Five of the Best: Suncorp Stadium Spectacles

With the second annual Magic Round set to kick off in Brisbane this week, it's time to look back on some of the many memorable matches the Red, White and Blue have played in the Queensland capital. 

With over 30 years worth of matches to go over, we've narrowed it down to Five of the Best. 

Brisbane Blitz and Four Tries for Skids: Round 20, 2010, Roosters vs Broncos

The Roosters survived a rollercoaster of a Round 20 match against the Broncos as the 2010 NRL Finals Series loomed.

Without key personnel in halfback Mitchell Pearce and forward Nate Myles, the Tricolours entered the contest as underdogs, and their opponents would take full advantage of the omissions as Andrew McCullough dived over to score from dummy-half just two minutes in.

Despite the early setback, a reply ten minutes later saw Dally M Medallist Todd Carney pirouette out of a tackle and reach out to score the side's first try after Anthony Minichiello had been penalised for a double movement just minutes prior.

Not five minutes later, the mercurial five-eighth set up a charging Shaun Kenny-Dowall to score with a pearler of a pass, before a break up the middle from Frank-Paul Nu'uausala set up their third try in the space of ten minutes, with Kenny-Dowall bagging his second.

Up 16-6 at the break, the Easts underdogs continued to rally as rookie Joseph Leilua bagged a try from a slick inside pass from Minichiello, before an 85-metre effort from Kenny-Dowall saw the centre complete his hat-trick in style.

But three tries in quick succession breathed some life into the Broncos, with a dubious try then handing them the lead despite what was an obvious knock-on. However, Kenny-Dowall would be the hero, scoring his fourth try to seal the match in the 73rd minute to ice a 34-30 win. 

 

Grand Final Bound: Preliminary Final 2010, Roosters vs Titans

In front of a full-capacity crowd of over 45,000, the Sydney Roosters put the Gold Coast Titans to the sword, claiming victory in emphatic fashion with a 32-6 win.

The Tricolours survived an early scare as their opponents coughed up two kicks, one over the line and one on the other end of the field, and that was enough for Mitchell Pearce to take advantage and find Sam Perrett off the end of his own boot.

Despite the Titans hitting back with a try of their own, the final 60 minutes of the match was all Red, White and Blue, as quick hands saw Perrett go over for a double just five minutes later, taking a slight 12-6 lead at half-time.

More errors from the Gold Coast nearly led to more points for Easts, only for a Todd Carney kick to be dropped by Mitchell Aubusson, but a desperate try-saving tackle from captain Braith Anasta stopped their opponents from equalising and swung the momentum their way. 

A barnstorming run from back rower Daniel Conn saw the Roosters extend their lead, before Anasta stamped his mark with ball in hand to crash over and seal the match.

Carney extended the lead with a penalty goal to put the result beyond doubt before a runaway Frank-Paul Nu'uausala streaked away 30 metres to put the cherry on top and book a place in the big dance. 

Last Minute Thriller: Round 3, 2014, Roosters vs Broncos

In just their second trip to Suncorp Stadium against the Broncos in the last decade, the Roosters survived yet another high-scoring heart-stopping match. 

The defending Premiers arrived in Brisbane looking to back up their 56-4 thrashing of the Eels just a week prior, but to their surprise, it was the Broncos striking first to take an early lead. 

But the boys from Bondi hit back immediately as the Broncos lost the ball from the kick-off, finishing off a slick backline move to score, and a barnstorming Sam Moa bulldozed through the Brisbane defence to give his side a 12-6 lead after fifteen minutes played. 

The Broncos replied to equalise, and although the visitors came close to scoring on the stroke of half-time, the scores remained 12-all as both sides headed into the sheds. 

Trent Robinson's men fell behind as a penalty and try in the corner saw them extend to a six-point lead, but with a quarter of the match left, the Red, White and Blue needed to hit back as SKD reached out to level the scores, only for the home side hit back in quick succession to lead by eight with time running out.

But the Roosters hit back as a right-side raid saw Roger Tuivasa-Sheck score, and in a dramatic final two minutes, the Mitchell Pearce and Boyd Cordner combination struck as the backrower tore through to score the winning try. 

Premiership Precursor: Round 9, 2019, Roosters vs Raiders

With the Roosters in search of back-to-back Premierships and the Raiders looking to make the Grand Final for the first time in 25 years, few could predict this would be the precursor to the 2019 decider after a dramatic and entertaining Magic Round clash. 

Easts got on the board first as Cooper Cronk and James Tedesco combined to find winger Matt Ikuvalu, who scored five minutes into the contest with an acrobatic effort.  

The fullback and halfback were at it again just minutes later as a break up the middle of the field saw Tedesco put Cronk away under the posts, finishing off with a classy celebration with a gentleman's handshake.

In a high-scoring opening ten minutes, the Raiders replied with a four-pointer of their own, but the Red, White and Blue replied to take a 16-6 lead after a quarter of the match gone.

The red-hot Roosters continued their rout as they entered the sheds at half-time after a runaway Sitili Tupouniua put Tedesco through to extend the score to a commanding 30 points to 6.

Canberra opened the scoring on the resumption with two quick-fire tries to bring them back into the contest, and with ten minutes to go, it was game-on as the lead was closed to six points.

In a tense final minute of play, a frantic finish saw the Raiders throw a forward pass over the line, with the defensive pressure of the Bondi Wall saving the day, surviving a thriller and claiming a 30-24 victory. 

 

Roosters Record Rout: Round 4, 2020, Roosters vs Broncos

With Rugby League back after a two-month layoff, the Roosters sent out an early warning shot to the competition after a record win over the Brisbane Broncos, piling on 59 points.

From start to finish the Red, White and Blue were on song, with the Morris brothers combining early as fill-in-fullback Brett put Josh away for the first four-pointer in the fifth minute.

Four minutes later the scheming custodian was at it again, this time linking up with Joseph Manu, before a textbook tackle from Victor Radley set the ball free from their opponents. From there, the Tricolours took advantage as the Clovelly Crocodile charged over to score. 

Fellow forward Angus Crichton joined him on the scoresheet, and the Roosters were in again as Luke Keary and Radley combined to get over under the posts, before the diminutive five-eighth slotted a field goal on the stroke of half-time.

The carve-up continued as an Isaac Liu burst through the middle to send Keary over the line, before Daniel Tupou's magic flick pass saw Lindsay Collins score a barnstorming try to extend the lead.

Crichton bagged his double with a crafty dart from dummy-half, while Tupou took advantage of a quick set of hands to bring up the century, before Brett Morris finished what he started as he touched down to complete the 59-nil victory.