Five Key Highlights From Round 25

The Roosters looked to extend their winning streak to seven against formidable foes the South Sydney Rabbitohs in their first ever game at the new Allianz Stadium, competing in the second leg of the Ron Coote Cup for a home final next week.

 

Left Side Links Up to Lead Victory

Playing against their former club, it was Luke Keary and Angus Crichton who drew first blood as Keary played his back rower into a gap for the first try of the match.

It wasn’t long before the pair produced a carbon copy of this play, with Keary masterfully drawing two defenders before playing a short ball to Crichton who broke the line and passed to Captain James Tedesco to score his first try of many at the new ground.

Keary went on to assist another try and Crichton proved a handful, running for 179 metres and making 32 tackles in a man-of-the-match performance as the left side was on song. 

Immaculate First Half Sees Roosters Through to Full Time

A near-perfect first-half performance placed the Roosters in the box seat of the contest, helping them secure the victory over their arch-rivals.

Despite possession being evenly weighted after the first 40 minutes, the Tricolours were able to capitalise on their time with the ball as they made only one error which saw them complete eighteen of nineteen sets of six.

They dominated the physical battle, ensuring fast play-the-balls and standing their ground on the defensive end as well as running hard with the ball which led them to average ten more running metres per set than South Sydney.

Despite scoring fewer points than their opponents in the second half, it was their hard-fought 20-6 lead at the break which helped Trent Robinson’s Men come away with the chocolates.

Stars Shine in Strong Team Performance

Whilst all the Men from Bondi put on a phenomenal display, the individual brilliance within the playing group was evident through their moments of magic.

Twenty-year-old halfback Sam Walker showed maturity beyond his years when he noticed Latrell Mitchell defending up in the line, to which he responded by grubbering for himself and scoring his seventh try of the season. Walker tallied up fourteen of the Roosters’ 26 points, successfully converting all four tries and kicking a penalty goal.

After seeing older brother Nat make try-scoring history just two weeks ago, Egan Butcher was inspired to get in on the action as he barged over former Rooster Latrell Mitchell to score his side’s fourth try of the game.

Just as Souths were looking likely on the attack with three minutes left, Paul Momirovski miraculously leapt from the field of play to bat a Rabbitohs kick-for-touch back to his teammates, giving them possession.

Tedesco Leads His Side to a Historic Victory

Having led the Red, White and Blue onto the pitch for their first-ever game at the new Allianz stadium, Captain James Tedesco etched his name even further into the history books.

After covering 100 metres in the first 20 minutes of the contest, Tedesco went on to run a total of 275 metres – by far the most of any player from either team.

He capped off the impeccable performance with a try, two line breaks and five tackle busts, as well as a clutch tackle on a runaway Alex Johnston in the final few minutes of the match.

New Stadium Renews Old Rivalry

Dating all the way back to 1908, the oldest rivalry in Rugby League was renewed once more 114 years later in front of a sell-out crowd.

The receptive crowd were already on their feet just five minutes into the heavily anticipated contest, when former Rooster Latrell Mitchell was dragged into the in goal off the back of a terrific kick chase from Joseph Manu and company.

Easts went on to snap a four-game hoodoo against their bitter rivals, winning the match 26-16 in the 228th game played between the two foundation clubs.

It’s a victory they’ll look to back up next week as they host Souths once again at Allianz Stadium in week one of the 2022 NRL Finals.