Brendan Wood reviews the Sydney Roosters tough win over the Melbourne Storm on Friday night.
MATCHDAY RESULTS
SCOREBOARD
Melbourne Storm 14
Tries: Xavier Coates (33), Nick Meaney (66)
Goals: Nick Meaney (35, 40, 68)
Sydney Roosters 18
Tries: Daniel Tupou (8), Joseph Manu (19), Joseph Suaalii (58)
Goals: Sam Walker (4, 9, 20)
MATCH REPORT
Embed from Getty ImagesWith a finals like atmosphere brewing at AAMI Park, it was the visiting Roosters who got on the board early with a penalty goal.
A Daniel Tupou try five minutes later extended the Roosters lead to eight, but the try was bittersweet. Not long after scoring, Tupou left the field with a groin injury, causing a backline reshuffle.
Despite the loss of Tupou, the Roosters kept their foot on the throat of the Storm, and it wasn’t long before they had their second try. Luke Keary setup Joseph Manu to score with a pinpoint kick into the in-goal.
Tempers flared as Victor Radley and Nelson Asofa-Solomona went head to head in some fiery exchanges. With tensions boiling over, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves was sin-binned for contact with the head of Asofa-Solomona.
The binning of Waerea-Hargreaves was the opening the Storm needed, as they found an overlap for Xavier Coates to cross for a try. A Storm penalty goal on the stroke of halftime closed the margin to 14-8 at the break.
The Roosters gained the ascendancy early after halftime and kept the Storm pinned in their own half.
After nearly 20 minutes, the pressure proved too much, as Joseph Suaalii powered his way into the in-goal for a try. Falling behind by 10, the Storm attack lifted and Jahrome Hughes produced a scything run. A few tackles later, Nick Meaney split the scrambling Roosters defence to cut the lead back to four points.
Inside the final 10 minutes, the game was stopped when Victor Radley was concussed attempting a tackle. Under pressure, the Roosters defended several sets from the Storm without conceding points.
Two try saving efforts from James Tedesco proved the difference, as the Roosters escaped AAMI Park with one of their toughest wins of the season.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR POINTS
Embed from Getty Images3 pts – Luke Keary (Sydney Roosters), 2 pts – James Tedesco (Sydney Roosters), 1 pt – Jahrome Hughes (Melbourne Storm)
Follow Nothing But League on Facebook.
