Roosters recover to beat Parramatta

The Sydney Roosters have maintained their place in the top eight with tough 12-8 victory over the Parramatta Eels in appalling conditions at Aussie Stadium tonight.

Two second-half tries from centre Ryan Cross sparked the victory but it will be an alleged eye-gouging incident, involving Cross and Parramatta’s Glenn Morrison, that will become the talking point of the match.

The home side looked like losing their third straight match when down 8-0 at half time and with representative star Craig Wing forced from the ground with a hamstring injury. But Ricky Stuart’s men lifted after the break with the double to Cross and the boot of Craig Fitzgibbon proving the difference, his two goals, including a late penalty, making up the final margin.

With the game kicking off in torrential rain, the Roosters struggled to control the ball and repeatedly coughed up possession to give their opponents good field position. The feeling between the two sides intensified in the 15th minute when Cross appeared to place a hand in the face of Morrison during a tackle, the Eels forward protesting fiercely to referee Paul Simpkins.

Five minutes later, the Eels took full advantage of a knock-on from Iosia Soliola when Tim Smith, the young Eels halfback identified pre-match by his opponents as the man to stop, threw a long pass for an unmarked Matt Peterson to score near the touch line.

Just as Craig Wing limped up the players tunnel, Parramatta then doubled their lead, this time an Adrian Morley handling error giving the Eels more great field position. A great display of passing in the wet conditions resulted in former Rooster Eric Grothe crashing over on the right wing. Hooker Mark Riddell was again unable to add the extras with a difficult kick from the side line.

With a handy half-time lead, it appeared that the Eels patience with the ball and strong defence would secure a seventh straight victory. Luke Burt nailed a great 40/20 kick to start the second half but Parramatta were unable to capitalise.

Finally, the Roosters worked their way back into the match in the 51st minute when a fine angled run from NSW fullback Anthony Minichiello stretched the Eels defence, his short ball putting Cross on a clear run to the line. Amos Roberts could not land the conversion attempt but Sydney were back in the match at 8-4.

The Minichiello-Cross combination came up trumps again after 64 minutes with another angled run and short pass from the fullback matched with a well-timed run and clinical finish from the centre. Fitzgibbon landed the difficult shot at goal to give his side a hard-earned 10-8 lead.

Once in front, the Roosters were able to control the ball more effectively and added a penalty goal with three minutes to go, Morrison landing a high shot on Kiwi international Jason Cayless. The Eels tried valiantly to snatch a last-minute try but the scrambling defence of the Roosters shut them out, ending Parramatta’s impressive win streak at six games.

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