The Sydney Roosters held on to a first-half advantage to outlast the Newcastle Knights 18-16 in a gruelling battle at McDonald Jones Stadium on Saturday.
Slotting into fullback in the absence of James Tedesco, Joseph Manu was as electric as ever, breaking the record for most run metres recorded by a player in the 2023 NRL season. While Nat Butcher nailed his 80-minute stint at prop, replacing Lindsay Collins who is also away on Origin duty.
Young halfback Sandon Smith was also impressive in his first NRL start, remaining calm under a mountain of pressure to set up numerous attacking plays.
Match: Knights v Roosters
Round 16 -
home Team
Knights
14th Position
away Team
Roosters
11th Position
Venue: McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle
Kalyn Ponga collected a loose ball that ricocheted off the back of Nat Butcher in Newcastle's second set of the match, weaving his way through the scattered Tricolours defence before finding winger Dominic Young in support, to send him over for his 15th try of the season. Jackson Hastings kicked the conversion, giving the hosts a six-point lead.
Needing a response, 20-year-old Sandon Smith created something special three minutes later, throwing a dummy and ducking out of a tackle in just his third NRL match to set Nat Butcher up for the Easts' opening try. Luke Keary converted the try, levelling the scores at six-apiece.
Butcher Breaks Through
An uncharacteristic error on the restart afforded the Knights an opportunity within striking distance, but the Bondi Wall stood tall with Sandon Smith shutting down a Bradman Best crash play on the left edge.
The Roosters continued to defend their line, with the Knights maintaining possession in close-range following back-to-back infringements, but a try-saving tackle from Sitili Tupouniua caused an error from Jacob Saifiti, giving the Tricolours some breathing space.
On the resuming set, smart play from Tupouniua sent a firing Joseph Manu straight through the defence, with the 2022 Golden Boot Winner stepping past Ponga and out-pacing Young to cross the stripe. Keary made no mistake with the conversion, notching the Roosters to a six-point advantage.
Manu the Magnificent
With the hosts back on the attack, Daniel Tupou stepped up in defence to heroically hold up Dane Gagai, carrying the Knights centre over the sideline as he attempted to ground the ball.
Tupou Too Strong
Continuing to impress in defence, Tupouniua put a hard hit on Adam Elliott, dislodging the ball in the process. But an error off the scrum gave the Knights another opportunity to cross through Young. Originally ruled a try, the Bunker overturned the decision, determining the hosts knocked-on in the lead up to the grounding.
Though the news wasn't all positive, with vision showing the winger's boot collecting Keary's chin in the play, ruling the Skipper out of the match with a suspected fractured jaw.
The Tricolours maintained possession in their attacking half for the remainder of the opening stanza, with Sandon Smith wreaking havoc for Newcastle's defence. The Kincumber Colts junior poked a clever grubber through the line, with Angus Crichton and Egan Butcher holding Ponga in the in-goal to earn a drop-out.
Two sets later, the Roosters took full advantage of an error from Lachlan Fitzgibbon, playing the ball right through fill-in five-eighth Drew Hutchison, who flicked a superb cut-out ball to Tupou, sending the Tongan high-flyer over for his 137th career try on his birthday. Sandon Smith couldn't convert from touch, leaving the score at 16-6.
The hosts lost their Captain's Challenge four minutes before half-time, after appealing a knock-on call against Enari Tuala. Maintaining possession of the ball close to the stripe, Manu was collected high by Jack Hetherington, resulting in a penalty.
Smith nailed the penalty goal in the 39th minute, sending the Tricolours to the sheds with a 12-point advantage.
The Roosters opened the second stanza with more heroic goal-line defence, as Manu and Hutchison combined to send Young over the touchline with ball in hand.
The Bondi Wall continued to deny Newcastle points, after Ponga broke the line and raced away before being taken down. Sending the ball right on the next play, the Roosters' defence rushed in to force an error from Gagai, who passed the ball over the sideline.
The Knights broke the stalemate in the 54th minute, capitalising off a right-edge overlap with smooth delivery from Ponga setting Young up for a double. Hastings' conversion attempt waved away, leaving an eight-point margin.
A misplaced offloaded from the Roosters was gathered by Bradman Best, who charged 75 metres towards the tryline, grounding the ball under the posts uncontested. Hastings converted from in-front, setting up a grandstand finish.
Bravery, determination and grit from Egan Butcher in the 79th minute resulted in a successful one-on-one strip on Gagai, sealing the much-need win for the Roosters.
Sydney Roosters 18 (Nat Butcher, Joseph Manu, Daniel Tupou tries. Luke Keary 2, Sandon Smith goals) def Newcastle Knights 16 (Dominic Young 2, Bradman Best tries, Jackson Hastings 2 goals)
