Summary
The Roosters have been building for a number of weeks now and tonight they took their already impressive game to another level, dismantling the Knights at the SCG. The 30-point margin flattered Newcastle, who came in undermanned and looked likely to concede with every Sydney sortie.
Ten Easts players carried for over 100m with Taukeiaho and Crichton dominating the middle of the park, Friend and Keary brilliant behind them, and every single back involved in either scoring or assisting a try. It was breathtaking at times. Add in a very promising cameo from Sonny Bill Williams, and it’s hard to see anybody stopping Trent Robinson making it three premierships in a row. I defy anyone to find a weakness in that 17 in that form.
The one downside to the night was the early exit of skipper Boyd Cordner after he hit his head on the ground attempting to dive on a loose ball during the first half. With the co-captain no stranger to concussions, the Roosters will have a difficult balancing act to play with such an important figure in the coming weeks.
The Knights never gave up, but they lacked muscle in defence and made only one line break for the night. Their two tries both came against the run of play courtesy of deft kicking from Mitchell Pearce. Their team selection suggested they were prepared for defeat coming into the round and they will move swiftly on to preparing for their first finals campaign since 2013.
Thanks for joining me tonight, let’s do this again soon.
Roosters 42-12 Knights
Seriously impressive from the Roosters.
78 mins: Taukeiaho should score after great work from Liu, but the big prop can’t hold onto the smart offload. The Knights go down the other end and almost cross but Lee is held up on his back. The Roosters then rebound at pace, Keary kicking early in the set for Brett Morris to claim on the full, then chip ahead only for Hoy to turn on the afterburners and palm the ball dead.
Updated
76 mins: Pearce knocks on unopposed early in the third consecutive set under Sydney’s posts.
73 mins: Decent spell of possession from Newcastle, but their drives are like gentle waves lapping at a cliff face against this imposing Roosters defence. A testing chip to the right corner forces a rare line drop-out.
SBW is back on for a final burst.
TRY! Roosters 42-12 Knights (Keary, 69)
Friend breaks the line darting from dummy half, he looks outside to Tedesco who immediately returns the ball inside to Keary who jogs under the posts. Simple, clinical and effective.
Flanagan 7/7 off the tee.
Keary gets himself try number ✌#NRLRoostersKnights #TelstraPremiership pic.twitter.com/oDA7KKIgaG
— NRL (@NRL) September 12, 2020
Updated
67 mins: The last few minutes have been even, perhaps even verging on Newcastle’s terms. A couple of tackle busts have sent the Chooks a warning, and Pearce has done well to probe on both edges. Things get even better when they earn a penalty for offside on the last tackle, but it’s almost immediately undone with an awful play-the-ball, made worse with the wasting of a captain’s challenge. Not a great night at the office for the Knights.
64 mins: Keary’s been excellent tonight, but he makes a mess on the last tackle here, darting from dummy half then throwing the pass to Tupou on the left wing with no room to manoeuvre. Newcastle respond with an attack featuring consecutive offloads to take them deep into Sydney territory, but the promising set ends with Tupou safely defusing a Pearce bomb.
61 mins: SBW is off after 26 promising minutes. You could really sense his impact tonight after that questionable return last week, spreading play from first receiver and offloading at will through the middle. What an option.
58 mins: They need all that breath just to keep pace with the Roosters when they turn on the gas. Josh Morris is the latest to break the line and sprint clear, with the tackler approaching he finds Tedesco but it needs one more pass to nail the move but with the fullback under pressure his back-of-the hand flick goes to ground. When they decide to play, the Roosters, they really turn it on.
57 mins: Newcastle don’t threaten in possession but make decent yardage. It’s soon made to look paltry though when Tupou makes a bust and offloads for Keary to send the Roosters beyond halfway. The kick doesn’t threaten though and the Knights can catch their breath with a solid set through the middle.
55 mins: 24 completions to 14 tells its own tale, but those impressive numbers hide the potency of those two-dozen Roosters sets. That number doesn’t become 25 when Tedesco uncharacteristically loses control in contact. Respite for the Knights, finally, in an unrelenting half.
53 mins: Actually, there was a penalty at the end of that phase so Sydney mount another attack! This time Collins is the forward to pound into Newcastle’s defence, and he busts through and crosses! But no try. The TMO somehow found an obstruction that was only there if you were determined to find it.
