Josh Mercer reviews the 2022 Season of the Sydney Roosters, where they finished seventh on the ladder.
Stats
Wins: 15
Losses: 9
Most Tries: Daniel Tupou (16)
Most Points: Sam Walker (211)
Club Player of the Year: James Tedesco
The Season of Lost Opportunities
Before the season, the Roosters were among the picks for the grand final. However, it was a season that under-delivered for the Tricolours.
It looked like the Roosters would miss out on making the top eight altogether for a period. From Round Seven to 16 they had three wins and six losses. They lost to sides such as the Dragons and the Bulldogs, while also beating sides such as the Eels and the Sharks.
The consistency just wasn’t there in the middle of the season. Sam Walker and Luke Keary took too long to click in the halves. For most of the year Walker played five eighth and Keary at halfback, and something just didn’t feel right. Once they swapped back, the Roosters went on to win eight games in a row, before being bundled out of the finals in the first week.
With the way they beat arch-rivals Souths in Round 25, it gave fans hope that they could go all the way to the ‘Big Dance.’ Then, in the first week of the finals, they tried to use the same game plan as the week before: however this time Souths weren’t having it.
In a game that saw seven sin bins, ultimately South Sydney kept their cool and won the game. The worst part was that the game plan didn’t alter when it was plain to see it wasn’t working. In the end, it summed up the season pretty well.
Next year might be better for the Boys from Bondi, and Brandon Smith’s arrival will have fans salivating; however, they shouldn’t get too excited just yet.
NothingButLeague Roosters Player of 2022: James Tedesco (24)
Embed from Getty ImagesMatches: 24
Tries: 13
Try Assists: 16
Run Metres: 4,413
Tackle Bursts: 145
Other Points: 15 Joseph Manu; 10 Luke Keary; 8 Sam Walker; 6 Angus Crichton, Joseph Suaalii; 5 Victor Radley; 3 Nat Butcher, Siosiua Taukeiaho; 2 Daniel Tupou, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.
