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The Roosters got their first points on the board for 2023 with a 20-12 win over the Warriors, but they had it far from their own way at the Sydney Football Stadium.
The Chooks looked to be coasting after two quickfire second half tries, but conspired to give the visitors chances to come back. It was only a lack of troops – the Kiwis lost two to head knocks and Josh Curran to injury – and a late penalty goal that kept the margin comfortable.
It was at times a bit of a stodgy game, with New Zealand dogged and the Roosters scratchy. The heat didn’t help either, and in the end, the amount of tackling required from the Warriors told.
It could have been a lot more comfortable, with several left on the table for the hosts, but then again, the Roosters withstood a heap of pressure late to see the game out.
Along with the Warriors’ injury troubles, Brandon Smith also left early for the Roosters, with Trent Robinson confirming a back muscle injury that may yet rule him out of next week’s derby with Souths.
The Roosters win, but it would be hard to say that many of the questions from last week’s defeat to the Dolphins were answered.
The errors were less prevalent, but the disorganisation was still there. On several occasions, passes missed their target entirely and ended up on the deck.
They missed Victor Radley, opting to run a pure middle in Naufahu Whyte instead of a replacement ball-playing lock, and lost Smith early on too, which would blunt the attack yet further.
Indeed, the Chooks had 900 games of NRL experience on the sideline with Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Matt Lodge and Angus Crichton also on the short-term injury list.
“Some of the guys that usually play 15 minutes in the second half or a small role around half time started today, and started for the first time,” said Robbo.
“I really liked the role that they did. Those guys were rock solid and did the job we asked of them.”
But even beyond the outs, it took an age to get into gear. It’s early season and the Warriors defended superbly, but Robinson will surely not be pleased with the lack of creativity.
The gun left edge of Joseph Suaalii, Daniel Tupou and Luke Keary spluttered into life after the break, but took their time to get there.
“I’d say we were OK tonight in the circumstances, but I’d be pushing that left edge for more,” said the coach. “They did a good job tonight – Egan (Butcher) is learning that role and starting there, but between Luke and Su and Toops, they had good games and I expect them to improve week on week.
Eventually, through weight of pressure and several Warriors going down hurt, the pressure told. A win’s a win and, after last week, that’s probably just fine for Robbo et al. But it’ll need to be better against the Bunnies next time out.
Make no mistake, the Warriors are a different beast in 2023. The onslaught they withstood at the end of the second half would have seen plenty of generations of Warriors teams fall away, but the door remained firmly shut.
The first half stats were a bit mad: 70% territory to the Roosters, 59% of the ball and close to 800 metres…just one line break, Jaxson Paulo’s try. The difference was a penalty goal.
Webster can take so much out of this, especially from a benchmarking perspective. It’s something to point at in video and use to blow up the tyres of his lads. Hanging in there, in this heat, against that attack, is worth plenty.
Defence is part system organisation and part mentality. It’s the last bit of cohesion to come, so you can forgive a bit of early round rustiness, but the mental stuff, the dig and togetherness that stops repeated sets on your own line, seems already to be in place. That’s a huge plus for New Zealand.
They’ll leave this one wondering what might have been, given the chances they had and the performance they put in.
“I’m super proud with how hard we’re competing and for how long when things aren’t going our way,” said Webster. “We’re not throwing the towel in.
“When we got to a six point game, we had enough ball to go after the game. I felt it was likely a bit of fatigue factor and how much pressure we put on ourselves, we weren’t executing at the speed we would like.
“There’s lots of things that we want to be, but we want to be resilient, keep turning up and have each other’s back. We want to get details right, because in the NRL, being tough and working hard isn’t going to be enough. You have to get the details right.
But it’s a great place to start.”
If you’re one of the world’s best players, you expect to have a say in any game you play. For Teddy, there was a bit of everything in this one.
He bombed one try, failing to grasp a simple pass from Sam Walker that would have seen him clear under the posts. Moments later, he should have scored again, only for Joseph Suaali’i to selfishly go himself, almost butchering the opportunity. Lucky for the youngster, Walker was on hand to take an offload and save his skin.
He might have had two misses, but he certainly saved two of his own. There was a one-on-one tackle on Edward Kosi in the first half that denied a Warriors try, and at a crucial juncture in the second, the fullback was perfectly positioned to halt Bayley Sironen and stop the comeback in its tracks.