The Roosters lost a second consecutive match as the Broncos put in a disciplined performance to come away with a 22-8 victory.
MATCH DETAILS
The Roosters opened the scoring as a returning Luke Keary put a kick out to the right wing which was collected by Blake Ferguson for a try. The Broncos hit back moments later as captain Darius Boyd ran the length of the field sideways to get a ball to a charging Oates.
The Dylan Napa sin-binning in the 23rd minute was all the talk of the match though. It gave the Broncos the chance to post a try when the Roosters were down a man while an error from Tupou gifted the Broncos a try in the 36th minute.
That was where the try-scoring stopped as the second half slowed right down. A solitary penalty goal being the only points scored.
FOUR POINTERS
Napa in hot water
The Broncos lost Andrew McCullough for the game after Napa’s poor tackling technique saw him knock the No.9 out. With the NRL admitting they got it wrong when they didn’t suspend Napa last time for a similar against Korbin Sims earlier in the year, he’ll be headed for a lengthy suspension.
Broncos near-perfect with the ball
It wasn’t the most dazzling display of offence from the Broncos but they won the game off the back of a completion rate of 90%. Against a team that was near faultless with ball in hand, the Roosters struggled to find any rhythm.
Darius Boyd had a terrific game, making a one on one try saver against Joseph Manu while Milford’s kicking game helped keep the Broncos in control.
Where was the crowd?
In a match-up between two teams bound for finals that usually deliver blockbuster quality games, there was barely anyone around to see it.
The crowd figure of 13 263 would have been well below expectations. The NRL are right to want people to talk the game up but that crowd figure is nothing to be proud of.
Tedesco great in a beaten side
James Tedesco was a standout performer in a Roosters team that was bereft of ideas. He ran for 288 metres, busted 11 tackles and made 5 offloads.
The rest of his team were unable to capitalize on the opportunities he was opening up though and it’ll give them some concern over their form heading into the finals.
THE RESULT
Broncos- 22
Tries: Corey Oates (15m), Jamayne Isaako (24m), Kodi Nikorima (36m)
Goals: Jamayne Isaako 5/6
Roosters- 8
Tries: Blake Ferguson (12m)
Goals: Latrell Mitchell 2/2
