Josh Mercer reviews the big round six clash between the Sydney Roosters and the undefeated Parramatta Eels. Here’s how the game went.
MATCH TIMELINE
| Minute | Scoring Play | Score |
| 19th | Try Brett Morris (Roosters) | Roosters 4-0 |
| 25th | Penalty Goal Kyle Flanagan (Roosters) | Roosters 6-0 |
| 40th | Penalty Goal Kyle Flanagan (Roosters) | Roosters 8-0 |
| 43rd | Try Michael Jennings (Eels) | Roosters 8-4 |
| 58th | Try Maika Sivo (Eels) | Eels 10-8 |
| 61st | Try Boyd Cordner (Roosters) | Roosters 12-0 |
| 62nd | Goal Kyle Flanagan (Roosters) | Roosters 14-10 |
| 65th | Penalty Goal Kyle Flanagan (Roosters) | Roosters 16-10 |
| 68th | Michael Jennings (Parramatta) – SIN BIN | Roosters 16-10 |
| 69th | Penalty Goal Kyle Flanagan (Roosters) | Roosters 18-10 |
| 74th | Try Daniel Tupou (Roosters) | Roosters 22-10 |
| 76th | Goal Kyle Flanagan (Roosters) | Roosters 24-10 |
MATCH SUMMARY
1st Half
The first half was played with high intensity; the Roosters threw everything at the Eels, but the Eels’ defence was up to the challenge, stopping some attacking raids. With a lack of possession, Clint Gutherson looked to spark the Eels into action when he made a nice break off a kick return. Daniel Tupou looked like he may have gone off with an injury after a kick return, but managed to tough it out.
It wasn’t until the 19th minute when the Roosters were able to break the Eels’ defence, with Brett Morris pouncing on a loose pass from James Tedesco to beat two defenders and cross the try line. The Roosters kicked ahead in the half, with a couple of penalty goals to Kyle Flanagan, to go into the break with an 8-0 lead.
2nd Half
The Eels came out in the second half with a spring in their step: their forwards getting them on the front foot early. Michael Jennings got the Eels their first points of the game when he was able to beat Joey Manu on the outside to score. Playing with confidence, the Eels started to move the ball around, offloading at will. Another attacking raid by the Eels’ left hand side saw Jennings again get outside of Manu, getting a pass off to winger Maika Sivo who steamrolled James Tedesco to score; Mitchell Moses added the extras for the Eels to hit the lead 10-8. After hitting the ground hard trying to stop Sivo, Tedesco was forced off for a HIA before being ruled out for the rest of the game.
Though they were down for the first time in the game, the Roosters didn’t hang their heads for too long, with Luke Keary dummying his way through the defence to set up Boyd Cordner for a four pointer. Ill-discipline started to creep into the Eels’ game, with penalties coming in kicking range for Flanagan as the Roosters went ahead 18-10.
The Eels went a man down with 11 minutes remaining with Jennings getting sin binned. The Roosters put the final nail in the coffin when Josh Morris was able to beat Waqa Blake and draw in Blake Ferguson and get a flick pass onto Tupou to score.
GAME HIGHLIGHT
The highlight of the game was the steamrolling try of Eels winger Maika Sivo. After scoring the first points of the second half, the Eels started to look the goods with Michael Jennings having a great battle with Joey Manu. After again standing Manu up, Jennings was able to get the pass on to Sivo and only had James Tedesco in front of him and the try line. Unfortunately, Tedesco came off second best against the Fijian powerhouse and didn’t return for the rest of the game.
SQUADS
Sydney Roosters:ย 1. James Tedesco 2. Daniel Tupou 3. Josh Morris 4. Joey Manu 5. Brett Morris 6. Luke Keary 7. Kyle Flanagan 8. Jared Waerea-Hargraves 9. Jake Friends 10. Siosiua Taukeiaho 11. Boyd Cordner 12. Angus Crichton 13. Victor Radley.ย Interchange:ย 15. Isaac Liu 16. Nat Butcher 18. Sitili Tupouniua 19. Mitchell Aubusson.
Parramatta Eels:ย 1. Clint Gutherson 2. Maika Sivo 3. Michael Jennings 4. Waqa Blake 5. Blake Ferguson 6. Dylan Brown 7. Mitchell Moses 8. Regan Campbell-Gillard 9. Reed Mahoney 10. Junior Paulo 11. Shaun Lane 12. Ryan Matterson 13. Nathan Brown.ย Interchange: 14. Ray Stone 15. Marata Niukore 16. Oregon Kaufusi 17. Peni Terepo.
