Roosters’ Bondi community ties deepened after meeting victim days before attack
Sydney Roosters players met Rabbi Eli Schlanger and other Jewish community leaders at Bondi five days before he was killed in the mass shooting there, according to ABC Sport. The encounter shaped the club’s response, with players and officials joining local commemorations and supporting the community after the attack.
Sydney Roosters players met Rabbi Eli Schlanger and other Jewish community leaders in Bondi five days before Schlanger was killed in the mass shooting at Bondi Beach, according to ABC Sport. The meeting took place on December 9, 2025, during the rugby league club’s off-season. Players including Hugo Savala, Cody Ramsay and Billy Smith visited the Chabad of Bondi, ate kosher food and learned about Jewish customs before walking along the beachfront and Bondi Pavilion.
Rabbi Yehoram Ulman, Schlanger’s father-in-law, was among those who met the players. He said they were curious about the meanings and symbolism of Jewish traditions. Alex Ryvchin, co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, described the gathering as a positive occasion and said the players were engaged and interested in learning about the local community.
The visit also exposed the players to concerns about antisemitic incidents affecting the area. Ryvchin said the players were aware of firebombings that had occurred in the community, although those threats remained somewhat abstract to them at the time. That changed after the December 14 attack, in which 15 people were killed.
Schlanger was among the victims. Roosters chief executive Joe Kelly said the attack had a particularly strong effect on the players who had met Schlanger because of how recently they had spent time with him. The club observed a minute’s silence for the victims before its first home game of the season.
Players, who were away on a training trip when the attack occurred, later gathered to pay their respects on Bondi Beach. The club also held an open training session there in January. Summer, the sister of the youngest victim, Matilda, was invited to toss the coin and deliver the ball before the Roosters’ first home game of the new year.
Kelly said the organisation supported the community as much as possible, while Ulman said the club’s response reflected the personal connection formed during the visit.
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