The Sydney Roosters have sent a warning to the rest of the NRL that predictions of struggles this year may be off the mark.
The young side dominated a near full-strength finals contender in the Sharks without a five of their star players who are out on Origin duty, storming to a 42-16 win.
The Chooks now sit 11th with 12 points, on a congested table, with only for-and-against keeping them out of the eight, setting themselves up for a late-season charge when their stars return.
Earlier, Dylan Lucas’ hat-trick has powered Newcastle to a vital 25-6 defeat of four-time reigning premiers Penrith, who slumped back to the bottom of the NRL ladder in Bathurst.
1. Young (and old) Roosters defy the odds – again… but don’t mention DCE!
Trent Robinson’s depth was expected to be well and truly tested this week with five stars out – but the men who remained in the side really stood up and made it count.
James Tedesco was at one stage considered a 50-50 with Dylan Edwards for the Blues No.1 jersey but the Roosters would have been glad the selectors overlooked him.
The fullback had 17 runs for 194 metres, five tackle breaks, a stunning try assist pass to set up Hugo Savala, then capping it off with a try in the final three minutes.
Daniel Tupou showed his aerial skills, giving Mawene Hiroti nightmares twice flying high to give his side an early 14-0 lead.
Even debutant Xavier Va’a had a first NRL game to remember, scoring with just his second touch of the game. After the Roosters got the tap back after a high bomb, he found himself in space and powered through a hole to score next to the posts.
Dom Young also got a try to close out a great night for the Roosters in his return after being dropped out of the side, finishing with 19 runs for 158 metres.
Young halves Sandon Smith and Savala controlled the game and the kicking game often troubled the Sharks back three.
No.7 Savala delivered the most mature display of his nine-game first-grade career impressing his coach.
“He was very clear with what he was going to do in this game and he spoke those words, and he got that result as well,” said Robinson.
“He was very clear on what his role was tonight for the team and we needed it … he set the tone.”
Daniel Tupou of the Roosters celebrates scoring a try. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
But Robinson brushed off questions over whether the club really needs to sign Daly Cherry-Evans.
“I’ve been really clear with my intentions, and I also don’t think it’s the right time to talk about that,” he said.
“On a night like tonight, to shift direction towards that, I don’t think it’s the right time – I think it’s right to celebrate the team and the players.”
The side has been written off many times this year, but continue to knock over heavyweights, proving they are the real deal.
2. Villain Mulitalo crosses the line with high hit
The Sharks will be sweating on the Match Review charge sheet after Ronaldo Mulitalo was sin-binned and placed on report midway through the first half for a high hit on Mark Nawaqanitawase.
The Sharks winger has been creating a bit of a stir in recent weeks for his niggly play and getting in opponents faces, but this act of foul play could cost him some time on the sideline.
The Cronulla winger raced up and put on a big hit on the opposing centre, taking him out late and high.
Nawaqanitawase was able to get the pass away in time, as the Roosters were in the process of scoring a razzle-dazzle try that started in their own half.
Fox League commentator Mick Ennis believes he will have a case to answer for, while colleague Mal Meninga would be surprised if he wasn’t suspended.
“I think he’s gone for a couple of weeks at least,” Meninga said.
“He’s one of the spiritual leaders of their team, so they have to replace him, I’d think.”
In one of the shortest press conferences of the season, coach Craig Fitzgibbon says the tackle was the least of his problems on the night.
“Back down to earth with a thud,” the Sharks coach said of the performance overall.
“I don’t make excuses … we got outperformed, and it was a real attitude check for us that we’re going to have to work on.”
3. Finally some recognition for hat-trick star Lucas
Newcastle have struggled for points this year, yet they now have two players who have recorded hat-tricks.
After Fletcher Sharpe recorded three tries against the Rabbitohs in Magic Round, this time it was an unlikely hero, Dylan Lucas.
