Sydney Roosters take out Manly to claim second position on ladder

The Roosters have ticked off The Bulldogs, St George Illawarra, Penrith and now Manly to sit second position on the ladder.

Manly v Roosters

Another hoodoo bites the dust. In fact our biggest hoodoo has been well and truly buried, on their home turf.

The Roosters have ticked off The Bulldogs, St George Illawarra, Penrith and now Manly.

A gutsy 16-4 win sees the Roosters sitting in second position on the ladder, one place behind bitter rivals Souths. Trivia Night presenters will be searching for the record books this week to find the last time both sides sat together at the top of the ladder.

Brookvale Oval was as noisy as a minute's silence during the first half as the Roosters dominated from the outset.

The only time the home supporters were heard was during their standard booing, for reasons they do not know themselves. It's one of the great traditions, booing by the home fans when they have the ball.

The Roosters went another half of football without conceding a point. It's a great thing that the players are not spending much time under the goalposts waiting for conversions to be kicked.

In many ways the match failed to justify the hype.

Both sides were guilty of making silly errors and none better than enigmatic Roosters centre Shaun Kenny-Dowall, who put on a move worthy of a run on the Benny Hill Show.

The enigmatic centre was in open pastures after picking up a loose ball. It brought flashbacks of his intercept try against the Wests Tigers in 2010.

But, somehow, he lost the ball with nobody even close to him. It was a piece of magic that only SKD would be capable of.

The second half was a tough affair. Roosters front rower Jared Waerea-Hargreaves was sent off for what looked to be nothing more than a careless high tackle.

Perhaps the referees have been listening to talkback radio and thought they must prove a point by giving him an early shower.

Thankfully the resilient Roosters defence held on and a late try sealed the match 16-4.

The Roosters now face the North Queensland Cowboys in Townsville.

Our overall record against them is very good. Our previous loss this season was against Canberra, another team we had a good record against. It will be interesting to see which way this match goes.

It will be difficult backing up after such a brutal game.

A win will prove that this Roosters team is capable of going a long way in this year's competition. Perhaps we already know that.

Easts to win.