As the old NRL adage goes, ‘Defence wins games’, and in the case of the Sydney Roosters v Brisbane Broncos game, this rang true – as the Sydney Roosters showcased Herculean like efforts in defence, to win a low scoring game 8-0 against the Brisbane Broncos.
It was James Maloney who scored all of his side’s points, running onto a Sonny Bill Williams pass to score, converting his own try & then kicking a penalty goal.
Perhaps the most telling point for the losers of the game, the Brisbane Broncos, was that without the injured Justin Hodges in their side, they looked unable to produce any spark or creativity and it ultimately cost them the game.
With all the pressure and defence they were forced to deal with on their own goal-line, Roosters coach Trent Robinson was pleased with the resolve his side showed.
“The effort was outstanding,” Robinson said.
“We knew what was coming at us. We moved forward fast – put some pressure on them when we could.
“We also slid well and worked hard from the inside when they tried to go around us so it was a nice performance in ‘D’.”
He was also full of praise for forwards Martin Kennedy & Sonny Bill Williams, who he thought were crucial in defence for the club tonight.
“I left Marty on for a bit longer than normal because he never looked tired,” he said.
“It was a really, really strong 80 minutes from Sonny. It’s really impressive, I think, to see the balance between some nice attacking play and then just – he’ll do anything to work hard for the bloke next to him.
“It’s obviously something that he’s prided himself on over the years.”
It was not their best performance by any means and despite not performing overly well in attack, Griffin refused to be too critical of his players.
“It wasn’t a step backwards in effort. I thought it was just a real good tight game of footy,” Griffin said.
“We had our chances and the Roosters were good enough to turn up and I thought we turned up all night on them as well.
“It’s just one of those games and it was always going to be one of those games, a real slugfest, and they got that one try which was the difference.”
3. James Maloney
2. Sonny Bill Williams
1. Martin Kennedy