Chloe Schibeci reviews the Saturday afternoon clash between the Sydney Roosters and Newcastle …
MATCHDAY RESULTS
SCOREBOARD
Roosters 6
Tries: Paul Momirovski 76
Goals: Sam Walker 40
Knights 20
Tries: Dane Gagai 14, Enari Tuala 32, Jake Clifford 56, Dominic Young 72
Goals: Jake Clifford 16, 57
MATCH REPORT
1st Half
The Sydney Roosters crossed for the first try of the game. A line break from Tupou made room for James Tedesco, who was the one to go over for the points. Despite the points initially being awarded, the try was revoked after the Bunker interjected, finding an obstruction in the lead up.
The first half of this Saturday afternoon game was incredibly physical: both the Knights and the Roosters making plenty of ground while holding up strong defence. The Knights’ definitely looked to be the more dominant side, particularly in defence, not allowing their opposition to make enough ground to score points.
With 12 minutes remaining, the Knights broke through the defence of the Sydney Roosters, almost scoring their second try of the afternoon. Unfortunately they had no time left in their set and the Roosters banded together to make sure no additional points were scored. This, despite no points being added, showed the Knights were putting their best attacking foot forward, proving to be good competition for the Roosters in the first round of 2022.
With less than 10 to go, the ever-growing confidence of the Knights allowed them to extend their lead by another four points after Enari Tuala scored an unconverted try for Newcastle.
The Roosters finally found themselves on the board at half time, after Sam Walker kicked a penalty goal.
HALF-TIME: Sydney Roosters 2 Newcastle Knights 10
2nd Half
In the second half, the Knights continued to get better and gain confidence as the game progressed. A dropped ball by the Roosters gave Newcastle’s Jake Clifford the prime opportunity to grab the lost ball and run, scoring the Knights’ third try of the afternoon.
The Roosters now found themselves behind by 14 points, just outside two converted tries.
The Knights lost Phoenix Crossland for 10 minutes after a professional foul on Walker in his attempt to score for the Roosters. Despite this, the Roosters still continued to struggle against the strength of the Knights’ defence.
The Roosters had one of their best sets of the second half with about 10 minutes left to play. An offload got them incredibly close to scoring their first try of the afternoon, however the Knights’ defence managed to hold up once again. At the end of the set, Kalyn Ponga got caught in-goal, forcing a line drop out.
The Roosters were given a penalty from the 10 metre line after the Knights’ dropout went out on the full. Despite the perfect opportunity, the Roosters were denied yet another try.
The Knights took advantage, just minutes later scoring another try to extend their lead: 20 points to 2.
With three minutes left, the Roosters finally scored their first try of the afternoon. Walker missed the conversion, but because of the earlier penalty goal, the gap was once again 14 points.
FULL-TIME: Sydney Roosters 6 Newcastle Knights 20
PLAYER OF THE YEAR POINTS
3 pts – Dominic Young (Knights), 2 pts – Jake Clifford (Knights) 1 pt – Dane Gagai (Knights)
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Roosters: 1. James Tedesco 2. Daniel Tupou 3. Billy Smith 4. Joseph Manu 5. Paul Momirovski 6. Sam Walker 7. Luke Keary 10. Lindsay Collins 9. Connor Watson 15. Fletcher Baker 11. Angus Crichton 12. Sitili Tupouniua 13. Victor Radley 8. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves 14. Drew Hutchison 16. Nat Butcher 17. Siosiua Taukeiaho 18. Kevin Naiqama
Knights: 1. Kalyn Ponga 2. Dominic Young 3. Dane Gagai 4. Bradman Best 5. Enari Tuala 6. Jake Clifford 7. Adam Clune 8. David Klemmer 9. Chris Randall 10. Jacob Saifiti 11. Tyson Frizell 12. Lachlan Fitzgibbon 13. Kurt Mann 14. Phoenix Crossland 15. Mitchell Barnett 16. Leo Thompson 17. Jirah Momoisea 22. Mathew Croker
