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Call them what you will. The masters of salary cap management, sombrero wearers extraordinaire or the most professional and well run NRL club; the Roosters are the story on every other day of the week in Sydney.
Once again they will be the talk of the town, after a classy 24-16 comeback victory over the Tigers on Friday night.
2019 had been increasingly looking like something of a challenge for them. After a convincing start to the season, their State of Origin and injury-affected train had derailed, with four losses from five and an awkward clash looming against the Tigers at Bankwest Stadium.
Off the back of consecutive victories against the Rabbitohs and Cowboys, Wests had grafted their way to the fringes of the top eight and last night’s match provided the perfect opportunity for them to stamp their semi-final claims.
It loomed as a telling clash for both clubs, with another loss bringing the Roosters’ credentials into serious question and a win for the Tigers adding another layer of complexity to the composition of the top eight come season’s end.
In short, a Wests win would see more and more people believing they were the real deal in 2019 and the Roosters beginning to look increasingly fragile.
The match began in a flurry when Nat Butcher crashed over for the visitors in the fourth minute and the subsequent conversion from Latrell Mitchell built an early lead for the Tricolours.
Ryan Matterson answered almost immediately and, when Esan Marsters converted his bustling try in the tenth minute, the Tigers had made a stern statement to the Roosters that their night was not to be an easy one.
A 13th minute Marsters penalty goal gave Wests an 8-6 lead before an appalling decision impacted what was fast becoming a compelling contest. A Rooster clearly charged down a Tigers’ kick, yet the goofballs in green failed to restart the tackle count.
Moments later and, as if to script, Daniel Tupou scored after brilliant vision from Luke Keary saw him hurl the ball into open spaces for the winger to cross untouched.
It was as atrocious a decision as I have seen all season and Benji Marshall found it difficult to contain his anger when the try was eventually awarded. For how long the best rugby league competition in the world can put up with sheer refereeing incompetence is tough to measure, but the Tigers can take little solace from the officials’ lack of feel for the game.
Wests entered the sheds in deficit 8-12, when they potentially deserved a skinny lead.
Some sense of justice saw the Tigers score after just four minutes of the second half when a cracking Benji Marshall pass found Paul Momirovski on the left wing.
Just minutes later, Marsters’ outstretched right hand added another four pointer after a pin-point Benji Marshall kick into the Roosters in-goal area. The Tigers were rampant.
Unfortunately, both tries were unconverted and Marsters stood to rue the misses with the Tigers leading 16-12.
He did. The champs were back within minutes when Mitchell and Keary sent Victor Radley under the sticks for the Roosters’ third try in the 61st minute.
Then at 18-16, Mitchell did what Mitchell does so well. The Origin reject hopped, stepped and jumped his way through the Tigers’ defensive line in the 55th minute to score a brilliant try. His conversion sent the Roosters to a 24-16 lead and killed off any hope the black and gold had of securing the two points.
With 20 minutes remaining on the clock, things looked like getting ugly for the Tigers.
To their credit, Wests probably created the best of the late chances in the match, as the Roosters shut up shop and went into game management mode in the final minutes.
There was to be no addition to the score.
The Tigers will walk away knowing they threw all they had at the champions and were within a conversion or two of putting their foot on the Roosters’ throat. The Chooks will welcome back Boyd Cordner and James Tedesco next week, once their Origin commitments are done, and feel the ship has finally been righted.
With Mitchell and Keary striking some form, it all points to another tilt at the title for the Roosters and another Tigers season of what could have been.