Roosters 12-4 Souths: the first half was no classic, and it was 4-4 after 40 minutes, despite the Roosters playing the better football.
The Rabbitohs came out playing better in the second half, but did not add to their score, despite concerted pressure.
The Roosters defence stood strong throughout the game, as you would expect given they have had the best defensive record all season.
They will now face Melbourne Storm in the grand final next weekend – the side with the second best defensive record this season.
We will know on Tuesday night if Billy Slater manages to get his ban lifted and will have a chance at a fairytale ending to his career. (And surely all neutrals hope he will at least get a chance to play?)
For the Roosters, there may be some question mark over Cooper Cronk for the grand final. He was carrying a left shoulder injury for most of the game, but the fact he remained on the pitch probably means he will be OK by next weekend.
Good night, and thanks for your company.
Rooster beat Souths!
Full-time: Roosters 12-4 Souths.
80 mins: Reynolds rolls the dice and misses a penalty. Souths are not coming back from this. Seconds to go. Roosters 12-4 Souths.
78 mins: there are two minutes to go. It’s too late for the Rabbitohs now. Roosters 12-4 Souths.
76 mins: the Roosters fans are roaring their side on. As well they might, they have one foot in the final. Roosters 12-4 Souths.
Updated
74 mins: poor play from Damien Cook again. Just what the Rabbitohs don’t need right now. Roosters 12-4 Souths.
73 mins: Blake Ferguson misses the conversion, five metres in from the line. Roosters 12-4 Souths.
Try for Roosters!
71 mins: Paul Momirovski scores a vital try in just his second game in the NRL. Roosters 12-4 Souths.
Updated
70 mins: a dreadful miss by Taukeaiho from almost in front of the posts. Roosters 8-4 Souths.
69 mins: That was a nasty tackle by Tatola on Cronk. Penalty to the Roosters. Roosters 8-4 Souths.
65 mins: great tackle by Collins on Sam Burgess. Sustained pressure from Souths, but great defence by the Roosters. Roosters 8-4 Souths.
61 mins: Lindsay Collins (no relation) is on for the Roosters and gets his first touch. Roosters 8-4 Souths.
60 mins: yet another knock on by the Roosters as Souths pile on the pressure. Roosters 8-4 Souths.
58 mins: the game has come alive, and so has the crowd. Roosters 8-4 Souths.
56 mins: knock ons galore. A lot of nervy players out there. Roosters 8-4 Souths.
53 mins: better play from Souths, but Tupou puts a stop to it. He’s having a fine game. Roosters 8-4 Souths.
51 mins: That was a great try from Ferguson, he powered his way through. He misses the conversion though. It remains Roosters 8-4 Souths.
Updated
Try for Roosters!
50 mins: Blake Ferguson gets over in the corner. Roosters 8-4 Souths.
47 mins: Just looking at the Souths fans in the stand and they don’t look happy. But for all the Roosters’ dominance, it’s still Roosters 4-4 Souths.
45 mins: Cronk is still playing, by the way, but is definitely carrying a shoulder injury. Roosters 4-4 Souths.
This is brighter start from the Rabbitohs.
Second half underway
It’s Roosters 4-4 Souths, but it’s Souths who most need to lift their game.
Half-time: Roosters 4-4 Souths.
40 mins: Cooper Cronk takes a stab at a field goal, but it’s just wide. He looks like he has a problem with his arm too and will be needing some attention at half-time.
38 mins: knock on by Angus Crichton, showing the pressure Souths are under right now.
37 mins: some nice play from the Roosters comes a cropper with a forward pass. That was the closest thing we’ve had to some sublime play so far tonight.
35 mins: massive kick from Reynolds, probably 70 metres. That took the pressure off nicely.
Updated
This game is not a thing of beauty. To put it mildly. We need a bit of magic from either side to raise the level of play.
And sorry to the readers too. I’ve fixed it in the original post.
32 mins: great catch from Tupou, relieving the pressure on the Roosters (and apologies to Tupou from me, for inadvertently saying Tedesco, rather than him, scored the try earlier – the picture above makes that clear).
31 mins: A long kick just went straight through the hands of Robert Jennings, but Souths weather the storm.
25 mins: Adam Reynolds kicks another penalty. Roosters 4-4 Souths.
21 mins: While I was changing the main picture, Souths crossed the line, but it was disallowed.
Taukeiaho is one of the few players with all the vowels in his name.
18 mins: Taukeiaho misses the conversion. Kicking almost from the line on the left, it goes well past the post on the right.
Try for Roosters!
17 mins: The Roosters come storming back with a fine try by Daniel Tupou. Roosters 4-2 Souths.
Updated
Souths take the lead
14 mins: Reynolds gets Souths on the scoreboard with a penalty. Roosters 0-2 Souths.
Updated
13 mins: Ferguson spills the ball. Third error from the Roosters. It was a howler. I think he took his eye off the ball.
11 mins: Big kick from Reynolds, but it’s still in play and Tedesco picks it up.
9 mins: Gagai loses the ball when Souths were close to the line. A let off for the Roosters.
8 mins: Souths have settled quicker and Roosters are making a few errors, gifting possession.
A reader has contacted me and speaks for many of us: “I hope Billy isn’t suspended. His chances of a second Clive Churchill medal will probably blow out to 50-50.”
6 mins: But it all comes to nothing, and is shortly followed by a penalty to Souths.
5 mins: Souths concede a penalty to the Roosters.
4 mins: Nice kick from Cook to relieve the pressure on Souths.
All three Burgess brothers are playing for Souths tonight, of course. A rarity in any sport.
Peep!
And we are off.
It’s a full house for the final rugby league game in this stadium.
The Roosters have won six of their last seven games at Allianz. We’ll know soon how they’re travelling on maintaining that run.
The teams are in.
#NRLFinals LATE MAIL is in ✉️ for #NRLRoostersSouths @sydneyroosters will start Momirovski in the centres which shuffles their back row as well, while the @SSFCRABBITOHS have one bench switch.
— LeagueUnlimited (@LeagueUnlimited) September 22, 2018
Details 👀 https://t.co/V3arVsismY pic.twitter.com/HznGrOHYqt
And this bears out what I said in my first post tonight, about this game dividing families.
Even though my daughter is a @SSFCRABBITOHS supporter as a @sydneyroosters supporting dad I still love ya. #uptheroosters #nrlroosterssouths #family pic.twitter.com/GLvrjkh1Du
— Djuro Sen (@DjuroSen) September 22, 2018
Some happy Souths fans. But will they still be happy in a couple of hours?
#NRLRoostersSouths #nrlfinal pic.twitter.com/o1bdK96Vur
— Matt Petersen (@MattPetersen2) September 22, 2018
And what a roller coaster week it has been for the Rabbitohs, Sam Burgess in particular.
In case you haven’t seen it, tonight’s winners look likely to be facing a weakened Melbourne Storm next weekend.
The NRLW match earlier was a bit of a one-sided affair.
Preamble
It’s the inner Sydney derby. It’s suburb versus suburb. It’s mate against mate. It’s husband against wife in some cases. And it’s sibling v sibling. Does it get much better than the Roosters against the Rabbitohs in a preliminary final?
