The Roosters may have won the game, but it is more likely to be remembered for the tragic news that Wests Tigers hooker Robbie Farah received on game day morning – with his mother passing away from pancreatic cancer.
The news meant that Robbie did not play in the game, but both teams paid their respects, as there was a minute silence held at the ground prior to kick-off, in memory of Farah’s mother, Sonia.
The game itself was rather entertaining, with a total of 12 tries scored between both teams – as the Roosters raced out to a 24-4 lead, before the Tigers clawed their way back from 36-10 down, to almost steal a victory for the home side.
It was only a late try to the Roosters that sealed it, with the club knowing that once the Tigers get on a roll in scoring points, it is very hard to stop their momentum.
“When the Tigers get a bit of a roll on you know about it. We talked about it at halftime … but defending it is another thing,” said Roosters captain and 2013 Tigers recruit Braith Anasta.
Brian Smith, Roosters coach, was praising his senior players in Braith Anasta and Anthony Minichello, particularly for the way they rallied around the younger players, given some recent results in past weeks.
“I just thought it was a real measure of the quality of guys we have here in our squad,” said Smith.
“The way we started the game today you could smell it in the dressing rooms, the body language of all our guys.
“For our younger blokes to be confident given we’ve lost four in a row I reckon that’s a real credit to them.
“As far as the end goal to make the playoffs … we need to get on our bikes.”
Although in the past, they have struggled with consistency, Minichello says that he believes the club has the right mix of youth and experience in their side.
“It’s been pretty positive around training because it’s such a young group,” he said.
“We didn’t sulk.”