The Sydney Roosters visited the Melbourne Storm at AAMI Park on Friday night in a semi-final clash.
Easts Hit Back
Having fallen behind by 10 points after the first 25 minutes of play, the Tricolours were searching for a way to reduce the deficit before half time.
A daring right-to-left play from the visitors caused some problems for the defence on their line, forcing Melbourne to give away a set restart.
Smith Stands Up
Scooping the ball up from dummy half on the first tackle, Brandon Smith burrowed through three defenders to find his way to the line for his side’s first points.
Captain Courageous
With the Storm leading by four points, they looked set to extend their advantage as Harry Grant charged through the middle and got the ball away to Tom Eisenhuth.
Covering 20 metres as he raced for the corner, Eisenhuth was brought down by the skipper James Tedesco in a brave bootlace tackle on a much bigger man.
Putting in yet another strong performance, Tedesco covered the most metres of any player from either team with 234 while also breaking out of six tackles and offloading on three occasions.
Defence Stands Strong
Trailing by four with 25 minutes on the clock, Easts were faced with defending a full set of six on their own line after knocking the ball on.
Melbourne were out for blood from the very first play, shifting the ball wide to Reimis Smith who was dragged to the ground by Jaxson Paulo.
Chancing their arm a few plays later, Cameron Munster played a short ball to Trent Loiero who broke through the line, but a determined chase from Victor Radley saw him execute a potentially try-saving tackle on the back rower.
The Bondi Wall showed up again later in the match, as they managed to defend another full set on their line before shutting down a field goal attempt from Munster.
Lindsay Levels the Game
With Melbourne on the attack, a forced error from Tyran Wishart gave the visitors some much needed possession as they searched for a try to close the 12-6 deficit.
After they opened the set with strong runs, Easts broke through Melbourne’s line thanks to the fast feet of Sandon Smith, finding Victor Radley on his inside who was brought down less than 10 metres out.
Collins Owns the Big Moments
Showing up at dummy half again, Smith threw an arching pass to Lindsay Collins in space, racing over the line to tie the game up with 13 minutes left.
Roosters Take the Lead
Searching for a point to give them the edge, the Tricolours needed a huge set to march out of their half and deep into opposition territory.
A strong run from Nat Butcher put them on the front foot as he covered 15 metres on the second tackle, putting the team in good stead.
Lining up a field goal on the fifth tackle, Sam Walker delivered a one-pointer for the second straight week to put the Roosters up inside the last 10 minutes.
Walker slots the field goal
Despite their best efforts, the game slipped from their grasp as Melbourne crossed the stripe late to advance to the Preliminary Finals next week.
