‘We’re a little bit embarrassed’: Roosters desperate to bounce back after ugly display

The Roosters are one of the favourites to win the NRLW title, but their skipper says she was embarrassed with what her side produced in an ugly loss to their fiercest rivals.

Roosters skipper Isabelle Kelly says she’s “embarrassed” with what her side produced last week against the Titans, conceding they couldn’t have played any worse than they did in what proved to be a heated rematch of last year’s semi-final.

The Roosters had won three on the trot heading into Sunday’s clash on the Gold Coast, but they had their streak snapped in brutal fashion as the hosts won 26-6 in a fiery encounter that matched the unseasonably warm weather.

The attacking brilliance we’ve come to expect from a team that is still regarded as one of the favourites for the NRLW title went missing as they completed just 56 per cent of their sets and had just 29 per cent of the territory against the team that knocked them out of the finals a year ago.

The Roosters were completely outplayed by the Titans as their top-two hopes took a hit. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

“It wasn’t our day. I think everything that could go wrong basically did go wrong,” Kelly said.

“It was disappointing and I know that we’re really feeling that at the moment and we’re a little bit embarrassed with the product we put out.

“It was a bit uncharacteristic from us, and I honestly don’t think we could play as badly as what we did on the weekend.

“I think leading into this game against Canberra, it’s a big focus internally on what went wrong and what we can build on.”

Kelly still managed to have a team-high 124 running metres despite being forced off early for a HIA after she was on the receiving end of a Taliah Fuimaono high shot that led to a sin-binning and two-match ban.

“I have a bit of a sore jaw, but I passed my HIA so I’m fine,” the star centre said.

“I have a few things I have to tick off at training to make sure I’m fine for Sunday, but I’m all good.

“I was glad I got back on the field to help the girls last week with what was a really tough game. It didn’t help that we had a few head knocks in one game, so we lost some of our leadership as well.”

There’s a new rivalry in the NRLW after the Titans shocked the Roosters last year, with plenty of feeling when they met last week. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

That tackle set the tone for a fiery afternoon up north where two players were sin-binned following a melee, including Roosters winger Jayme Fressard, who sparked it all by throwing the ball at Jaime Chapman.

Both teams are full of rep stars, with a bit of added feeling this time around after the Titans stunned the Roosters with a 12-0 win away from home to qualify for the final last year.

“I think every time we come up against the Titans now that it’s a really physical match,” Kelly said ahead of Sunday’s game against the Raiders.

“They’ve got some really great players who have played at the highest level and so do we, so it’s always shaped up to be a very tough match.

“I wouldn’t say that all of that comes out against the Titans. Every team that we play against is a tough matchup, so we’ve got to focus on that over the next few weeks if we want to make it into the semi-finals.”

Originally published as ‘We’re a little bit embarrassed’: Roosters desperate to bounce back after ugly display