National Rugby League side Sydney Roosters named IKON Services Australia a platinum partner. Effective immediately, the commercial cleaning company will be the Roosters' sleeve sponsor for the next three years. The Roosters' combined shirt sponsorship deals for '19 are the most lucrative in club history (Sydney Roosters). In Sydney, Paul Crawley reported the deal with IKON is a A$2.1M ($1.5M) pre-Christmas present that Cronulla Sharks "bad boys" Josh Dugan and Andrew Fifita "helped gift wrap for the Sydney Roosters, all as a result of their boneheaded behaviour." The company reportedly "was previously in talks with cash-strapped Cronulla before deciding to head in a new direction because of ongoing negative publicity," including the incident sparked by Dugan and Fifita’s "infamous podcast rant." On hand to promote the new deal with IKON were two of the game’s "most respected players" in Roosters, NSW and Australian captain Boyd Cordner and Cooper Cronk. Both players "spoke of the responsibility that rests with all NRL players heading into the Christmas break." Cronk said, "The responsibility of players when you sign your contract isn’t about the scoreboard or winning games of football. There is multi-layers to it. One is community engagement. Two is inspiring the next generation, rugby league players across the country to play the game" (DAILY TELEGRAPH, 12/7).