52 mins: SBW has impressed so far tonight, much more controlled than his return against Canberra, operating almost as a massive second hooker. He’s always looking for the pass or the offload, and more often than not he finds it, but then when the opportunity to hammer the line at pace presents itself he takes it, and he’s inches short of a try before butchering the resulting play-the-ball.
50 mins: The Roosters are a joy to watch. Powerful down the middle - and now with Crichton and SBW on the field replete with offloads - dangerous from dummy half, and blistering out side. Every attack involves all facets, and every attack looks a try in the making. The Knights escape again, just, when a Flanagan kick through is only just repelled by a despairing Lee dive.
48 mins: The punishment almost arrives though. More silky handling to the right gives Manu a look, then they turn left off the boot of Flanagan who hoists one for Tupou to win in the air, palming the ball down for Tedesco to shark and almost send Morris over in the left corner, but there just isn’t the room to execute such a precise pass.
46 mins: Whatever the Knights planned at the break is not working. Lino again fluffs his lines with his boot, this time going long over the dead ball line from the restart. Surprisingly the Roosters don’t make them pay, not immediately anyway, because there’s a long pause while the TMO upholds a captain’s challenge from Friend for an incorrect knock-on call against Crichton.
TRY! Roosters 36-12 Knights (Tupou, 43)
The first set of the half is a sloppy one from Newcastle, ending with Lino kicking out on the full.
Of course the Roosters make them pay. They labour for four tackles in midfield until an SBW offload sparks some Harlem Globetrotter stuff out to the right wing. On the last tackle there’s a set restart, from which Sydney flood left and SBW is again instrumental, drawing players towards him at first receiver then spinning a beautiful deep pass that precedes three glorious passes - Keary to Morris to Tedesco to Tupou - all in a flash with soft hands, putting the left-winger over in the corner. Simply magnificent.
Flanagan makes it six from six with a ripper from the whitewash. What a game.
💯 tries in the NRL! #NRLRoostersKnights #TelstraPremiership pic.twitter.com/i76hPo6AAH
— NRL (@NRL) September 12, 2020
Updated
Teams are out for the second half.
Half-time: Roosters 30-12 Knights
Well, that was fun. Some scintillating attacking rugby from both sides setting the scoreboard alight. The Roosters really should be more than 18-points ahead after racing out of the blocks but Newcastle grew into the game and through Pearce’s kicking game have kept themselves afloat.
Can’t wait for more in the second half!
We want more! 😤 #EastsToWin #NRLRoostersKnights pic.twitter.com/b2Q9CcA31G
— Sydney Roosters 🏆🏆 (@sydneyroosters) September 12, 2020
Updated
38 mins: Cordner will not return tonight following his HIA.
TRY! Roosters 30-12 Knights (Tedesco, 37)
Thrilling, thrilling try from the Roosters! SBW is at the heart, taking the ball at first receiver then spinning a superb pass to Manu as contact approached. Manu then immediately returned the ball inside to Flanagan who was alert to the space in behind the Knights’ line so he dinked a beautiful pitching wedge across his body where Tedesco was barrelling through and on hand to complete the score. Wonderful football.
Flanagan kicks his fifth conversion.
Tedesco joins the try-fest 🔥#NRLRoostersKnights #TelstraPremiership pic.twitter.com/aL38hISwzH
— NRL (@NRL) September 12, 2020
Updated
35 mins: On comes SBW... But the Knights are still in possession, and again they look dangerous when Pearce puts boot to ball. Lee, not for the first time, wins the chase, but his second nibble through is much too heavy and the ball goes dead.
TRY! Roosters 24-12 Knights (Shibasaki, 34)
A rare error from the excellent Friend curtails an ominous Roosters phase of play and the Knights turn defence into attack superbly, driving downfield from the scrum then executing another brilliant kick and chase. Pearce dabs a high ball towards the crossbar from 10m out on the left wing, the aerial contest sees Josh Morris fail to do enough defensively, and there’s no cover behind, leaving Shibasaki free to gather the loose ball and touch down under the posts.
Well, well, well. Funny old game.
It’s 60/40 - but the Roosters have 400m more run metres!