He crossed three times in the first half and should have had a fourth, beating the fullback in the race to the corner but dropped the ball at the last moment. He was able to joke about it after the game.
The second-rower has only played six games before Bathurst this season due to injury but while it was a career-best game in terms of scoring, the Knight’s work rate is not something new.
The forward has been somewhat of an unsung player in the Knights pack, with four of Lucas’ appearances the full 80 minutes, with the other two 76 minutes each.
Four out of his six games have also been over 40 tackles, and he has only missed 100 running metres once. This game against Penrith he had a season high 212 metres.
The 24-year-old is a player Newcastle may need to prioritise on a long term, beyond his current contract to the end of 2027.
Dylan Lucas of the Knights. (Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)
4. Marky Mark feeling at home in the NRL
Mark Nawaqanitawase continues to shine in the NRL and with a try and a try assist and four tackle breaks, he was giving the Sharks plenty of headaches.
After coming up with the try of the season so far last week against the Bulldogs, Kevin Walters noted on Fox League that a lot of his game play resembled what he learnt in rugby union.
“I’ve been paying particular notice of your rugby skills that you are introducing into league,” Walters said, as he was interviewing the rugby convert.
“Your try last week, that’s rugby. Your try today that’s rugby sevens skill work. Hats off to you, you are doing a great job introducing league people to some new skills as well.”
The Roosters centre has played nine games this year and already has eight tries, but his try assist at the end to Dom Young was just as impressive.
He came almost to a stand still before drawing in the defence and creating space on the outside.
Nawaqanitawase says he’s starting to feel at home in his new game, even though there’s still a lot of learning to go.
“I have had a bit of time in the saddle,” the Roosters centre said.
“The game is very physical, so that is something that I am still trying to get used to.
“The nature of the game is very quick and there’s a lot of running, and contact.
“I am lucky to have some skills there, so I just have to use them for this team and hopefully I can bring more out for them.”
5. Newcastle’s Sharpe fullback replacement, as coach calls for recognition
Both sides were missing players for Origin, including the Knights captain and star player Kalyn Ponga – but they did not seem to miss him.
Fletcher Sharpe slotted into the fullback role very seamlessly.
The 21-year-old stood up with 21 runs for 284 metres. He scored in just the fourth minute of the game which set the tone for a dominant 24-0 first half performance.
“I’m so happy for them, one by one as they came into the sheds you can just see everything: Relief, certainly happiness,” Newcastle coach Adam O’Brien said on Saturday night.
“I know a lot will be written that it was understrength Penrith but seven of our best players are out. So I don’t want to hear that story.
“We’re not out of it (our slump) yet, there’ll be more written about us at some point, we’ve just got to focus on putting in performances like that more often.”
The Kick: Panthers paper-thin defence in Knight-mare start
Missing their Origin stars, Nathan Cleary, Dylan Edwards, Liam Martin, Brian To’o and Isaah Yeo the premiers were tipped to struggle. But few saw the ambush in the first half coming.
Penrith were on the ropes early, and the margin should have been at least 28-nil at the break as Lucas beat the fullback but bombed a certain try with his poor finish.
Despite an 80 per cent completion rate, Penrith had 51 missed tackles to just 23 from the Knights.
The Panthers also bombed two tries in the first half as well as there being a sin-binning to Liam Henry. The premiers conceded just one point in the second half, but they only managed one try themselves.
It was un-Penrith like, especially in the Ivan Cleary era.
Goal-line defence was again a major issue for Penrith in the first half, with back-up halfback Brad Schneider targeted by Lucas ahead of his first two tries.
“I’m just super disappointed with the start,” said coach Cleary.
“A game like this when you’re obviously down on troops, it’s the worst start we could find. Confidence was down early and it became a pretty tough night.
“I was obviously much happier with the second half but it would’ve been nice to have seen that in the first half.”
Penrith are now one point adrift at the bottom of the ladder – how much worse will it get this season?
– with AAP
