Roosters v Broncos: Where the NRL finals clash was won and lost

THE Roosters are one game away from a grand final after a pulsating 24-22 win over the Broncos. Here are the key areas that decided the thrilling finals clash.

Boyd Cordner on the charge for the Roosters against the Broncos at Allianz Stadium.

• MATCH REPORT: Roosters edge Broncos in a thriller

• PLAYER RATINGS: Mixed bag as Roosters take narrow win

• ANALYSIS: Benji Marshall shows he’s still got it

THE Roosters are one game away from a grand final after a pulsating 24-22 win over the Broncos.

Here’s where the game was won and lost.

ROOSTERS WORK THE FRINGES

The Roosters’ best work in the first half came when they worked over the edges of the ruck. On both sides of the field they found joy with Brisbane’s right side struggling for combinations and their left simply falling apart. The Aidan Guerra and Luke Keary tries were prime examples of poor edge defence. They fell apart again for the Latrell Mitchell try, and it cost them an improbable win. Part of this must be attributed to the absence of Darius Boyd — the skipper plays a huge and underrated role as an organiser in both attack and defence and Brisbane sorely missed his guidance.

Luke Keary busts through the Broncos to score.

A MIXED BAG FROM BENJI, OF COURSE

It was an uneven performance from Benji Marshall — he kicked well, but made some basic errors and did not combine with Milford as well has he would have liked. However, his kicking game really gave Brisbane a boost — he put James Roberts over with a nice grubber and fired a brilliant hoof back across his body for an attempted 40/20 that lead to the second Corey Oates try. Even if Blake Ferguson didn’t throw it back inside to nobody it still would have been a belter. Errors combined with magic has been a theme of Marshall’s career — and as good as his kicking was it’ll be his final boot of the night, a low-percentage grubber that blew a try-scoring chance, that will haunt him the most.

Benji Marshall had a mixed night for the Broncos.

BIG MEN BACK IT UP

The Roosters warned Brisbane earlier in the week about what to expect and they backed up every word, dominating the middle third of the field from the go. Isaac Liu had perhaps his best game in first grade, showing sharp footwork around the ruck and playing a major role in establishing the Chooks’ dominance early. It is no coincidence that Brisbane had their best period of the first half when Liu and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves left the field. The entire pack picked out Ben Hunt whenever they could — Dylan Napa in particular made it his mission to go straight at the Broncos makeshift hooker.

Isaac Liu on the charge for the Roosters against the Broncos at Allianz Stadium.

CHOOKS STILL PUTTING IT TOGETHER

In a scenario that has become irritatingly familiar for coach Trent Robinson, the Roosters looked sublime for 20 minutes before going off the job in the back period of the first half. For all their undoubted talent, these kinds of things should not be happening at this point of the season. If this seems overly critical given their victory, ask yourself — would such a patchy performance be enough to defeat the Storm? Given their position, that should be the only question that matters in regards the Roosters — and right now the answer is no.