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Roosters 22, Rabbitohs 18: But what does it mean for the finals?

4th September, 2014
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Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson has copped a huge fine for his spray at the NRL's refs - but he was right about one thing. (Image: AAP)
Expert
4th September, 2014
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Looking forward to another dose of the Roosters versus the Rabbitohs in the first week of the finals – as long as the Sea Eagles do the right thing and make it happen by beating the Cowboys.

There is obviously a question mark over whether that will happen, with Manly down on forward strength and playing away from a home against a North Queensland outfit that will presumably be chastened by what happened against Cronulla on Monday night.

But rule one in this competition is that you don’t rule anything out. The Cowboys will start favourites, but hardly overwhelming ones. It won’t be a shock if the Sea Eagles win.

So what do we make of the 22-18 win by the Roosters over South Sydney last night?

First, I thought the Roosters had a bit more of an advantage in the first half than the 8-2 halftime score in their favour suggested.

Second, the Roosters scored 14 points to nil, advancing their lead to 22-2, while the Rabbitohs were down to 12 men following the sin-binning of Kirisome Auva’a early in the second half.

I would have predicted them to go further ahead anyway, with 13 on 13, but not as far as 22-2.

And third, Souths ate right into the deficit with three tries in the last 16 minutes to make the final difference just four points.

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Important? Not important? Has some meaning? I go for option three.

The Roosters, with a 20-point lead, looked like they had lost a bit of intensity and didn’t appear to rise again in that area until after Souths had scored the second of their three tries.

But the fact is it got a bit too close for comfort and what happened in those last 16 minutes will at least allow the Rabbitohs to feel a bit better about themselves, regardless of whether they’re playing the Roosters or their only other possible opponents next weekend – Manly.

The Rabbitohs certainly missed the suspended Adam Reynolds. They could have done with his kicking game, in particular, and his direction.

But he will be back next weekend, while the Roosters have a couple of players whose on-field actions last night are bound to be scrutinised by the match review committee.

Plus, Sam Burgess wasn’t at his best for Souths. He was injured against Canterbury last weekend and looked to be playing hurt against the Roosters. Maybe next week, with further treatment and at least eight days between games, he’ll be better.

So, a key player back for the Rabbitohs, and another hopefully in his best form, plus one or two players potentially in judiciary trouble for the Roosters – all these things could have a bearing.

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Whatever happens, if the Roosters do play the Rabbitohs again it’s bound to be intriguing. Their clashes are very watchable.

Even when last night’s score stretched to that 20-point advantage to the Roosters, it was worth watching to see if it got really embarrassing for Souths or whether they were going to be able to stop the bleeding.

It’s always tricky for those involved when we get these situations where two teams play each other two weeks in a row. Quite often, the team line-ups look pretty similar from game to game, but we get a different result the second week to the one we got the first week.

That lingering uncertainty is why I’ll be cheering for Manly when they play North Queensland. I want to see the Roosters going around against the Rabbitohs again, with a jump straight from week one of the finals to week three as the prize for the winners.

That would make it a fascinating contest.

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