Red-hot Roosters sound warning to NRL with 38-18 win over Warriors
Two Roosters have been cleared of any bans following seperate incidents in their side’s victory over the Warriors, with one star aided by a change to the NRL jucidicary system.
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A change to the NRL judiciary system has helped Sydney Roosters star Joseph Aukuso-Suaalii escape a ban for raising his knee in Sunday’s win over the Warriors.
The Match Review Committee slapped Suaali with a $1000 fine and a grade one contact charge for collecting Warriors hooker Wayde Egan in the head with his knee.
Suaalii’s running style has come under scrutiny in the past, and the Tricolours centre was banned for three weeks last year for a similar offence, which at the time was his ‘3rd and subsequent offence.’
Monday’s charge sheet had listed the latest incident as Suaalii’s first offence, raising plenty of eyebrows considering his priors.
But the NRL judiciary has introduced new rules this year where charges are scrubbed after a certain amount of games.
Grade One charges are scrubbed after 10 club games, grade two charges are scrubbed after 20 club games and grade three charges are scrubbed 30 matches or after one calendar year - whichever comes first.
Suaalii wasn’t the only Rooster to escape suspension, five-eighth Luke Keary and in-form back rower Angus Crichton are also free to take on Cronulla in Magic Round on Saturday.
The news will be welcomed by NSW Blues coach Michael Maguire who’s halves and centre stocks took a major blow over the weekend after halfback Nathan Cleary and Tom Trbojevic succumbed to long-term hamstring injuries.
Crichton was hit with a $1000 fine for grade one dangerous contact charge for tripping Dallin Watene-Zelezniak.
Keary escaped a ban for a chicken-wing tackle on Shaun Johnson but was fined $1800 over the incident.
But coach Trent Robinson will be without utility Sandon Smith, who is facing a one-game ban for grade two dangerous contact on Dylan Walker.
North Queensland’s Griffin Neame and Reece Robson were hit with $1500 and $1000 for a crusher and dangerous contact, respectively.
Titans forward Mo Fotuaika was fined $3000 for grade one dangerous on Tom Dearden.
MATCH REPORT - ROOSTERS VS WARRIORS
They look great on paper and they looked great at Allianz Stadium on Sunday afternoon when the Roosters backline blitzed the New Zealand Warriors.
Tearaway 22-year-old Dom Young made five line breaks, ran for long metres and scored a double, James Tedesco scored a try and had the pistons pumping, and Joey Manu’s footwork and hands bedazzled the Warriors’ left edge.
On a surface that held up mightily after torrential overnight rain and two games of rugby, the Roosters piled on seven tries — four in the first 15 minutes — and have now scored 138 points in their last three games.
They were just two points short of scoring 40 points for the third game in a row. It would have been the first time since Dave Brown was running around for the Tri-colours in 1935.
KEARY STAKES CLAIM
With 22 days until State of Origin game one and star halfback Nathan Cleary out for the series, 32-year-old Luke Keary made his own statement to NSW selectors on Sunday: I’m old but I’m good.
While the Blues’ number seven jumper appears to be Nicho Hynes’ to lose, the Sharks halfback remains under the same injury cloud as another Origin hopeful, Parramatta’s Mitchell Moses.
Keary was a composed presence in the halves and a fine complement to the excellent Sam Walker. Keary finished with two try assists, a charge down and a shot on Charnze Nicol-Klokstad.
“He is the most consistent half and he’s been playing really well all year,” Roosters and NSW captain Tedesco said.
“There’s obviously a lot going on there in the halves with people available.
“I’m sure ‘Kez’ would fit in 100 percent.”
Six missed tackles may count against Keary though it never seemed to for another Roosters half, James Maloney.
ROOSTERS AFIRE
Try of the match came early in the second half when Walker intercepted a pass on his own line, fed Young who bolted 60 metres only to be brought down in a covering tackle by Dallin Watene-Zelezniak who’d come flying across from the opposite wing.
Walker took the ball at dummy-half and immediately sent a long punt kick across to the left wing where Daniel Tupou caught it and scored.
SHAUN JOHNSON INJURY
The Roosters won the match with a four-try blitz in the first 15 minutes — two to Young and two to another Origin aspirant, Angus Crichton, who terrorised the injured Shaun Johnson.
While a chicken-wing style tackle by Keary on Johnson will attract scrutiny by the match review committee on Monday, Johnson’s arm hung limply from his shoulder for most of his 67 minutes.
At half-time Warriors coach Andrew Webster said he’d had a tough conversation with his playmaker.
“He wanted to go on. Said he wanted to go and fight here. I’m really proud of him, the way he wanted to do that,” Webster said.
“But as a result, where he’s at next week, anything like that, how long or if he’s out at all, I don’t know.
“If there was going to be an issue there, I would not have wanted him to go on. If it was going to end up a ruptured pec or something like that I wouldn’t want to have him on the field.
“He’s very sore at the moment. It started hurting him when he was passing the footy.”
The Roosters will sweat on the match review committee’s verdict on Keary’s tackle on Johnson. They will also have concerns after reports on Crichton (trip), Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii (high tackle) and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (late tackle).
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