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The reason why the Roosters beat the Rabbitohs 22-18 in an eventual cliffhanger on Thursday night at Allianz Stadium was the Roosters had Mitchell Pearce and the Bunnies didn’t have Adam Reynolds.
If Manly wrap up the minor premiership by beating the Cowboys on Sunday, the Roosters and Bunnies will go around again in the finals, with Reynolds back on duty after a week-long suspension.
But Thursday night belonged to man of the match Pearce. He engineered all three of the Roosters’ tries, the first by somehow regathering possession after the ball had been slapped out of his arms to send winger Daniel Tupou in the corner for the opening try.
Early in the second half, with Souths centre Kirisome Auva’a in the bin for a professional foul on Pearce, the Roosters halfback sent Anthony Minichiello in for the second try, an ideal way for his skipper to celebrate his 299th appearance. Pearce then grubber kicked into the left-hand upright for James Maloney to gather and dive over.
While Auva’a was binned, the Roosters piled on 14 unanswered points to take their 8-2 halftime lead to 22-2. But even more telling was Pearce’s tackle on Greg Inglis late in the first half.
The fleet-footed Inglis broke clear from inside his own quarter, and with no-one in front of him he set sail for the try line 80 metres away.
There’s no greater sight in rugby league than Inglis in full flight, and for all money he was set to score with the scoreline 8-2 to the Roosters.
Pearce wasn’t even in camera range as Inglis neared halfway, but he suddenly appeared and grappled Inglis to the turf on the Roosters’ quarter line.
Pearce must have made up at least 10 metres on Inglis, no mean feat in itself. That was the try-saving tackle of the night, and in the nett result, a match-saving tackle as well.
Having said that, Souths will be a 10-point better side with Reynolds back for the finals.
Both teams played well on Thursday in sections – the Roosters for the first 65 minutes with their 22-2 lead, and Souths for the last 15 when they added 16 points, that included three tries.
But neither would be happy to rate themselves solid premiership contenders on the performance, when there’s Manly, Melbourne, Penrith, Cowboys and the Bulldogs lurking.
Love ’em, or hate ’em, Manly’s still the side to beat, even though they will have their hands full accounting for the Cowboys at Townsville, which should be renamed Thurstonville.
Johnathan Thurston is arguably the best rugby league footballer in the world, he grows an extra leg at home and is front-runner for a third Dally M to go with his 2005 and 2007 recognitions, as well as a third Golden Boot to go with his 2011 and 2013 awards.
If he engineers a win over Manly, the whole NRL finals series will be turned on its head.
And that’s exactly what the Roosters will be hoping for, a Cowboy win hands the Roosters the minor premiership, and a whole new ball game.