Sydney Roosters season review: Bad habits finally catch up with the Chooks
THE Roosters came within touching distance of a grand final berth in 2017 but the errors that dogged them all season finally caught up with them.
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THE Roosters rose from the canvas in 2017, improving from 15th last season to surge all the way to the preliminary final.
But for the third time since their 2013 premiership triumph, that was as good as it got for the Chooks.
Here’s what went right and what went wrong in their thrilling bounceback season.
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WHERE THEY FINISHED
Second in the regular season, third overall after they lost the preliminary final to the Cowboys.
WHAT WENT WRONG
That prelim final will weigh on the club’s mind all summer.
The bad habits that haunted them all season, namely the sloppy errors and mindless penalties, came back to bite them on the biggest possible stage.
We all saw how good the Cowboys became, but a team who finishes the regular season in second position should be able to get the job done at home in a preliminary final.
The defeat is the club’s third preliminary final loss in the last four years.
WHAT WENT RIGHT
Plenty, which makes the fade-out all the more frustrating. The Roosters rebounded well from their horror 2016 season — their two man imports, Luke Keary and Michael Gordon, both looked at home form the jump while several players took the next step in their development, most notably Isaac Liu and Latrell Mitchell.
Boyd Cordner had another brilliant season, as did Jake Friend. The veteran hooker really rose to the occasion as a playmaker when Pearce was missing during the Origin series and is clearly one of the best dummy halves in the game.
As Trent Robinson said after the club’s final match of the season, if you’d offered Roosters fans a prelim final following the debacle of 2016 they would have gladly taken it.
STAT THAT SUMS UP THE SEASON
What kept the Roosters alive in 2017 was their ability to win close matches. Twelve of their 18 wins came by six points or less, a truly remarkable tally that showcased the duality of the Tricolours in 2017.
On the one hand, they were able to close out all those tight matches, showing a poise and grace under pressure that helps propel teams to the top.
On the other hand, plenty of those close wins were against teams the Roosters should have handled far more easily than they did.
Robinson framed it a little differently, claiming the players made individual efforts during key moments that propelled them to victory.
This was true for much of the season, but bad habits always catch up in the end.
These close victories show the great improvement that still exists within the Roosters. It’s difficult to say they had a complete, 80-minute performance all season, and they still managed to finish one game short of the grand final.
With the motivation of the prelim final loss and the addition of James Tedesco, 2018 shapes as a very exciting season for the foundation club.
IT’S A SHAMBLES!
It cannot be stressed how bad the error situation was for the Roosters this season.
With 303 errors from their 26 matches, the Tricolours easily topped the league in this unwanted category.
Some of these errors came as a result of expansive play, which is part of the cost of doing business, but far too many were basic mistakes and all too often they came at the wrong end of the field. The Roosters defended well for much of the season but they continually put themselves under pressure by their own hand.
HIGHLIGHT OF THE SEASON
The last gasp 24-22 win over Brisbane in the first week of the finals, capped by a stunning individual effort from Latrell Mitchell, was the most spectacular of the Roosters many close victories this season.
Two golden point triumphs, against the Storm in Adelaide and the Dragons on Anzac Day, share the runner up spot — both wins came via Mitchell Pearce field goals and the win over St George Illawarra was as stirring a victory as the Roosters have had in recent years.
LOWLIGHT OF THE SEASON
The preliminary final defeat, for all the reasons mentioned above. Of the three preliminary final losses since the 2013 premiership it was perhaps the most painful given the home ground advantage and the position they were in following the Blake Ferguson try.
BIG-NAME RECRUITS
James Tedesco (Wests Tigers)
BIG-NAME LOSSES
Kane Evans (Parramatta), Aidan Guerra (Newcastle Knights), Connor Watson (Newcastle Knights)
WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT YEAR?
Best case scenario
James Tedesco wins the Dally M and his inclusion at fullback gives an already high-powered attack an even greater edge. The errors aren’t eliminated, but they are reduced significantly. The club uses the preliminary final heartbreak as fuel to drive towards the premiership and they win it all. Given the talent and continuity within the squad, a title should be the club’s only goal.
Worst case scenario
The preliminary final loss scars the playing group and they drop their bundle. The errors remain and while the Roosters are still able to make the finals because of the quality of their roster and Robinson’s excellent coaching, they don’t have the poise at the big end of the season to win the premiership.
COACH SAFETY RATING
Robinson is one of the best coaches in the league, but if the Roosters crash out in the preliminary final again some might ask questions about his future. I believe such talk would be erroneous — Robinson has a proven track record of not only getting the best out of a star-studded roster but in extracting good football out of players who were struggling at other clubs, which is one of the marks of a top line coach.