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Cooper Cronk has delivered in his first NRL Finals appearance as a Rooster, playing an instrumental role as Sydney defeated the Cronulla Sharks 21-12 to move into a home preliminary final.
The Roosters came out of the blocks strongly at the start of the game, and while there wasn’t much in it, the Roosters found themselves with a six-point lead into the final ten minutes.
Cronk then stepped up, putting a field goal through to confirm the Roosters spot in the preliminary finals.
The Sharks will be frustrated with their performance. They had a stack of opportunities and plenty of time on the opposition line in the final 20 minutes, but simply couldn’t find a way to score, botching a number of tries.
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Sosaia Feki opened the scoring for the Sharks, before Cooper Cronk answered back in the 12th minute.
The Roosters certainly had the better of the first half, but not by much, with both sides locked in an arm-wrestle throughout. There were few stoppages and plenty of end-to-end play, with the game physical, fast-paced and free-flowing.
Joseph Manu would score a try for the Roosters on the stroke of halftime, but Edrick Lee then answered back shortly after the break, keeping the status quo.
That would be where the fun ended for the Sharks though as Latrell Mitchell and Daniel Tupou scored back-to-back tries, sending the Roosters into the lead, from which point they never looked back.
Cronulla had their opportunities dominating the final 20, but couldn’t get over the line and will be back next week.
The victory means the Roosters will now take on the winner of next week’s semi-final between the Rabbitohs, and the winner of the Broncos and Dragons tomorrow afternoon.
The Sharks meanwhile, have to turn around and play again next week, taking on the Penrith Panthers on Friday night.
Sydney Roosters 21
Cronulla Sharks 12