The Sydney Roosters fell 18-16 to the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in an arm-wrestle at 4 Pines Park on Sunday afternoon.
James Tedesco and Joseph Manu dominated in attack, breaking a combined total of 19 tackles, both claiming a try.
Nat Butcher's inclusion played a monumental role in defence, with the backrower making a game-high 55 tackles for a 96.49% tackle efficiency rating.
Round 18 Match Highlights: Roosters vs Sea Eagles
Point Scorers
- Junior Pauga: 4 Points (one try)
- James Tedesco: 4 Points (one try)
- Joseph Manu: 4 Points (one try)
- Sandon Smith: 4 Points (two goals)
Most Run Metres
- James Tedesco: 299 metres (27 runs)
- Daniel Tupou: 197 metres (17 runs)
- Junior Pauga: 132 metres (10 runs)
- Joseph Manu: 129 metres (13 runs)
- Lindsay Collins: 126 metres (13 runs)
- Corey Allan: 115 metres (10 runs)
- Naufahu Whyte: 95 metres (9 runs)
- Jared Waerea-Hargreaves: 92 metres (12 runs)
Post Contact Metres
- Daniel Tupou: 70 metres
- James Tedesco: 63 metres
- Lindsay Collins: 50 metres
- Naufahu Whyte: 36 metres
- Junior Pauga: 33 metres
- Terrell May: 32 metres
Top Tacklers
- Nat Butcher: 55 tackles
- Victor Radley: 41 tackles
- Drew Hutchison: 37 tackles
- Jared Waerea-Hargreaves: 37 tackles
- Nathan Brown: 34 tackles
- Lindsay Collins: 28 tackles
- Sandon Smith: 27 tackles
Most Tackle Breaks
- Joseph Manu: 13
- James Tedesco: 6
- Junior Pauga: 6
- Daniel Tupou: 4
- Nat Butcher: 2
- Naufahu Whyte: 2
Offloads
- James Tedesco: 2
- Nat Butcher: 2
- Joseph Manu: 1
- Jared Waerea-Hargreaves: 1
- Naufahu Whyte: 1
- Nathan Brown: 1
- Junior Pauga: 1
- Corey Allan: 1
Linebreaks
- James Tedesco: 1
- Joseph Manu: 1
- Junior Pauga: 1
- Corey Allan: 1
Try Assists
- Joseph Manu: 1
- Nat Butcher: 1
- Sandon Smith: 1
Robinson & Tedesco: Round 18 Press Conference
Overall Match Statistics
| Statistics | Roosters | Sea Eagles |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 43% | 57% |
| Completion Rate | 79% (27/34) | 86% (39/45) |
| All Run Metres | 1,705 | 1,667 |
| Post Contact Metres | 488 | 557 |
| Line Breaks | 4 | 4 |
| Tackle Breaks | 34 | 46 |
| Average Set Distance | 50.15 metres | 37.06 metres |
| Offloads | 10 | 12 |
| Total Passes | 297 | 223 |
| Kick Metres | 554 | 836 |
| Forced Drop Outs | 2 | 3 |
| Tackles Made | 404 | 286 |
