The Roosters have kept their faint finals hopes alive, asserting their dominance over a very passive Eels outfit running out 34-12 winners at CommBank Stadium tonight. The win puts Trent Robinson's men on the edge of the Top 8 with remaining matches against Wests Tigers and bitter rivals South Sydney to finish the 2023 season.
Despite the Eels scoring the first try of the night, the visitors responded emphatically scoring six tries including doubles to Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii and skipper James Tedesco who left the field with a Category 1 concussion, automatically ruling him out of next week's clash with his former club.
Parramatta saw their finals chances slip away in a flat performance and despite a strong start to the match, Brad Arthur's men seemed lethargic following last week's loss of star halfback Mitchell Moses, which ultimately proved a hammer blow to the Eels getting any momentum from the remaining rounds.
It was a bright start for the home side when new halfback Dylan Brown put Bryce Cartwright through a narrow gap close to the line. The lanky backrower then reached out like Inspector Gadget to score the first try of the night. With their season on the line the Roosters showed amazing desperation to repel a wave of Eels offence before finding some quality field position of their own. Skipper James Tedesco then scored off a set scrum play, bouncing away from some soft Eels defence to score the Roosters first try of the evening.
The Tri-Colours then had back-to-back tries, when off another scrum play Luke Keary unlocked their dangerous backline, which saw high profile winger Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii score in the corner to extend their lead to 12-6. Then just before the break, the Roosters made it three unanswered tries, when off yet another set play out wide saw Joseph Manu create some space. The Kiwi centre then produced a delicious offload for James Tedesco to eat up and score his second try. Suaalii nailed the sideline conversion and the Roosters led 18-6 at the break.
The visitors picked up where they left off following the halftime break, when Suaalii raced over for his second try following a great ball from James Tedesco and extend the lead to 22-6. The Roosters skipper was then collected high by Eels winger Maika Sivo and was immediately sent for a Head Injury Assessment in worrying scenes for Roosters fans.
Parramatta then managed to hit back after Bailey Simonsson made a break after a wayward pass bounced off his head. Simonsson played the whistle however and then found his captain Clint Gutherson in support who raced away to score and give the home fans some hope with 20 minutes remaining.
Gutherson went from hero to villain moments later when he put down a kick deep in Roosters territory. The Tri-Colours then made the Eels pay when rookie backrower Siua Wong collected a bounce pass off the turf, to race around under the posts to capitalise off the Gutherson error to make it a 28-12 scoreline with less than ten minutes remaining.
The Roosters then put a cherry on top of a great win for the Roosters when Nat Butcher crashed late to give his side a confidence-boosting 34-12 victory. The Roosters will now return to Allianz Stadium next Saturday where they face the Wests Tigers, while Parramatta will take on the Panthers at BlueBet Stadium in a replay of last year's Grand Final.