Sydney Roosters just cock-a-hoop after double triumph

The grand final refereeing controversy barely rated a mention at the Roosters’ fan day.

Sydney Roosters star James Tedesco is embraced by enthusiastic supporters at the winning team’s fan day outside the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney. Picture: Brett Costello

The rest of the rugby league universe might have spent Monday talking about the grand final refereeing controversy but in the happy bubble that was the Roosters fan day, the burning issue barely rated a mention.

Several hundred fans swarmed to inner-city Moore Park, in the shadows of the Sydney Cricket Ground, to greet the victorious players and soak in the glory of the club’s second NRL premiership in as many years.

Still sporting his game shorts and socks — and a very large grin — Roosters star James Tedesco brushed off questions about the “six-again” blunder by the match officials, preferring to reflect on the match-winning try he scored eight minutes before full-time.

“When your opportunity comes, you’ve got to take it and just make sure you catch it and score the try — it was pretty awesome,” Tedesco said.

“We work all year to be in this position to win the grand final. These are all my best mates so it’s a pretty special feeling.”

Sydney Roosters star Latrell Mitchell poses for a fan’s selfie. Picture: Richard Dobson

Retiring halfback Cooper Cronk, who looked remarkably fresh after an all-night victory party, quickly shut down the crowd’s pleas for him to play on for one more season.

“I don’t plan on making another competitive tackle in my life,” the 35-year-old said.

While the game was one of the most gripping deciders of the past decade, it didn’t translate to success for the Nine Network, with television ratings the lowest for an NRL grand final in the past decade.

The match attracted 2.64 million viewers around the country, down by almost 13 per cent on the previous year.

An average of 1.86 million people watched across the five capital cities — also a 10-year low — with the peak audience 3.25 million.

The network’s coverage was panned on social media, with viewers furious that key ­moments were not aired.

 

The long ad break at halftime ensured the TV audience didn’t see the performance by singer Daryl Braithwaite, and viewers also missed seeing Australian coach Mal Meninga preparing to blow the horn for the Viking clap before the Canberra Raiders players ran on the field.

The poor ratings will have broadcast bosses scratching their heads, coming a week after the worst-rating AFL grand final on free-to-air TV in at least 18 years.

That match drew 2.93 million viewers to the Seven Network and continued a trend of declining AFL grand final television ­audiences from peaks of about four million viewers five years ago. Sport remains the big drawcard for TV audiences, but the market has fractured, with viewers drawn to streaming services as well.

Nine’s director of sport Tom Malone was “very happy with the audience numbers across broadcast and streaming” for the NRL grand final.