Roosters hold on for gritty win over Newcastle

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Newcastle Knights v Sydney Roosters

Sydney Roosters pick up a 18-16 win after a grinding second half against Newcastle in front of 21,966 at McDonald Jones Stadium.

Indeed the hosts struck first in a surprisingly low-scoring contest, with prolific winger Dominic Young picking up what would be the first of two tries to give Newcastle an early advantage.

Sadly that lead evaporated relatively quickly, with newly-moved prop Nat Butcher - usually a back rower - on the end of a handy movement to score beside the posts and level the scores.

Before the midpoint of the first half the Roosters would score again, with Joey Manu finding space off a Sitili Tupouniua bust, Keary's second conversion ensuring the away team led by a converted try.

Ten minutes later, Keary would leave the field after unsuccessfully trying to stop what at first looked to be a Newcastle try to Young; the Bunker eventually overruling the play after an earlier knock on. It was no consolation to the Roosters playmaker though, seemingly copping Young's boot in a desperate defensive lunge which saw him sustain a reported fractured jaw.

The absence of a key spine player didn't seem to phase the Roosters or rookie half Sandon Smith, the visitors withstanding several raids before Daniel Tupou scored in the corner to extend the lead to ten.

A penalty goal on the break, kicked by Smith, saw the Roosters lead 18-6 at halftime.

After a relatively quite opening fifteen minutes post-resumption, the Knights surged back into the contest with Young getting his second try - this one not denied by the Bunker - and the margin was reduced to eight.

A crucial error from the Tricolours set up a grandstand finish at the 69 minute mark when Bradman Best scooped up a loose Roosters ball 25 metres from his own line, sprinting the 75 metres required to score and following the extras from Hastings, shaving the margin down to just two.

Both sides had a crack over the remaining time but couldn't crack the line. Egan Butcher went from villain to hero in the final 90 seconds, losing the ball to hand the Knights possession with a minute to go before executing a one-on-one strip several tackles later to ensure the Knights' hopes were vanquished, the Roosters holding on for an 18-16 victory.

Next week, Newcastle face a daunting trip to Bluebet Stadium, while the Roosters host Canberra at Allianz on Sunday night.