Round 18 Roosters Vs Souffs Match Review
There aren’t many genuine local rivalries left in the NRL, but South Sydney against Eastern Suburbs remains a highlight on the calendar. If it wasn’t for the patchy weather on Friday afternoon, a huge crowd would have rolled into the SFS for the 7.45 kickoff. As it was, roughly 19,000 people turned up to see two sides play out 80 minutes of fiercely contested rugby league.
After South Sydney hooker Beau Falloon darted over for a soft try in the third minute, the game lifted in intensity. The Roosters were – not for the first time – crippled by terrible refereeing decisions. The Rabbitohs were the recipients of several piggy-back penalties which, largely, were not reciprocated. Souths stretched their lead from six points to eight after 21 minutes thanks to yet another penalty. Worse still, the Chooks were inexplicably denied one of the tries of the season after a linesman saw a knock on in a superb passing move down the right hand edge. But the Roosters refused to buckle.
Todd Carney, who marshalled the attack from five-eighth with Braith Anasta moving to lock, crossed for a try after a sharp pass from Jake Friend in the 25th minute. The remaining quarter of an hour was a ferocious battle between two well-matched forward packs. Sam Burgess threw his weight around for South Sydney, collecting Mitchell Pearce with a high tackle and making many more damaging hits. His back row partner Dave Taylor made a series of destructive runs but Friend and Jason Ryles, in particular, worked hard to limit the damage. After a tight first half, the Roosters trailed the Rabbits eight points to six.
The hosts made the better start to the second period. After 15 minutes, the Roosters coolly took advantage of an overlap to send Sam Perrett over in the far corner. Once Todd Carney added the extras to make it 12-8, the Roosters immediately forfeited the momentum. South Sydney rolled up the field and, after pressuring the Roosters’ defence for a few sets, Fetuli Talanoa scored a try to level the scores with 15 minutes left. Chris Sandow landed the sideline conversion that put South Sydney ahead (for a couple of minutes, at least).
In truth, the Roosters didn’t look like they could muster the energy for another try. They were slow off the defensive line and didn’t offer a huge amount in attack – Pearce was quiet in the second half; he looked tired after backing up from Origin. After the Chooks’ luck with the referees recently (the Roosters have won only five of their last 60 penalty counts), assistance from Jason Robinson and co. seemed like the least likely avenue back into the contest. So when Kane Linnett milked a penalty on the fifth tackle with three minutes left, it seemed like fate that the Roosters would score.
Indeed, it seemed like justice had been done when Mitchell Aubusson – who turned in another lion-hearted performance – crashed over to seal victory against our archrivals. After so many lost penalty counts and disallowed tries (we only need to think back to the first half to remember how rarely the Chooks have enjoyed the rub of the green), the winning try tasted a little sweeter knowing that our luck with the refs had finally evened up. Plus, you could almost hear the Rabbits’ fans hearts collectively breaking as we snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. No victory feels better than a win against the old enemy.
The supporters’ reward: a week in the top four. But it is perhaps worth remembering the last time the Roosters strung two victories together and coincidently ran into Canterbury the following week. The Dogs themselves have won three-in-a-row and have the wood over the Chooks after that Round 3 demolition at Homebush. It’s wonderful that Brian Smith is finally manufacturing some consistent performances but they need to continue. As quickly as the Roosters have shot up the latter, their advantage can be lost with a couple of poor matches.
But as wins go, Friday’s effort against Souths was one of the best.
