They were $11 outsiders. The 23.5 point start wasn’t supposed to be big enough. The Roosters were meant to finish in the bottom four this year.
But a week after conceding 50 points at home in round one, Trent Robinson’s men produced one of the biggest upsets in rugby league history to silence their critics with a stunning 38-32 win over the Panthers who lost superstar fullback Dylan Edwards to a groin injury.
The Roosters had lost 10 in a row against the four-time defending premiers and looked set to cop their second hiding in as many weeks after Paul Alamoti strolled through some feeble defence to score in the second minute.
But a team missing so much experience and firepower from the side that made last year’s preliminary final refused to back down, with Connor Watson crossing twice as Mark Nawaqanitawase had his best game in the NRL with some classy touches on the left.
Robinson was surprisingly calm after the loss to Brisbane and now deserves to be quietly bullish after one of the greatest wins for a man who has three premierships to his name.
Epic wins aren’t always easy, with the Roosters having to survive a trademark fightback in the final few minutes, with veteran winger Daniel Tupou producing an amazing ball and all tackle to deny Brian To’o a try in the corner that would’ve left Nathan Cleary with a sideline conversion to force golden point.
DYLAN DISASTER
It was a shocking night for fullbacks with Tom Trbojevic suffering a suspected hamstring injury across the ditch, while Blues and Kangaroos No.1 Dylan Edwards came off midway through the second half with a reported groin issue.
Edwards appeared to pull up while chasing Sandon Smith as he raced away for a try, with the Panthers superstar expected to go for scans on the weekend.
It was a different story for the man he replaced at rep level, with Roosters skipper James Tedesco having a blinder at the back with nine tackle busts and three try assists, with the veteran putting Dom Young over for the sealer late on.
SNAKE EYES
The trip to Las Vegas was a roaring success for Penrith, but their first game back in Australia was a bust as the champions produced one of their worst defensive displays in years.
The Panthers missed 44 tackles and weren’t at their clinical best in attack despite coming up with some big plays like Liam Martin’s huge shot and a captain’s challenge which both led to tries off Nathan Cleary kicks.
They looked down and out when they found themselves behind by 14 points with seven minutes to go, but a sin bin, a penalty goal and a quick try had them dreaming of a miracle, only for Cleary’s crucial conversion to hit the post.
It now sets up a mouthwatering grand final rematch next week in Melbourne where they’ll face a rested Storm side that is fresh from a thumping win over the Eels and hungry for revenge for last year’s loss.
HOME AND AWAY
It’s going to be a hard sell for the Panthers to call Parramatta their new home for the next two years, but 12,180 fans braved a mid-March scorcher and a standard Friday train debacle to make CommBank Stadium feel like home.
They’ve got another two years to wait until they can go back home, with fans hoping they can turn their new ground into a fortress.
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