The Roosters have survived a late scare from the Eels on Saturday night in the Holden Cup, winning 38-26 in a thrilling match.
The Roosters got off to a great start, scoring through Joey Lussick out of dummy-half in just under five minutes.
It was shaping as a good contest, with plenty of close calls and good defence in the opening twenty. Something had to give eventually though and it did, when Latrell Mitchell burst through three defenders to put it down on the left edge.
Only minutes later and it was Joseph Manu to split the defence, go for a run and pass to a determined Connor Watson sprinting down the left wing to score in the corner.
With just a few minutes remaining in the half, the Eels scored off some nice ball play through Jeff Markus to open the scoring for them. The Roosters went into the break with an 18-6 lead.
The second half started in fine fashion for the Roosters, when Johnny Tuivasa-Sheck made a break down the left edge and threw a perfect pass inside to Connor Watson for his second try of the night.
In the following set the Roosters went down the left edge again. The ball went through several sets of hands before Latrell Mitchell got the last say to score his second for the night.
Just when the left edge couldn’t look any more deadly, Connor Watson went in for his third after barging his way over in a determined effort.
The Roosters were dominant and looking like pulling together a complete performance, but that would not be the case this week. The Eels scored three unanswered tries to claw their way right back into the game, and give the Roosters a big scare with more than ten minutes on the clock.
Just over five minutes remaining and the Roosters had pulled it together defensively. After getting down the other end, Latrell Mitchell scored at just the right moment for his side, muscling his way over on the right edge to give the Roosters a comfortable lead in the closing minutes.
The Eels scored in the dying minutes through Tui Oloapu, but it was too late for any sort of late surge.
The Roosters surviving the comeback, making it four wins in a row.
