By Billie Eder
When the Roosters stepped onto Allianz Stadium on Friday night, they were facing an opponent they hadn’t lost to in nine years.
Not since round 10, 2016 had the Titans defeated the Roosters. But on Friday night, the Gold Coast side finally got the monkey off their back with a deserved 30-12 victory, snapping an 11-game losing streak.
With 20 minutes go the Titans led by six points thanks to a length-of-the-field try by Jayden Campbell, but the game could still have gone either way. However, the visitors found another gear in the final quarter and the Roosters could only watch helplessly as Des Hasler’s men pulled away and eased to victory with three tries in the last 12 minutes.
As Campbell’s try was replayed in slow motion on the big screen, Roosters playmaker Sandon Smith could be seen in the background with his hands on his head and devastation written on his face. Smith knows he is fighting for his position, with Sam Walker set to return to the No.7 jersey later in the season and the Roosters hotly tipped to make a play for Daly Cherry-Evans in 2026.
Titans pair Phillip Sami and skipper Tino Fa’asuamaleaui took the game beyond the Roosters’ reach before AJ Brimson crossed with a minute to go to rub salt in the Roosters’ wounds.
After the first half had ended all square at 6-6 at half-time, coach Trent Robinson would have been alarmed at how badly his side fell away in the second period.
When referee Grant Atkins blew the full-time whistle, the Roosters had completed at just 57 per cent, made 19 errors and conceded eight penalties, a series of stats that coach Robinson said was “not NRL standard”.
The match had been evenly contested, but low-scoring, before the break, and when the Titans added two points after a leg pull from Siua Wong on David Fifita five minutes into the second half, it looked like the result could come down to that penalty.
Roosters fans were on their feet when flying winger Dominic Young scored in the corner just three minutes later following a Titans error from the kick-off to give the home side a 12-8 lead, but even with repeat sets in front of the Gold Coast line, the Tricolours struggled to ice the end of their sets.
It was a theme of the night, as the Roosters spent long periods camped inside the Titans’ 20 metres but only managed to cross the line on two occasions.
Tino Fa’asuamaleaui celebrates his try for the Titans.Credit: Getty Images
“There were lots of opportunities, and it would have been nice to finish them off, but I would have liked us to nail 12-8,” Robinson said.
“I think the progression for us as a team is, I think we will create opportunities, but sitting at 12-8 and feeling comfortable with that would have been a really nice thing as well. Yeah, it would have been nice to score 30, but what happens if you score 12, can you keep them to eight? Through field position and some uncomfortable moments for them, it ended up a shootout, which they won.”
Roosters captain James Tedesco led from the front for his side, with 210 run metres and constant probing around the ruck and in broken play but with completion so low, the Roosters could only blame themselves for the defeat.
Tedesco said the team showed signs of promise, but hadn’t yet worked out how to win after getting in the arm wrestle.
James Tedesco at full-time at Allianz Stadium.Credit: Getty Images
“I felt like we were on top for most the game, I felt like we were making good metres, creating opportunities, but the scoreline probably didn’t reflect the game,” Tedesco said.
“Obviously, it blew out a bit at the end, but it was right there for us. Probably similar to last week, we were right in the game, and then momentum shifts a bit at the end, and we can’t back our D [defence] to stop some tries.
“We’re progressing, we’re getting there, we’re showing a lot of good signs, but just not tough enough to grind out these wins at the moment.”
The Roosters face bitter rivals South Sydney next week after their worst start to the season – three losses and one win – since 2016.
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