Lachy MacCorquodale reviews the round 16 clash between the defending premiers, Sydney Roosters and the Brisbane Broncos. Here’s how the game went.
MATCH TIMELINE
| Minute | Scoring Play | Score |
| 4th | Try Sitili Tupouniua (Sydney Roosters) | Sydney 4-0 |
| 5th | Conversion Kyle Flanagan (Sydney Roosters) | Sydney 6-0 |
| 14th | Try Isaac Liu (Sydney Roosters) | Sydney 10-0 |
| 16th | Conversion Kyle Flanagan (Sydney Roosters) | Sydney 12-0 |
| 23rd | Try James Tedesco (Sydney Roosters) | Sydney 16-0 |
| 24th | Conversion Kyle Flanagan (Sydney Roosters) | Sydney 18-0 |
| 26th | Try Sitili Tupouniua (Sydney Roosters) | Sydney 22-0 |
| 27th | Conversion Kyle Flanagan (Sydney Roosters) | Sydney 24-0 |
| 32nd | Try Kotoni Staggs (Brisbane Broncos) | Sydney 24-4 |
| 33rd | Conversion Kotoni Staggs (Brisbane Broncos) | Sydney 24-6 |
| 43rd | Try Josh Morris (Sydney Roosters) | Sydney 28-6 |
| 45th | Try Daniel Tupou (Sydney Roosters) | Sydney 32-6 |
| 47th | Conversion Kyle Flanagan (Sydney Roosters) | Sydney 34-6 |
| 55th | Try David Fifita (Brisbane Broncos) | Sydney 34-10 |
| 57th | Conversion Kotoni Staggs (Brisbane Broncos) | Sydney 34-12 |
| 60th | Try Nat Butcher (Sydney Roosters) | Sydney 38-12 |
| 62nd | Conversion Kyle Flanagan (Sydney Roosters) | Sydney 40-12 |
| 68th | Try Josh Morris (Sydney Roosters) | Sydney 44-12 |
| 70th | Conversion Kyle Flanagan (Sydney Roosters) | Sydney 46-12 |
| 72nd | Try Daniel Tupou (Sydney Roosters) | Sydney 50-12 |
| 74th | Conversion Kyle Flanagan (Sydney Roosters) | Sydney 52-12 |
| 78th | Try Brett Morris (Sydney Roosters) | Sydney 56-12 |
| 79th | Conversion Kyle Flanagan (Sydney Roosters) | Sydney 58-12 |
MATCH SUMMARY
1st Half
As expected it didn’t take the Sydney Roosters long to break the deadlock, with Sitili Tupouniua busting his way through Patrick Carrigan and carrying him over the try line for the opening try of the match. The Brisbane Broncos had a few opportunities down in the Roosters red zone but failed to deliver after some great goal line defence from the defending premiers. The Broncos gave away a penalty for being offside early in their defensive set allowing the Roosters a full set in the Broncos red zone. It took the Roosters a few tackles before Isaac Liu broke through the Broncos defence to score under the posts.
The Roosters continued their onslaught after an offload from Tupouniua put Kyle Flanagan away who carried the ball 30 metres before passing to James Tedesco to score under the posts. A bit of brilliance from Tedesco allowed the Roosters to get right on the Broncos try line, which saw Flanagan run the ball on the 5th tackle before passing inside for Tupouniua who scored his second of the night. The Broncos finally scored their first points of the night after Kotoni Staggs swooped on an error from Boyd Cordner, which saw the in-form centre sprint 60 metres to score his ninth try of the season. The rest of the half continued to be dominated by the Roosters, although the Broncos did have a disallowed try due to obstruction in the lead-up.
2nd Half
The Roosters picked up where they left off, as a simple overlap was exploited by an offload from five-eighth Drew Hutchison, to Cordner, who drew Herbie Farnworth in and passed to Josh Morris for a try in the corner. Three tackles later from the kick-off, the Roosters added to their tally after Cordner took advantage of an overlap, passing to Josh Morris before offloading to Tedesco who drew Darius Boyd, finding Daniel Tupou to score his first try since his return from injury. David Fifita finally gave the Broncos something to cheer about, showing his sheer strength and ability. Fifita turning back on the inside broke a tackle before straightening and busting through a tackle from Freddie Lussick and Lindsay Collins to score next to the posts.
The Roosters are showing their credentials as a premiership contender after a couple of offloads saw Nat Butcher burst through the defensive line, stepping fullback Boyd to score under the posts as they cracked the 40. The Broncos defence continued to get in the face of the Roosters but it resulted in a quick tip-on from Tedesco to Josh Morris who cut inside and strolled through for his second of the night taking the lead out to 34 points. The half-century was brought up by the Roosters with seven and a half minutes remaining with Tupou after receiving a cut out ball from Tedesco to score his second for the night. The Roosters weren’t done here, with Brett Morris scoring in the corner, beating Boyd after receiving a basketball pass from Tedesco, closing out the match. A perfect game from the Roosters as they handed the Broncos a massive 46 point defeat.
GAME HIGHLIGHT
No single highlight stood out in this game, but the performance of James Tedesco was one to remember. The Australia fullback had a night to remember with a hand in five tries and scoring one himself, a tremendous effort. Tedesco was well overdue for a try having not scored since round five when they took on the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. Not only was Tedesco assisting every second try for the Roosters, he was proving to be a handful for the Broncos defence, running for 208 metres and breaking a total of 10 tackles. A great performance from one the League’s best players.
SQUADS
Sydney Roosters: 1. James Tedesco 2. Daniel Tupou 3. Josh Morris 4. Joseph Manu 5. Brett Morris 6. Drew Hutchison 7. Kyle Flanagan 8. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves 9. Jake Friend 10. Siosiua Taukeiaho 16. Nat Butcher 12. Sitili Tupouniua 13. Isaac Liu. Interchange: 11. Boyd Cordner 14. Freddy Lussick 15. Poasa Faamausili 17. Lindsay Collins
Brisbane Broncos: 1. Darius Boyd 2. Richard Kennar 3. Kotoni Staggs 4. Jordan Kahu 5. Herbie Farnworth 6. Sean O’Sullivan 7. Tom Dearden 8. Joe Ofahengaue 9. Cory Paix 10. Rhys Kennedy 11. David Fifita 12. Ben Te’O 13. Patrick Carrigan. Interchange: 14. Brodie Croft 15. Jordan Riki 16. Ethan Bullemor 17. Jamil Hopoate
