Source :- THE AGE NEWS
Key posts
ROOSTERS 42, SHARKS 16
Who needs Daly Cherry-Evans? Arguably not the Sydney Roosters, judging by the impressive performance from rookie halfback Hugo Savala in their 42-16 win against Cronulla in Gosford on Saturday night.
Appearing in his ninth NRL game, the 23-year-old created the first two tries with pinpoint cross-field kicks that veteran winger Anthony Tupou caught cleanly to score.
Savala then backed up a break by winger Dominic Young and was on hand to receive the ball from skipper James Tedesco before racing away to post the Roosters’ third try.
Savala has featured in all five of the Roosters’ wins this season, and his combination with five-eighth Sandon Smith – who kicked seven goals from eight attempts – appears to be improving each week.
Meanwhile, waiting impatiently in the background for a medical clearance to return from a knee reconstruction is Sam Walker, regarded as one of the best young playmakers in the NRL.
So why the need for DCE, who revealed last week that he’d narrowed his search for a new club down to the Roosters and Dolphins?
Presumably, the Roosters believe the 36-year-old Queensland Origin captain can have a similar impact to Cooper Cronk, who helped them win back-to-back titles in 2018-19.
The only problem is Savala appears in no mood to hand over the No.7 jersey.
In the fourth minute, he weighted his kick to the left-hand corner to perfection, and aerial specialist Tupou gratefully latched on for the 168th try of his NRL career.
Seven minutes later, spectators were left with a sense of déjà vu when Savala again launched the ball towards the left edge and Tupou again plucked it from the air to score.
The Sharks narrowed the deficit to 14-6 when skipper Cameron McInnes crashed over between the posts, but 10 minutes later, the Roosters were in again, after Savala finished off slick lead-up work from Young and Tedesco.
The result lifted the Roosters from 13th to 11th on the ladder. Cronulla stay in fifth spot.
It was especially pleasing for coach Trent Robinson, given his team had lost three players to State of Origin – Angus Crichton, Lindsay Collins and Robert Toia – while Cronulla were unaffected by representative commitments.
For the Sharks, it was a reality check after winning their preceding three games.
Adding to Cronulla’s woes, winger Ronaldo Mulitalo was sin-binned and placed on report in the 26th minute for a late tackle on Roosters centre Mark Nawaqanitawase, which is likely to attract the attention of the match-review committee.
Mark Nawaqanitawase scores.Credit: Getty Images
Nawaqanitawase produced the perfect response 12 minutes into the second half, when he was on hand to score after Mulitalo spilled a bomb.
Debutant forward Xavier Va’a was next to score for the Roosters, diving over with his second touch of the ball in the NRL, after a smart pass from Victor Radley.
Tries by KL Iro (60th minute) and Mulitalo (69th minute) narrowed Cronulla’s deficit.
The biggest cheer of the night came three minutes from full-time, when the tireless Tedesco backed up to score.
That’s full-time on the Central Coast, where the Roosters have continued a weekend of upsets with a 42-16 victory over the Sharks.
A gutsy performance from the Tricolours who were missing all of their Origin stars, with a 79th minute try for Dominic Young as the cherry on top to push them past 40 points.
A disappointing performance from Cronulla tonight, with the team lacklustre and disorganised.
Full-time: Roosters 42, Sharks 16
Roosters skipper James Tedesco adds another try for his team, thanks to a combination between Benaiah Ioelu and Blake Steep.
The Tricolours are nearing 40 points here. A stunning upset against the Sharks tonight.
Roosters 38, Sharks 16 with two minutes to go
These final 10 minutes have been chaos.
Both teams are messy, scrappy and clunky.
Let it be done, let the Roosters continue the weekend of upsets.
Roosters 32, Sharks 16 with five minutes to go
Cronulla go back to the Roosters right edge and find joy once again.
Braydon Trindall and KL Iro link up, before shifting the ball out to Ronaldo Mulitalo on the edge.
Poor defence again from Dominic Young and Mark Nawaqanitawase – will the Sharks go there again?
Roosters 32, Sharks 16 with 12 minutes to go
Finally, the Sharks score in this second half.
I wouldn’t be celebrating too much – the mountain is still a tall one to climb – but it could be what the Sharks need to get their mojo back.
It’s KL Iro who scores easily on the left edge off the short ball from Braydon Trindall.
Roosters 32, Sharks 12 with 20 minutes to go
Xavier Va’a enters the game in the 52nd minute and he scores in the 54th.
That’s another try for a debutant this weekend, and it extends the Roosters lead even further after he soars over under the posts.
I can’t see the Sharks coming back from here – they’ve been absolutely terrible tonight.
Roosters 30, Sharks 6 with 24 minutes to go
Back-to-back Cronulla errors and the Roosters capitalise with points.
This time Hugo Savala’s is out to the right edge, where Ronaldo Mulitalo knocks the ball on and Mark Nawaqanitawase scoops it up to score.
Roosters 26, Sharks 6 with 28 minutes to go
