Round 6
Roosters 6 l. Broncos 24

2006 NRL Telstra Premiership Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

Location: Aus_NZ > National > First Grade Competition: NRL Telstra Premiership

Sydney Roosters
Amos Roberts [WG] 6 Pts; 1t, 1/1g

Brisbane Broncos
Corey Parker [SR] 12 Pts; 6/6g
Petero Civoniceva [PR] 4 Pts; 1t
Sam Thaiday [BE] 4 Pts; 1t
Greg Eastwood [BE] 4 Pts; 1t



Broncos beat woeful and disorganised Roosters
Sat April 15, 2006
Brisbane last night defeated the Sydney Roosters 24-6 in one of the worst big matches that has ever been witnessed. The Broncos were ordinary and did enough to win but they benefitted from a terrible Roosters performance.

The Roosters have the best off-field resources and the largest coaching staff in the game but last night played like they were thrown together ten minutes before the game with no one out there taking control of the match. At one stage the Roosters had Craig Wing, Brett Finch, Jamie Soward and star import Braith Anasta all out there on the football field, yet it was Ashley Harrison on occasions going into first receiver and doing some of the kicking. The Roosters despite all the chiefs and stars on the field lacked direction and despite the unlimited resources and personnel off the field didn't look like they were coached. After a great start when Amos Roberts scored a great try outwide, the Roosters looked disorganised and very poorly coached.

Brisbane battered the Roosters up the middle but coach Wayne Bennett will be concerned as the Knights or Cowboys in their current form would have put 40 or 50 on the high flying Bondi outfit. The Broncos led 8-6 at the break and the second half they slowly worked away at the Roosters as they won the second half 16-0. Petero Civoniceva was man of the match but the Broncos got great value from young interchange forwards Greg Eastwood and Sam Thaiday, who both scored in the second half. It was a great positive for the Brocnos who have been showing signs of aging in recent seasons and they need the young enforcers coming through the ranks to replace the likes of Civoniceva, Shane Webcke and the recently retired Gorden Tallis.

The positive for the Roosters is that they still sit in 5th position after last night's result but their three victories have been against three of the four worst sides in the Telstra Premiership and were given the easiest draw to start off with in the Premiership but haven't cashed in with losses against Melbourne and Manly before last night's loss against the Broncos.

Brisbane won the game convincingly and can only do what is required to win but it wasn't a case of the Broncos winning the match but a case of the Roosters losing the match and how poorly they played. Roosters coach Ricky Stuart has to take firm charge of the side and his large band of assistants have to work around him and for him. Stuart also has to sort out the halves and playmaking issues and just settle on a combination with those who miss out staying in Premier League.

Every week the Roosters are having different combinations in the halves, hooker and lock positions and it's just too confusing for everyone in the side. It appears that no one has a clear role and Stuart needs to settle on what he wants and show faith in that. Brisbane have been forced to change their halfback and hooker positions due to injury but the one area where the Roosters aren't struggling for injuries is the area where they are too top heavy.

Questions must be asked about the recruitments of Braith Anasta and Ashley Harrison. They were the only two State of Origin players available on the open market last year and the Roosters snapped them up. The Roosters lost hard nosed forwards Jason Cayless and Michael Crocker and replaced them with two flashy players. People were always going to raise questions how Anasta and Brett Finch would fit into the same club given their personality similarities. Jamie Soward is a fine young talent but at this stage he doesn't stand a chance given the current setup at the Roosters and halfbacks should be given full control of the attacking structure in a side.

The Roosters have based their game in their successful years of 2002-04 around the great Brad Fittler and a fearsome pack of forwards. No import or even any player is going to leap out and replace Fittler. It was really up for Finch to replace Fittler but the Roosters have gone away from the feat factor in the forwards with only Adrian Morley presenting any worries for the opposition.

Last night's game for such a marquee match was a massive worry and the standard was extremely poor. In many ways shows that the salary cap has sucked out the talent in the game. An increase in the salary cap isn't the direct answer but there needs to be an increase with squads increase to 35 with a minimum payment base so clubs can keep veterans and we lose less players to England and rugby union.

The clash last night between the most successful club of the last 15 years and one of the glamour sides of recent years was a match that should have been a corker. It was a far cry to a match I happened to see earlier in the day from a 1985 Round 5 blockbuster between Balmain and Canterbury at Leichhardt Oval where the Bulldogs won 20-18 in one of the all-time great club names. Admittedly both sides were at full strength with only Terry Lamb and Mark Bugden missing from Canterbury and Garry Schofield not yet over from England for Balmain. The depth of talent is extremely poor with only the Eels and to a lesser extent the Cowboys, Roosters and Dragons having any serious depth. Something has to be done by the NRL to improve the depth of talent back to what it was during the 1980's.

How Stuart reacts to the Roosters performance will be interesting. Roosters fans are now sick of the excuses and they are looking for answers and most of all the Roosters need stability. Stuart unlike Brian Smith does have a Premiership under his belt and Stuart should learn from Smith's mistakes that changing the side does nothing to upset the opposition and only upsets the club's own stable. It was also clear last night that Adrian Morley was playing under injury and he wasn't the same Morley that was the game's dominant forward between 2002-05. The Roosters have to sort out the Indians and Chiefs issue in the club as their side on paper and the resources the club has should not be seeing them produce performances they did last night.

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