The Sydney Roosters have secured home advantage for next weekend’s sudden death final against South Sydney, but the dramatic opening game at the new Allianz Stadium may have proved costly for both teams.
The Rabbitohs never recovered after losing captain Cameron Murray to a headbutt in just the second innings of the match and spinner Siliva Havili was also ruled out due to HIA protocols.
The Roosters also suffered significant casualties in their 26-16 win, with Joey Manu (calf), Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (neck) and Sam Verrills (finger) unable to finish the game.
Manu’s injury is the most serious and there are concerns over his fitness for the final series after he was called off in the 60th minute of the match in obvious pain.
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Manu has left the field with a calf injury
Souths superstar Latrell Mitchell was forced to watch the end of the game from the sin-bin, to the delight of Roosters fans in the 41,906 crowd, but he will be one of the big names guaranteed to play in the boss sequel of next week
The Roosters limited Mitchell’s impact to 100 meters running with the ball, but he was still able to score an impressive try to get the Rabbitohs back into the game in the first half and finished with nine breaks.
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Roosters shot in their new home
Roosters captain and fullback James Tedesco carried the ball for a game-high 268 meters and scored a try, while also producing two spectacular line breaks.
“He’s been down to earth from round one to round 25,” Roosters coach Trent Robinson said. “There’s a real pride in the way he plays his game and it’s at a high level of talent, but a very high level of attention to his role in the team and his role in the game. It’s quite remarkable see it, to be honest. .”
The win ensured the Roosters finished the regular season in sixth and the Rabbitohs in seventh.
Snapshot of the match
- The game got off to a dramatic start when Cameron Murray exited the second innings of the game after being hit on the hip by Roosters winger Kevin Naiqama and was carted off the field.
- Roosters second-rower Angus Crichton created history when he scored the first NRL try at the new Allianz Stadium on six minutes after charging onto Luke Keary’s short ball.
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Crichton crosses to make history
- Crichton turned provider for the next try when he again split the defense and drew Latrell Mitchell before sending Roosters captain James Tedesco through to score in the 20th minute.
- However, the Rabbitohs hit back just minutes later after Tedesco dropped a bomb and Mitchell took advantage to score a stunning try for exchange hooker Peter Mamouzelos.
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Mamouzelos hits back for the Rabbitohs
- A piece of individual brilliance from Roosters halfback Sam Walker, who got behind the Rabbitohs defense and won the race for the ball to score in the 32nd minute, secured the home side a 20-6 lead at the break.
- Second half Egan Butcher put the Roosters further ahead just three minutes into the second half when he squeezed between Lachlan Ilias and Keaon Koloamatagi to tap in from Keary’s pass.
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Bustling Butcher is unstoppable
- However, Rabbitohs winger Taane Milne gave the club’s supporters hope when he tiptoed down the touchline to score in the 50th minute and the Fiji international grabbed a second try 10 minutes from time.
- Souths lost Mitchell to the sinbin for a professional foul, but the Rabbitohs scored while a man down after Cody Walker pounced on a dropped ball from Tedesco and away before Milne scored in the next innings.
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Milne gets his second
game of the game
After adjusting to the loss of captain Cameron Murray in the first minute, the Rabbitohs were struggling to get back into the game after a try from Peter Mamouzelos in the 24th minute. However, half-back Sam Walker regained momentum for the Roosters with a brilliant individual try and the home side were never really threatened again.
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A bit of Walker wizardry
what they said
“I thought we were very good in the first half, and obviously how we wanted to play, we executed well, in a good space and then I thought with some of the changes we just got lost. We didn’t do well enough. when we had the position field and it ended up being a stop-start game in that second half, so there are some improvements from us next week. That’s all in the past, create your future and we’ll create ours next week. week and how we want to play”, – Trent Robinson, Roosters coach.
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