The Roosters entered this season strongly favoured to become the first team since the Brisbane Broncos in 1992-93 to successfully retain the title.
The Chooks overcame a slow start to the season, a result of last year’s World Cup and their victory in the World Club Challenge, to finish as minor premiers for the second consecutive year.
Let’s now look back at what went right and wrong for the Roosters in 2014.
Sydney Roosters
Final ladder position: first (16 wins, 8 losses, +230 differential)
After finals: third
What went right?
Once again the Roosters finished the season as minor premiers, rattling off six games in a row from Round 21 to claim top spot on the ladder for the first time in the season in the very last round.
James Maloney and Mitchell Pearce both responded to their omissions from the New South Wales State of Origin team by engineering four straight victories between Rounds 11-14 inclusive, conceding only 12 points in each match.
Anthony Minichiello scored the first (and only) hat-trick of his career in the club’s thumping 56-4 win over Parramatta in Round 2, showing he had something left in the tank.
What went wrong?
Last year’s premiership success, the fact that they supplied the most players of any other NRL club for the rugby league World Cup, and their World Club Challenge victory all took their toll as the Chooks dropped four of their first six matches of their premiership defence.
Halfback Mitchell Pearce was involved in a nightclub incident at Kings Cross, leading to him being dropped for their Round 10 trip to Townsville and ultimately being left out of the New South Wales State of Origin squad which broke eight years of Origin heartache with victory in the first two matches.
Best win: defeated the Brisbane Broncos 30-26 at Suncorp Stadium in Round 3
In their first appearance at Suncorp Stadium since 2010, the Roosters appeared gone for all money when they trailed the Brisbane Broncos 26-18 with less than 10 minutes to go.
However two quick tries, including the match-winner by Boyd Cordner with two minutes to go, saw the Roosters steal victory 30-26.
It was their fourth victory in the Sunshine Capital from as many appearances in the last decade. The Roosters are rarely fixtured to play in front of their Brisbane fans but they do take the occasion on, previously winning in 2005 and 2010 (twice) since their last loss in 2003.
Worst loss: lost to the South Sydney Rabbitohs 32-22 at ANZ Stadium in the first preliminary final
It was the worst possible way for the Roosters to farewell long-time club servant Minichiello and Sonny Bill Williams, who has returned to rugby union in pursuit of a second Rugby World Cup.
The Roosters led 12-0 after just ten minutes and it seemed that they would be on their way to consecutive grand finals for the first time in a decade, but they crumbled under the Bunnies’ second-half pressure.
Going into halftime with scores locked at 12-all, the Roosters were kept on the back foot throughout the second half, which turned out to be the last 40 minutes of their season.
Two late tries saved the club from a humiliating scoreline to their bitter rivals from Redfern.
The future
The Roosters face something of a rebuild in the coming years. Minichiello’s retirement means the Roosters will have to appoint a new captain, likely to be either Maloney, Pearce or Jake Friend; the club could go for co-captains.
As far as player transfers go, there are no notable arrivals, though Remi Casty has left the club bound for the Catalan Dragons in the Super League.
A slide down the ladder seems inevitable, but with a roster that still contains Maloney, Pearce, Friend, Sam Moa, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Aidan Guerra, it shouldn’t be that serious.
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