a postcard in the mail. Loading “Dear Sonny, Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof. Love Jeffrey. PS. Say hello to Lol for me”.

There’s the story about spotting one of the Wicks’ Polynesian players down on his knees in the dressing-room before a game. “Why’s he crying at his boots?” he asked another player. “He’s praying, Sayley.” There’s the story about when he double-parked his car and went to do the banking for the club. He walked out, forgot about his car, and then when he realised after work it was missing, called the police to report it stolen. “Jeffery,” said the police, “your car is still double-parked in the middle of Coogee Bay Road.”

And there’s this post from Lance Milnes, which beautifully captures the man … “Early on a Saturday at Granville Park watching fourth grade versus Parramatta, Sayley – as always – sat in the stands cheering on the Wicks, hot dog and drink in hand. Like moths to a flame, the younger players all sit next to him, basking in his passion for the game and club. As was often the case, Sayley's arm had the shakes, increasing in tempo with every booming cheer. The hot dog cheese started flying around, and the young fellas around him started looking a bit uneasy at each other, not wanting to say anything. Without taking his eyes off the game, Sayley simply grinned and said, ‘Pretty windy, eh boys!’” Loading The quote "I'm watching it at home – I swear too much." – Les Stuart, father of Canberra Raiders coach Ricky, won't be at the grand final. Good to know the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree.

Thumbs up Roosters fullback James Tedesco has so far this year won the Dally M Player of the Year, Wally Lewis Medal for player of the Origin series, Brad Fittler Medal for NSW player of the series, is favourite to win the Clive Churchill Medal and will probably edge out Greta Thunberg for the Nobel Peace Prize. Samu Kerevi was thoroughly unlucky to be penalised for this run during the Wallabies' loss to Wales. Credit:Getty Images Thumbs down “I love my rugby league, so I'll have a look at NRL then,” said Wallabies centre Samu Kerevi after he was penalised against Wales for a “dangerous carry”. Don’t worry, Samu, pedantic NRL rule-makers are trying to ruin that code, too.