Rampaging Roosters rattle Tigers

NRL ROUND 25 RESULT

SYDNEY ROOSTERS 44
(D Tupou 3, FP Nuuausala, S Kenny-Dowall, T Moga, M Pearce, A Minichiello Tries; B Anasta 6/8 Goals)
Defeated
WESTS TIGERS 20
(M Koroibete, B Ayshford, C Heighington, B Murdoch-Masila Tries; B Marshall 2/4 Goals)
At Allianz Stadium, Sydney. Crowd: 15,736.

The Sydney Roosters have given Anthony Minichiello a 250th game to remember, denting the Wests Tigers' playoff hopes with a comprehensive 44-20 slaughter at Allianz Stadium in Round 25.

Sydney moved into 13th place on the ladder, leapfrogging the Warriors and Panthers. The Roosters led 26-0 at hafltime and never looked like being run down.

The Tigers had the first real opportunity of the match when Marika Koroibete took a Benji Marshall bomb but was pulled down short of the line. A few sets later the Tigers had a repeat set after Daniel Tupou defused a Marshall grubber in the in-goal. But it was Tupou who cleaned up the threat and the Roosters had held off the the early pressure.

Frank-Paul Nuuausala then stormed over in the 13th minute via a short ball from Jake Friend and the Roosters had the early lead they were after. The video referee was consulted but Nuuausala was rightly awarded his 2nd try of 2012.

Braith Anasta’s conversion made it 6-0 and the Tigers were forced to replace Liam Fulton with Masada Iosefa at hooker, with Fulton heading up the tunnel for treatment on an arm injury.

In the 18th minute, Aaron Woods gave a penalty away for a high shot, and the Roosters decided to go for the six points. The decision paid off almost immediately with Mitchell Pearce’s cross kick marked by rookie winger Daniel Tupou who touched down over the top of Matt Utai, taking full advantage of their respective heights. Anasta converted from touch and it was 12-0 Roosters after 20 minutes.

The Roosters were back on the attack straight away with Tim Moltzen’s kick-off going out on the full and Shaun Kenny-Dowall making the Tigers pay for their mistake. Another Pearce cross kick was marked by Kenny-Dowall over Koroibete and Anasta’s conversion made it 18-0 with 16 minutes left in the first half.

It was almost a four tries to nil start when Roger Tuivasa-Sheck went over in the right corner but Koroibete’s tackle proved a try-saver. The Roosters however didn’t waste any time making amends, with Tautau Moga showing strength to go through Gareth Ellis and Blake Ayshford in the 28th minute. Anasta missed for the first time all day from touch, but the Roosters led 22-0.

The procession continued in the 34th minute, when Tupou grabbed his second try courtesy of an Aidan Guerra grubber to the left corner. Anasta missed again but 26-0 scoreline invoked memories of their Round 15 clash at Leichhardt Oval, when the Roosters led 24-4 at halftime and went onto win 42-28.

Who was your Man of the Match? Vote in the Provan Summons Award here.

The Roosters kept the pain train going after just three minutes into the second half, when Pearce was awarded a benefit of the doubt try following a mad scramble off his own cross kick. Anasta slotted the extras to make it 32-0 to the Roosters.

The Tigers finally put some pressure on in the 47th minute, forcing a repeat set and then Marshall produced a magic cut out pass for Koroibete who went over in the left corner. Marshall missed from touch but the Tigers were on the board, albeit down 32-4.

It became 32-8 in the 52nd minute when Ayshford stretched out to score, but Marshall missed again. Still the Tigers had created some hope.

But that hope was dashed when Tupou grabbed his third try of the day in the corner and it was all she wrote for the visitors. Anasta nailed the conversion from touch and the Roosters had a 38-8 lead with 27 minutes remaining.

Then came the moment the crowd of 15,736 had been waiting for in the 67th minute, Pearce busted the line and flicked the ball to 250 game hero Anthony Minichiello who touched down for his 8th try of the season. Anasta’s kick made it the scoreline: Roosters 44 Tigers 8.

Chris Heighington scored a consolation try in his 200th game in the 72nd minute and Ben Murdoch-Masila went over right on full time, but the horse had bolted and the Roosters had moved up into 13th place on the ladder with 21 points.

Top Performers
Best for the Sydney Roosters were Daniel Tupou, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Braith Anasta, Mitchell Pearce and Martin Kennedy, while Best for the Wests Tigers were Aaron Woods and Benji Marshall.

Injury News
Sydney Roosters: None.
Wests Tigers: Liam Fulton (wrist).

SYDNEY ROOSTERS
A Minichiello, R Tuivasa-Sheck, T Moga, S Kenny-Dowall, D Tupou, B Anasta ©, M Pearce, J Waerea-Hargreaves, J Friend, M Kennedy, A Guerra, M Aubusson, FP Nuuausala.
Bench: T Arona, B Takairangi, B Cordner, N Seluini.
WESTS TIGERS
B Ryan, M Utai, B Ayshford, C Lawrence, M Koroibete, T Moltzen, B Marshall ©, A Woods, L Fulton, K Galloway, A Blair, G Ellis, C Heighington.
Bench: J Moors, B Murdoch-Masila, M Bell, M Iosefa.

In the NYC match the Roosters defeated the Tigers 40-16.

Next Up:
The Sydney Roosters travel to ANZ Stadium next Saturday night to take on the Canterbury Bulldogs in Round 26, with kick-off at 7:30pm.