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The Roosters kept their season alive with a 32-8 win over the Wests Tigers, setting up a crunch showdown with South Sydney for a spot in the finals – but will likely have to do it without two of their best following an injury to Joey Manu and another brain fade from Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.
Jared caught Koroisau high and then aimed a headbutt at Stefano Utoikamanu in the ensuing brawl, which will surely raise the ire of the Match Review Panel. David Klemmer might join him in the charges after TV footage captured what appeared to be a punch.
“It’s hard for Jared,” said Tigers coach Benji Marshall. “I know him pretty well, he’s got a pretty big head. That’s footy,” Marshall said in his post-match press conference.
“Jared’s one of those players that crosses the line and he turns into this beast and demon on the field and plays on the edge.
“I’ve been in a team with him and you love having those blokes on your team but I thought he crossed the line tonight, especially with the hit. He got what he deserved.
“The ref saw enough in it to be a sin bin, potentially probably a send-off.”
Trent Robinson was less sure.
“I didn’t see much to it, to be honest,” Robinson said. “He’s always going to get scrutinised. That’s really common.
“Jared does one and the whole world blows up. You want him to be on the edge and you want him to be in more control. That (the initial tackle) was a silly challenge. But people make more of it. It’s constant.”
Manu pulled up lame chasing a kick and the club later confirmed that it was a low grade tear, meaning he will almost certainly miss next week’s derby with the Rabbitohs that will determine who makes the eight.
“It’s mild but he still had to leave the field, which is never a good sign,” said Robinson.
It was carnage. Billy Smith left with a HIA late on, which may see him struggle to back up next week, as did Victor Radley with a nasty cut that may well also invite a concussion test. Brandon Smith was also in the company of the trainer as the game ended, holding his shoulder.
The Chooks had to win to ensure that Friday night’s derby was a live fixture, and got the job done with relative ease. They remain outside the eight for now, but would leapfrog Souths if they could defeat them next week.
Sam Walker returned after months on the sidelines and made an immediate impact, scoring a superb solo try and providing much needed spark to the attack. There were more hearts in mouths as he departed with a HIA, but Walker passed and returned to the game.
Luke Keary appreciated the return of his halves partner, too, and excelled with someone else doing the kicking for him. His three try assists came on both edges and off the boot.
Joseph Suaalii was also excellent, producing one of his best showings of the year once moved to the back to cover Manu with a try and a heap of metres in yardage.
All three will need to be at their best again if the Chooks are to complete the miracle turnaround and make the finals, along with James Tedesco, who missed tonight following a concussion last week.
The Tigers put in another game performance, but were never close to the win. Triston Reilly grabbed his first try in grade, but that was about it for Benji Marshall’s young team.
Manu’s injury is the latest in a horror round for some of the biggest names in the NRL.
Jarome Luai dislocated a shoulder on Thursday night and may now miss the finals series, with Clint Gutherson also departing that game before the close with a knee injury that will now require surgery.
Jahrome Hughes, the Melbourne halfback, failed to finish their win over the Gold Coast Titans with a knee complaint and is a major doubt for the finals.
All eyes were on Sam Walker for his first game since being dropped, then getting injured all the way back in April.
He couldn’t have done much more. Walker was on the scoresheet within 15 minutes, scoring a superb solo try, the sort that shouldn’t be possible for one of the NRL’s smallest players.
The diminutive halfback had already taken a run the play before, and stayed alive on the next play to take a pass before spinning and bouncing through several Tigers tacklers to get over.
Walker managed six runs in the first half alone, and took the bulk of the kicking, which allowed Luke Keary to focus on being the best version of himself too, with the five eighth creating several tries for teammates.
In defence, he was surprisingly decent, too. It’s early days, but there was a smart low tackle in the first half that denied Asu Kepaoa and a desperate attempt to get to a kick that stopped a Tigers move in its tracks.
But then disaster struck. Walker attempted a low tackle on Isaiah Papali’i and appeared to catch his knee, resulting in a nasty collision but, fortunately for the Chooks, not a Grade 1 concussion.
The halfback returned – though Smith departed not long after – and completed the game. They’ll need him next week, too.
There’s no need to kick the Tigers when they’re down, but they really don’t help themselves at times.
After starting well and rattling the Roosters, they shut up shop and invited their opponents on far too much.
This is a side lacking experience and clearly building towards the future, so it isn’t really fair to have too much of a go.
But repeated poor decision making and lack of endeavour with the ball held them back. One would hope that a side filled with youthful exuberance might show a little of it, or a that a side with nothing to lose might play like it.
Last year, they lost 72-6 to the Roosters and appeared intent on not repeating that rather than doing anything of their own.
It was reminiscent of a previous defeat this year, to Souths, where they only lost 20-0 but offered absolutely nothing with the ball. Even when the Roosters were down to 12 men, there was no threat.
There was effort, yes, and at this stage of the year, that’s not to be sniffed at. Fans might ask for a little more than dig, and perhaps some sign of how they might play in the future.
As a result of this, the spoon is officially theirs for a second year running. All bets are off for 2024, too.