The Sydney Roosters claimed a hard-fought 27-18 victory over the Melbourne Storm in The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup Round 20 clash at Allianz Stadium, making it three consecutive wins as both sides entered the contest chasing a third straight victory.
It was the Storm who drew first blood, with halfback Hayden Watson crossing in the fifth minute after sustained kick pressure forced a fortunate bounce that saw him pounce on the ball to score. Watson added the conversion to give the visitors a 6-0 lead.
The Roosters hit back through front rower Aston Warwick, who out-jumped Storm fullback Hugo Peel to claim a pinpoint Toby Rodwell kick and plant the ball down. Rodwell converted to level the scores at 6-all, and moments later booted a 40-20 to swing field position firmly in favour of the hosts.
Brooklyn Heath then produced a burst of pace to finish off the left edge in the 27th minute, capitalising on a Storm error to give the Roosters a 12-6 half-time lead.
The second half began in nightmare fashion for the Storm when they inexplicably allowed a Warwick kick to bounce in-goal, allowing the Roosters prop to claim a double and extend the lead to 18-6.
But the Storm rallied, with Angus Hinchey crossing twice in quick succession – the second a result of a slick line-break and an offload to stumble the Roosters defence – to reel the deficit back to nothing with the scores locked at 18-all.
Just when the Storm appeared to have all the momentum, hooker Benaiah Ioelu produced a moment of individual brilliance, darting straight through the middle from dummy half while the Storm's defence watched the edges, to restore the Roosters' lead at 24-18. Rodwell's conversion made it a six-point game.
A Toby Rodwell field goal late in the piece extended the margin to seven before a penalty goal deep in full-time confirmed the 27-18 result.
Talking Points
- Toby Rodwell was influential throughout, finishing with two try assists, a 40-20, a field goal, a penalty goal and four conversions.
- Angus Hinchey was the Storm's standout performer, crossing for two tries and consistently making his presence felt on both sides of the ball.
- Handling errors plagued both sides in wet conditions, particularly in the first half. Ball control proved the defining challenge of the evening, with attack after attack breaking down through unforced mistakes.
Key Moment
With scores locked at 18-all and the Storm threatening to take the lead, Liam Williams was adjudged to have been in front of a Declan Casey kick before grounding the ball. A try to Williams at that point could have been decisive for the Storm – instead, the Roosters charged the ball down to the other end, where Ioelu’s dummy-half burst broke the deadlock and proved the match-winner.
What's next?
The Roosters will look to make it four straight wins when they travel to McDonald Jones Stadium to face the Newcastle Knights next Friday. The Storm, meanwhile, travel to Redfern Oval to face the South Sydney Rabbitohs, seeking to bounce back.
