Roosters poor but still dominant
Despite completing only 60% of their sets and committing 20 errors, which was almost double the Tigers count of 11, the Roosters still managed to completely dominate the scoreboard.
Going into the break with a narrow 16-12 lead the Roosters exploded in the second half as they ran in 4 tries to come away with a commanding 22 point victory. Aidan Guerra put in a season best performance whilst players like Latrell Mitchell threatened the defence time and again.
Roosters continues winning streak against Tigers
The Roosters won their 9th consecutive game against the Tigers and every single time they have faced them in that period, they have failed to score less than 30 points in a game. It’s been 6 years since the Tigers last beat the Roosters and that has been their only win against the boys from Bondi in their last 15 encounters.
Times change, team line-ups rotate constantly but one thing ever present in rugby league is hoodoos. Even after the Tigers broke through the line and scored within the first 5 minutes, they couldn’t stop a Roosters outfit missing a ton of class from demolishing them. It could be a long time yet before they’re able to get past that mental barrier of a hoodoo and beat the Roosters once again.
Watson impressive in unexpected role
Used sparingly off the bench in limited minutes so far in 2017, Connor Watson suddenly found himself tasked with a mountainous void to fill. Jake Friend went down with a concussion after only 3 minutes and suddenly Watson had to fill in at Hooker for the entire game.
To his credit he handled the role incredibly well and performed as well as anyone could have asked for. His defence was extremely solid as he made 42 tackles for only one miss and he bagged a double with some great support play, backing up on line breaks.
Watson proved just how valuable he is to the Roosters team and the extent of his versatility. It could lead to bigger minutes in future games or at the least attract the interest of rival clubs who would be interested in his services.
Tigers just dodging the spoon
The Wests Tigers have the unique distinction of never having finished a round of the premiership season in either first or last place. No matter how well or poor they’re going they avoid the top and bottom of the ladder.
That record is perilously close to being broken though. The Tigers now have a worse points differential than the lowly Knights and just one more win from the Novocastrians could see the Tigers sink down to last position.
At this point any talk of finals would be silly around Tigers town. Their main priority now falls to pride and doing their absolute best to ensure they don’t become the first Tigers team in history to finish last and receive the wooden spoon.
In The Sheds
Jake Friend only lasted 3 minutes on the field before a nasty head clash ruled him out of the game. With the bye next week he’ll have some extra time off to recover.
Scoreboard
Sydney Roosters- 40
Tries: Blake Ferguson (9m), Connor Watson (12m, 69m), Aidan Guerra (27m, 63m), Mitchell Pearce (44m, 57m)
Goals: Michael Gordon 6/7
Wests Tigers- 18
Tries: Tuimoala Lolohea (4m), James Tedesco(33m), Sauaso Sue (76m)
Goals: Tuimoala Lolohea 3/3