Perfect bounce for Shibasaki 🙌#NRLRoostersKnights 24-12. #TelstraPremiership pic.twitter.com/TPCsPB3AfD
— NRL (@NRL) September 12, 2020
Updated
30 mins: That Knights try does nothing to sting the Roosters. Morris offloads, then Keary snipes from dummy-half, and in the blink of an eye Sydney are deep in Newcastle territory. The money move shapes from the middle, through hands, to the right edge, but just when some magic was required Flanagan can’t catch and pass quickly enough and Lee steps out of the line to knock-on in the process of attempting an intercept.
TRY! Roosters 24-6 Knights (Tuala, 28)
Stop the clocks! Newcastle end a mediocre set around halfway but Pearce’s booming bomb is airborne long enough for Lee to execute a superb chase, take off and fingertip the ball backwards. Toala was front and square - to use AFL parlance - and he picked up the pieces, darted around the melee and over in the left corner. Terrific work from Lee, and the Knights have something to cheer.
Lino drills the extras from the touchline.
Edrick Lee perfectly taps the ball back to Tuala 👌#NRLRoostersKnights#TelstraPremiership pic.twitter.com/Nder8QEP5Z
— NRL (@NRL) September 12, 2020
Updated
27 mins: In the process of diving on the ball in his chip chase Cordner’s head smashed into the SCG turf. That means he’s off for his HIA and Aubusson is on for his record-equalling appearance. No need for the Chooks to take any risks with their co-captain given the circumstances.
25 mins: Every time the Roosters take possession they look like they’re going to score. They’re too big and strong through the middle, too sharp in tight, and too clean when they expand. Their latest attack (awarded a try on-field) end with Cordner knocking-on in-goal after almost claiming Friend’s chip through.
The only downside so far is Brett Morris. The veteran winger has looked proppy since the second set and continues to grimace off the ball.
TRY! Roosters 24-0 Knights (Manu, 22)
Almost a fourth try to Easts with Brett Morris flying down the right wing only to be stopped at the death by Hoy. The inevitable arrives soon after though. More pressure from the Chooks and with a simple play-the-ball through the middle with a couple of dummy runners, Friend selects Manu to carve his way through a paper-thin defensive line.
Flanagan makes it four from four.
Chooks are on 🔥#NRLRoostersKnights#TelstraPremiership pic.twitter.com/e1bIq1Rkc0
— NRL (@NRL) September 12, 2020
Updated
TRY! Roosters 18-0 (Keary, 16)
Oh my - it’s another! Brilliant again from the Roosters, and again it’s down the short-side on the left wing. Cordner, Josh Morris and Tupou earned the hard yards on the touchline, then Tedesco was alert in support for the pass back inside. The flow of the move looked in doubt when the star fullback took a juggle, but Keary was on hand to arrive in the nick of time to receive the pass and steam to the line unopposed.
Flannagan has now kicked three from three from the left of the uprights.
Champagne footy 🍾#NRLRoostersKnights#TelstraPremiership pic.twitter.com/zB03coaoe1
— NRL (@NRL) September 12, 2020
Updated
TRY! Roosters 12-0 Knights (Tupou, 14)
Bosh! This is looming as a statement performance from the Roosters already. The try goes to Tupou, who earned it by steaming through Hoy like Jonah Lomu running over Tony Underwood in the 1995 rugby world cup, but it was created by Keary. From dummy-half the five-eighth shaped to go inside but instead scooped up the ball one-handed and darted down the short-side, the left. In his 150th game he ate up the metres before timing his pass to the flying Tupou to perfection.
This could be an SCG scoreboard with a familiar look to it.
🤤🤤🤤#NRLRoostersKnights 12-0. #TelstraPremiership pic.twitter.com/bb9ln3r1NS
— NRL (@NRL) September 12, 2020
Updated
12 mins: Friend has been excellent early on and his vision and timing almost sets Keary free, then Crichton and Liu hammer against the door with the line in sight. Eventually the ball spins to the right but Newcastle’s defensive is alert and snuffs out the danger. The Roosters look sharp and hungry tonight. With Friend directing traffic there’s an effervescence to their possession.
10 mins: If the Knights are going to get anything out of tonight’s match they’re going to need to assert themselves for long periods, not give away cheap set restarts to allow the Roosters to turn a set entirely in their own half to one that ends on the Knights’ line.
