Disappointing defeat to Tigers raises more questions about Sydney Roosters
SOME of the problems that arose in the Roosters’ shock loss to Wests Tigers appear bigger than the combinations most expected would take time to gel.
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THERE were some terrific performances over the weekend and there were some average ones.
But while the Wests Tigers delivered the biggest upset of round one, the big disappointment had to be the Sydney Roosters.
You can forgive James Tedesco for an ordinary first-up performance. Cooper Cronk tried his guts out.
They will both get better as the weeks roll on, especially if Luke Keary is back this week.
But some of the problems appear bigger than the combinations most expected would take time to gel. Let’s start with their forwards. They finished last season under fire and after coming off second best against the Tigers pack it’s only raised more questions.
MATCH REPORT: Benji leads way as Tigers shock Roosters
The champion former Newcastle hooker Danny Buderus made a solid point in Fox League commentary when he said Jake Friend needs to play “more upstream”.
By that, Buderus is saying Friend has a habit of playing sideways, not going forward to draw in defenders. Friend was-flat footed and just shovelling the ball to one-out runners.
He had two runs for three metres, while there was virtually no ball playing from the Roosters pack all night. And how do you have a player like Boyd Cordner and play him off the bench? If Cordner was fit enough to be on the bench, even without trialling, you start him.
Unless there was something more to it, the only message this sends to the Tigers is that these blokes don’t rate us.
And how do you have a strike weapon like Latrell Mitchell in your team and not get him more clean ball? Fox Sports Lab showed Mitchell finished with five runs for 33 metres.
The Roosters looked wound up by the pressure of going into the season as premiership favourites. Whereas the Tigers played with great tenacity and energy and were prepared to chance their hand, the Roosters appeared too caught up with not making mistakes.
Yet they still made plenty.
Even playing conservatively, they completed at 67 per cent to the Tigers’ 84 per cent. They gave up two penalties for not playing the ball correctly.
When Luke Brooks was sent to the sin bin early in the second half, the Roosters went for a penalty goal to make it 2-all.
It was an astonishing decision, with the Tigers on the back foot after a break from Blake Ferguson. With all that strike power — Tedesco, Mitchell, Ferguson, Joseph Manu, and with the Tigers down to 12 men, Trent Robinson’s side took the two.
Sure, it’s only round one and the Roosters have the roster to win the comp.
But through last year’s finals series there were question marks over some of their tactics and team selections and the arrival of Tedesco and Cronk hasn’t cleared some of them up going on what we saw on Saturday.
The Roosters now take on the Bulldogs this week.
This game is going to be massive for both teams given their first round defeats but particularly for the Roosters.