The Roosters have returned from the bye with an impressive 28-20 win over Parramatta on Thursday night.
Result
Sydney Roosters 28
Tries: (5) Drew Hutchison 13th; Daniel Tupou 32nd; Luke Keary 39th, 71st; Jaxson Paulo 54th
Goals: (4) Sam Walker 15th, 40th, 65th, 73rd
Parramatta Eels 20
Tries: (3) Clint Gutherson 43rd; Bailey Simonsson 76th; Maika Sivo 78th
Goals: (4) Mitchell Moses 10th, 43rd, 76th, 78th
Field Goal:
Report
An all-Sydney clash kicked off Round 5 of the NRL with heavyweight clubs the Roosters and Parramatta going head-to-head on the field, but the lead up to the game was all about Rugby-bound Joseph Suaalii and the associated sideshows.
But there was a game to be played – and the Roosters were handed an advantage early when Will Penisini was given 10 minutes in the sin bin for a professional foul five minutes into the contest after the Roosters made a break through the middle and were heading for the tryline. The Roosters look set to take advantage but for a piece of defensive brilliance from Clint Gutherson denied them.
The home side should have scored with their next set – Daniel Tupou taking advantage of an overlap and Egan Butcher in support, but it was denied by The Bunker for a moment of stupidity from Luke Keary. The Roosters should be 12-0 up against 12 players but weren’t. The Eels added salt by opening the scoring with a penalty goal in the 10th minute.
The Roosters finally took advantage of the extra player when Drew Hutchinson scored in the corner after they made easy progress through the middle. The sideline conversion gave them a 6-2 lead that should have been bigger.
Tupou bombed a try 10 minutes later to continue the missed chances theme for the Roosters, and the first miss came at a bigger cost with James Tedesco hit late and high by Bailey Simonsson after passing to Tupou. Tedesco left the field for a HIA and didn’t return, while Simonsson joined him for 10 minutes as the second Eel to be sent to the sin bin. Tupou missed more chances after the penalty when Mitchell Moses pulled off a great try-saving tackle to stop one and Tupou dropped another within minutes. But the Roosters winger finally made one stick in the 32nd minute, finishing off a move to the left which gave his team a 10-2 lead.
The Roosters extended their lead less than two minutes before half-time when some smart work from Brandon Smith at dummy half saw the halves combine and Keary score under the posts. The Roosters had a handy 16-2 lead at the break.
Parramatta needed to score first in the second half and did so when Gutherson slid through in the 44th minute after a magic ball from Penisini. Moses converted to reduce the gap to eight points.
After a plethora of consecutive sets – from Ruck Infringements and failed Eels intercept attempts – the Roosters chalked up their first try of the second half when Jaxson Paulo finished off a move to the left. The missed conversion kept the margin within two converted tries, but the Roosters extended that to 14 points via a penalty with 15 minutes to go. They then extended the lead to 20 points with a 90-metre try started by Daniel Tupou and finished by Luke Keary.
Parramatta added some consolation tries in the last few minutes to Simonsson and Maika Sivo, which did not much other than improve their for-and-against, and likely annoy a handful of punters.
The win moves the Roosters into the top four from now, but comes at a cost with James Tedesco ruled out for their next game under new concussion protocols, although that gives Suaalii a chance to shine again at the back. Meanwhile, the Eels remain in the bottom four with a 1-4 record and a big task ahead for finals football in 2023.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR POINTS
Embed from Getty Images3 – Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (Roosters)
2 – Clint Gutherson (Eels)
1 – Sam Walker (Roosters)
