As we round off another successful season for the Sydney Roosters, we take a look back at some of the best battles of the year.
There is no denying that Trent Robinson’s men were dominant for a third straight year, as they picked up the Minor Premiership for the third year running and proved that they are still a benchmark team in the competition.
Though it wasn’t always pretty, there were some absolute classics that should make any Roosters supporter proud.
5 | Melbourne Storm @ Allianz Stadium (Round 12)
The element of surprise isn’t a rarity in the NRL, and in Round 12 we saw an incredibly impressive performance from the Roosters in which they kept the Melbourne Storm try-less.
Near perfect completion rate, some big runs from the forwards and smothering defence saw the Roosters come away with a slick two competition points against the Premiership heavyweights.
4 | Brisbane Broncos @ Allianz Stadium (Round 24)
Though it wasn’t considered the favourite game of the year, there is little doubt that it was the gutsiest.
In the first half of this grind-it-out game against the Broncos, Captain Mitchell Pearce went down after succumbing to a hamstring injury, and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves went down with a season ending ACL injury.
The Roosters would go on to win it 12-10 in the end with goal-line defence setting the platform to edge out the Broncos.
3 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs @ Allianz Stadium (Round 21)
In Round 21 against the Bulldogs the Roosters had the luxury of wearing the new-era Captain America jerseys for the ISC Marvel Heroes round.
On this occasion it was a super-human effort against the Bulldogs, opening up a 24-0 deficit in the opening stages of the first half.
The Bulldogs wouldn’t give in though, coming right back and gaining the lead by the back end of the game.
It took some will power, but the Roosters stormed back into the competition when Blake Ferguson barged through the edge defence to bring it to within 2.
The game was capped off by a Superman-like effort from Michael Jennings, who pounced on a grubber from Captain Mitchell Pearce on his 200th game to give the Roosters a big win.
2 | New Zealand Warriors @ Mt Smart Stadium (Round 14)
There is nothing more exciting in rugby league than a come-from-behind victory, and when a new-look Roosters outfit took to the park of Mt Smart Stadium during the State of Origin period it was as exciting as it gets.
The Warriors came out firing and the Roosters couldn’t keep up in the first half.
It was the second half where the game was won, with two tries and a field-goal being what looked like the recipe to the victory.
The Warriors had other plans though, and when Shaun Johnson came straight back with a field goal of his own, the Roosters had to find something special to pull out this big win.
It came in the final minute through Blake Ferguson, putting it down on the right wing at the buzzer to cap off one of the most exciting performances of the season.
1 | South Sydney Rabbitohs @ Allianz Stadium (Round 26)
It is one of the greatest rivalries in Australian sport, so when the win is big it makes it all the sweeter.
When the Rabbitohs came to town in Round 26, they were greeted by a Roosters outfit on top of their game.
They scored 30 points in the first half through some potent attack, and when the lead was theirs they defended their line to ensure a big win.
The fans love this rivalry, and on this occasion the Roosters gave the fans plenty to cheer about.