8 mins: Newcastle are improving every attack. Their latest set again offers reasonably territory with Lee almost sneaking through on the left wing before he’s tap tackled. Pearce’s kick then earns a penalty for the Roosters impeding the chase but the full set inside 20m never had the muscle or the guile to ruffle the feathers of such an organised Chooks defensive unit.
6 mins: The Knights defend the next Roosters set much more securely, and even force Brett Morris to require the attention of trainers after Klemmer’s forceful intervention. With ball in hand Newcastle make decent yardage and Lino’s kick looks very tasty but Tupou comes steaming off his wing and flies miles in the air to claim a spectacular defensive mark. That sets up the Roosters for an attack ending with a bomb of their own, but this one ends with Tedesco knocking on.
TRY! Roosters 6-0 Knights (Josh Morris, 4)
Friend, back in the side after his head knock, makes the first break of the night. His dart into Newcastle territory sets up an unstoppable wave of momentum. From the following play-the-ball Friend’s back involved, directing traffic to the short side, the left, where Cordner breaks the line and unselfishly offloads to Josh Morris to power over in the corner when the skipper could have collected the points himself.
Flanagan curls his conversion up and over off the right-hand post. The Roosters are away.
Keary puts Cordner in a gaping hole, and JMoz backs up for the try 😤#NRLRoostersKnights#TelstraPremiership pic.twitter.com/qQ03qp7Pub
— NRL (@NRL) September 12, 2020
Updated
2 mins: Sydney return the kick-off with a mediocre set that ends with them kicking from inside their own half. It only takes one hit-up from the Knights to earn a set restart, but they can’t make it count, Pearce kicking long to Tedesco.
Peeeeeeeepppppp!
We’re underway at the SCG...
Shortly before, and for the duration of, the minute’s silence, the Fox camera was trained on Boyd Cordner, who was clearly welling up. It felt horribly intrusive to me.
The Roosters will wear black armbands tonight following the tragic passing of Joel Dark, who was the cousin of Roosters Captain Boyd Cordner. They will also observe a minute’s silence prior to kick off. pic.twitter.com/EWM1kCgkI2
— Sydney Roosters 🏆🏆 (@sydneyroosters) September 12, 2020
The Roosters are in their familiar tricolour uniform tonight. The Knights are in their change strip of all-white.
With the finals on the horizon it feels like a three horse race for the premiership to me between the Roosters, Panthers and Storm. Right now, I can’t rank them, what do you all reckon?
Sadly, as a Bunnies's fan, I have to agree. I think ourselves and the Raiders could match it with the three (at least be competitive) on a particular day, but not three games in succession.
I'm tipping the Storm, but as you say the three are neck and neck.
Yeah, presumably one of the Raiders and Rabbitohs will make up the numbers in the prelims (sorry Eels supporters). You wouldn’t put it past either to cause an upset, but hard to see them backing it up a second time.
With the finals on the horizon it feels like a three horse race for the premiership to me between the Roosters, Panthers and Storm. Right now, I can’t rank them, what do you all reckon?
The Roosters are coming home with a wet sail and as their injury list eases they’re only going to become more formidable. Perhaps the only question is the form of their combination in the halves, which is something I’m going to keep an eye on tonight.
It’s clear and cool at the grand old SCG tonight. A northerly breeze may prove a factor in the kicking game.
Sun goes down at the SCG, we're not far away from Saturday night footy! 👏 #EastsToWin pic.twitter.com/ZtK10n7JfE
— Sydney Roosters 🏆🏆 (@sydneyroosters) September 12, 2020
Kalyn Ponga doesn’t feature tonight, but he has been central to the week’s major talking point after being battered by Chad Townsend. Nick Tedeschi has had his say:
Rugby league has and always will be a collision sport built on courage, physicality and the innate will to overcome. The sport cannot and will not exist without its raw brutality, yet that inherent violence must be controlled to protect the game’s greatest asset: the players, and in particular its star players.
Knights XVII
Adam O’Brien might have his sights set on battles to come because he’s spent the week shuffling his troops and resting Kalyn Ponga, Mitch Barnett and Hymel Hunt. Tex Hoy comes in at fullback, Edrick Lee returns from injury on the wing and Herman Ese’ese starts in the pack.
