Records falls as Roosters run riot

Embed from Getty Images

Sydney Roosters v Wests Tigers

The Sydney Roosters have bid farewell to the Sydney Cricket Ground in style with a 72-6 annihilation of the Wests Tigers on Saturday evening.

Securing their sixth consecutive win to move up to sixth on the premiership ladder, ahead of the Rabbitohs and Broncos on for-and-against differential, the Roosters were never troubled throughout the 12 tries to one demolition played before a crowd of 14,939 supporters.

Making their opponents pay for a slew of errors, the Roosters overcame near misses in the opening stages with Nat Butcher (12th minute) running onto a grubber kick from Sam Walker to open the scoring.

Taking advantage of a kick out on the full from Jock Madden midway through the half, Angus Crichton (22nd minute) embarrassed the Tigers' brittle defence with a hit and spin on the last tackle to take the score out to 12-0.

Luke Keary demonstrated his standing as a three-time premiership winner by drawing in Adam Doueihi and firing a superb short pass to send Crichton (25th minute) over for his second before doing likewise with Madden and Butcher (29th minute) mere minutes later.

Completing the opening half rout with Keary sending Crichton into space for his third line break of the half, James Tedesco (33rd minute) backed up in support to send the home side to the sheds up 30-0.

Continuing the one-way flow of points after the resumption, Connor Watson (44th minute) made the Tigers' defence appear amateurish with a dummy and footwork to cross for his third try of the season.

Taking the score past 40 with Drew Hutchison (48th minute) fending off Doueihi for a rare try, Butcher (52nd minute) made amends for an error off the previous kick-off to claim his first career hat-trick.

Keary capped a Man of the Match performance with the final pass to send Daniel Tupou (55th minute) over for a customary try before receiving an early shower with 20 minutes to spare.

Taking the score past 60 for the first time since 2007, Tupou (63rd minute) collected his double before a late intercept from Brent Naden (72nd minute) spared the Tigers the ignominy of being held to nil.

Capping a night to remember, Butcher (75th minute) became the first Roosters forward to score four tries in a match since Charlie Banks 71 years ago, while James Tamou, in an eruption of frustration, was sent-off for abusing referee Ben Cummins minutes before full-time.

The Roosters completed the scoring with Matt Lodge (79th minute) avoiding a double movement and Sam Walker converting his 12th goal to round out the 72-6 scoreline.

The win marked the final appearance for the Sydney Roosters at the Sydney Cricket Ground ahead of the opening of the new Allianz Stadium in a fortnight's time.

Taking up temporary tenancy at the venue in 2019, the foundation club ended their tenure with 23 wins from 32 appearances, including three ANZAC Day fixtures, a preliminary final victory in 2019, and Mitchell Aubusson breaking the record for the most appearances for the club.

Next week, the Roosters will face the Storm at AAMI Park on Friday evening, while the Tigers will play host to the Dragons at CommBank Stadium on Sunday afternoon