Player ratings for the Sydney Roosters and South Sydney Rabbitohs players following their preliminary final clash at Allianz Stadium.
Sydney Roosters
1. James Tedesco: Sublime pass for Tupou's opening try and threatened constantly when chiming into attacking sweeps on both the left and right side. 7.5
2. Daniel Tupou: Galloped his way to 100 meters and a try by half-time with plenty of tidy marks under the high ball. 7
20. Paul Momirovski: Thrust into a huge preliminary final in just his second NRL game, the Wests Tigers-bound centre was predictably quiet. However he bagged an opportunistic try in the second half and let nobody down. 6
4. Joseph Manu: Hardly sighted in attack in the first half but great work to help set up Blake Ferguson 10 minutes into the second. Put in a mature defensive performance up against Greg Inglis and company on the Bunnies' left flank, including a couple of huge defensive reads in a tense second half that should earn him huge praise. They were even more critical given the injury to Cronk next to him in the line. 8
5. Blake Ferguson: Showed incredible strength and determination to fight through three defenders to break deadlock 10 minutes after half-time. Typically busy with a team-high 164 metres. 8
6. Luke Keary: Energetic early before being forced to step into a bigger role than he'd have expected following Cronk's injury and nailed his job with some lovely kicks. 8
Match Highlights: Roosters v Rabbitohs - Finals Week 3, 2018
7. Cooper Cronk: Sadly a first-half shoulder injury drastically reduced his effectiveness. Was a virtual passenger in the second half and unable to kick, and barely able to pass or tackle. It is impossible to question his ticker after he battled through the pain to the final siren but was nevertheless unable to offer much. 5
8. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves: No shortage of aggression early from the Kiwi enforcer but started both his first and second spells with an error. 5.5
9. Jake Friend: Faces a bit of a nervous wait at the judiciary for a lifting tackle on Greg Inglis that also handed Souths first points from a penalty goal. One or two uncharacteristic errors but typically robust in defence with 50 tackles. 7
10. Siosiua Taukeiaho: Almost missed the game with an ankle injury but put in a rugged first stint with some stinging runs and tackles. One of the best middles on the park and his 132 metres was the best of the Chooks' forwards. Declared during the week he wouldn't be the goal-kicker and arguably should have stuck to that after booting none from two. 7.5
11. Boyd Cordner: A bit of a low-key outing by the Blues skipper's standards with just 21 tackles and under 100 metres. 6
3. Mitchell Aubusson: Surely he was never going to play left centre? An absolute rock at right side back row, helping shut down South Sydney's vaunted left edge attack and rattled Sam Burgess's cage more than once. Won't make the highlight reels, but his value won't be lost on his teammates. 8
12. Isaac Liu: Just 40 minutes for 'Ice' for 21 tackles, three missed tackles and two carries. His team got the win but he'll want to produce a bit more next week. 5
Cronk injured
13. Victor Radley: Injected just inside the half hour mark and immediately lifted the tempo, as is his way. One or two poor options in the second half and was subbed off after just under 40 minutes of game time. 5
14. Lindsay Collins: Three runs for 29 metres and five tackles is actually pretty good considering he only got seven minutes of game time. 4
15. Zane Tetevano: Barged his way up to 108 metres from 11 carries in 35 minutes of game time. 6
17. Ryan Matterson: got busy in the middle once he got on but only used for half an hour. 5
South Sydney Rabbitohs
1. Alex Johnston: Threw a forward pass with try line beckoning in the first and missed a last-gasp cover defence tackle on Blake Ferguson's try. Ran sideways into touch with the game on the line in a coach-killer with 20 minutes to go. 6/10
2. Campbell Graham: Rushed up to be exposed on the right edge for the Roosters' opening try and failed to latch onto Paul Momirovski's try late. Was otherwise solid in his first preliminary finals game. 5.5
3. Greg Inglis: A captain's knock. Churned out 17 carries for 140 metres and tried his best to inspire the side. 7.5
4. Dane Gagai: Strong hit on Cordner early but conceded first penalty and made two errors overall. Didn't get much more ball with a lot of the attack going down their favoured left edge. Expect more work from a big-game player at this level. 6
5. Robert Jennings: Safe on the edge without any real impact. Finished the game with 132 metres to cap a strong year overall. 6
6. Cody Walker: One of the most dangerous players on the paddock for both sides. Almost split them midway through the second half and picked up an ankle injury. Just didn't have enough support. 7.5
7. Adam Reynolds: Kicked the side out of territory in the opening half with some spiral torpedo kicks and was defensively sound. 7
8. Thomas Burgess: Did his job for the Bunnies with 13 runs for 118 metres and matched it with the Roosters' big men early. 7
9. Damien Cook: Looked sharp early but struggled to make any in-roads as the game advanced. Threw two terrible passes late in the game to turn the contest in the Roosters' advantage. 6
10. George Burgess: Copped a knock early but soldiered on to pressure the Roosters with two forced errors. Came up with five missed tackles and was overall well-handled in a 44-minute stint. 6
11. John Sutton: Got through plenty of work but just couldn't crack the line until late in the piece. One would hope it wasn't his final appearance in Rabbitohs colours after a stellar year. 7
12. Angus Crichton: Went missing with just five carries in the opening half and a further three with the game on the line in his last appearance for the club. Needed more from him if the Rabbitohs were to have got over the line. 6
13. Sam Burgess: Dusted off a week of off-field drama with a mixed performance. Came up with a big error against his name with the Bunnies having all the momentum in the second half. Was a distractive campaign for him and not his best. 7
14. Hymel Hunt: Never got on the paddock. N/A
15. Cameron Murray: Made impact immediately on the paddock with a strong work ethic but came up with an error late to put the game to bed in favour of the Roosters. 6.5
16. Dean Britt: Provided some go-forward in a brief 13-minute stint. 4
17. Junior Tatola: Conceded a penalty within his first 30 seconds of play on Cooper Cronk and only lasted a further six minutes. 3
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