Tonight marks the start of Aidan Guerra’s farewell tour. The Queenslander announced his retirement earlier this week, ahead of what promises to be his final outing against the side with whom he won a premiership in 2013.
1. Tex Hoy 2. Edrick Lee 3. Enari Tuala 4. Gehamat Shibasaki 5. Starford To’a 6. Mason Lino 7. Mitchell Pearce 8. David Klemmer 9. Kurt Mann 15. Daniel Saifiti 11. Lachlan Fitzgibbon 12. Aidan Guerra 10. Jacob Saifiti. INTERCHANGE 18. Sione Mata’utia 13. Herman Ese’ese 16. Josh King 21. Chris Randall
❤️💙
— Nothing But Knights (@NothingButNK) September 10, 2020
“I never could’ve dreamed of having a career like this”
🗣 Aidan Guerra #NRL pic.twitter.com/suVwin0mtc
Roosters XVII
The big selection news for the Roosters is the resting of Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, a decision that allows club legend Mitch Aubusson to equal Sydney’s all-time appearance record from the bench. Tonight marks game 302 for the forward, drawing him level with Anthony Minichiello. Aubusson has been out with a wrist injury since round 14 and has already announced he will retire at the end of the season.
Elsewhere, skipper Jake Friend returns from a week off nursing a head knock, which means understudy Freddy Lussick misses out. And Luke Keary registers his 150th game of first-grade rugby league after starting his career with the Rabbitohs back in 2013.
Oh, almost forgot - something something Sonny Bill Williams. I wonder if he’ll see more than 13 minutes in his second outing on his return to the NRL?
1. James Tedesco 2. Daniel Tupou 3. Josh Morris 4. Joseph Manu 5. Brett Morris 6. Luke Keary 7. Kyle Flanagan 13. Isaac Liu 9. Jake Friend (c) 10. Siosiua Taukeiaho 11. Boyd Cordner (c) 12. Sitili Tupouniua 16. Angus Crichton. INTERCHANGE 14. Nat Butcher 15. Lindsay Collins 17. Sonny Bill Williams 19. Mitchell Aubusson
Preamble
Hello everybody and welcome to live coverage of another NRL blockbuster. With the season coming to the boil nicely, the ominous-looking Roosters take on the undermanned Knights at the SCG. Kick-off is at 7.35pm.
After a slow start to 2020 and an early season dogged by injuries, the Roosters have been in the unfamiliar position of having to make their push for silverware from the pack, rather than as frontrunners. But the longer the season has progressed, and the more familiar the team list has become, that back-to-back premiership class has shone brighter. It’s going to take one heck of an effort (from either Penrith or Melbourne you’d think) to deny a three-peat.
To a mortal football team Sydney’s run home of four matches in a row against finals-bound opposition would be a nightmare, but to this all-conquering Easts outfit it’s the perfect tune-up for stiffer tests ahead. Last week they put fifth-placed Canberra away, now they have seventh-ranked Newcastle to deal with. Victory would lift them into third spot for the first time this year and go one step further to securing a top-four finish.
After seven years of misery the Knights are going to finish safely in the top-eight, but that’s likely to be all they have to celebrate following a season undermined by significant and regular injuries. Star fullback Kalyn Ponga is the latest to suffer a spell on the pine following the brutal hit he suffered last time out against Cronulla. Newcastle did the business in that one by 28-points, but the week before succumbed to the Warriors by 30.
The Chooks have won 10 of their past 13 against the Knights by at least 16 points. It would take a brave punter to back against them making that stat read 11 from 14 tonight.
Remember, if you want to get in touch at any point, you can reach me on Twitter or email.
I don't like saying this as I'm a Storm supporter but I think the Roosters are going to be the team to beat. Their attack is scintillating. Not just tonight, but probably from their last three games where the ball distribution amongst the backs after the forwards roll up the field is dynamite. When they are on song it's beautiful to watch.
Forget the two Storm v Roosters games already played so far. Obviously as a Storm fan I was delighted with those wins but this Roosters club are hungry for the threepeat. Imagine the bragging rights. No disrespect to Penrith who have been a joy to watch but I think they may have to wait until next year. They are going to go very close with the amount of gun players in their side but the Roosters have their own gun players who know how to play the big games that matter.
Having said that I hope I'm wrong. Can you imagine the Rooster supporters if they do win the GF? It doesn't bear thinking about.