The Roosters have booked their spot in the 2024 preliminary finals after crushing Manly 40-16 at Allianz Stadium. They’ll head down to Melbourne next week to play the Storm for a spot in the grand final.
It was carnage from the start for Manly, after Tolutau Koula left the field concussed from the first tackle of the match, but the Roosters were too good for Anthony Seibold’s team tonight.
The writing was on the wall for Manly inside the opening 30 seconds and the script never improved as The Roosters celebrated James Tedesco’s 250th NRL appearance with a crushing 40-16 win to book a preliminary final showdown with the Storm.
Two head knocks from the first two plays of Saturday’s sudden death semi-final showdown meant the visitors were always on the back foot, and they never recovered as their season came to a grinding halt at a sold out Allianz Stadium.
And while their 2024 campaign is over, the Roosters are marching on with Trent Robinson’s side off to Melbourne next week where they’ll look to end their horrible recent record against the minor premiers with a grand final spot on the line.
The Roosters have lost 10 of their past 11 against the Storm and were knocked out of the finals at AAMI Park 12 months ago, but they will fancy their chances after their key men stood up a week after they were outclassed by Penrith.
HIA Drama
The Sea Eagles needed everything to go their way but they were rocked just two tackles into the clash with Tolu Koula and Jake Trbojevic both taken from the field after suffering head knocks.
In one of the most dramatic starts to a game you will ever see, Manly lost two of its key starters inside the opening 30 seconds with Koula knocked out trying to tackle Jared Waerea-Haregeaves.
The hero from last week’s win over the Bulldogs was immediately deemed a category one concussion and was ruled out of the contest, with more drama from the following carry when Trbojevic clashed heads with Lindsay Collins.
The workhorse lock stumbled as he got to his feet but was deemed a category two and was able to return to the field 15 minutes later.
It was a brutal encounter with Haumole Olakau’atu whacking Collins twice in the first half, while Reuben Garrick never looked comfortable after hurting his shoulder early on.
Teddy 250
Tedesco celebrated his big milestone with a best-on-ground performance that saw him score a double, set two up and run for a game-high 183 metres.
His short ball to Victor Radley got the night started but that was only the beginning as he and Daniel Tupou exchanged passes down the left before Tedesco crashed over to score.
The pair then combined two minutes into the second half when Tedesco threw a peach of a pass for the veteran winger to score after Manly’s Josh Aloiai wasted a challenge.
It was fitting that the five-time Jack Gibson Medal winner sealed the result when he finished off a slick game of pass the parcel, with the Roosters now two wins away from claiming the ultimate prize.
Tedesco wasn’t the only one to stand up on the big stage with young half Sandon Smith bouncing back in a big way from last week’s tough night in Penrith as he beat Daly Cherry-Evans and then Tom Trbojevic to score a slashing solo try.
Eagles Rocked
After back-to-back years out of the finals, the Sea Eagles will view this season as a success. But they’ll also wonder what could have been had they not lost an outside back so early on.
It didn’t help that superstar fullback Tom Trbojevic was dealing with shoulder and knee injuries, while Cherry-Evans was kept fairly quiet other than a lovely chip for Olakau’atu to score.
Hall of Pain
The only concern for the Roosters going forward is the health of star forward Victor Radley who returned from a fractured scapula but only lasted 30 minutes before he went up the tunnel.
Radley suffered the injury back in round 26 but was always a hope of returning given he didn’t require surgery.
He’s now in a race to be fit for next Friday’s heavyweight bout, with enforcer Jared Waerea-Hargreaves set to renew his rivalry with Storm giant Nelson Asofa-Solomona.
The Roosters May Have Saved Their Best Until Last
The Roosters may have saved their best until last.
Sandon Smith put up a kick to the corner which was caught by centre Joey Manu.
The centre then casually throws a one-handed pass to winger Dom Young who grounds the footy in the corner.
The Storm and Craig Bellamy will absolutely be watching this from the Roosters and will be liking what they're seeing.
“The one thing Melbourne and Penrith don't do, they don't let you off, if you give them a penalty or a cheap get out of therein, it would be 10 minutes before you take it again,” Andrew Johns said for Nine.
And that was absolutely the Roosters letting Manly off. Perhaps they've gone into a bit of self preservation to not risk an injury, but that wasn't great.
Manly Have Something To Build On After Scoring In The Final Minute Of The First Half
Manly have something to build on after scoring in the final minute of the first half.
The missed conversion will hurt, but it is the brightest moment in a half which was dominated by the Sydney Roosters.
A Consolation Try Worthy of the Highlights Reel
The Sea Eagles have scored a consolation try, but it's worthy of being on the highlights reel!
Daly Cherry-Evans put a lovely kick towards the in-goal, but Talau got an absolutely wicked bounce. He managed to get a hand to it, but it went forward.
But in order to ensure it wasn't a knock-on, he was - while basically slipping over - able to get a hand to it, wrap his fingers around the head of the ball, push it back away from the dead-ball line and ground it.
Live, it didn't look like a try, and it was sent up as such by referee Grant Atkins, before the Bunker overturned the call.
It left the Nine box gobsmacked.
“A bit of one-handed wizardry from Tommy Talau,” Nine caller Mat Thompson quipped for Nine.
A Double for Tedesco in His 250th NRL Match
James Tedesco, in his 250th NRL clash, has a double, and this one is surely all done.
“Like he's done all night, he's never far from the ball,” Billy Slater quipped in commentary for Nine.
But it was a great team try from the Roosters. Joey Manu got a lovely ball away, before Connor Watson danced through some defenders himself, and then gave the ball to his skipper to score.
“They're on fire, the Roosters,” Andrew Johns said for Nine.
