The Roosters booked their place through to the preliminary finals and a date with the Dolphins after they punished a depleted Sharks side who lost star Nico Hynes in the opening minutes.
Here are three things we learned from the game:
The Roosters are tough with a capital T
Why were we giving up on this team? Can someone explain to me the reasoning behind throwing in the towel on the Eastern Suburbs team? They may have escaped into a prelim final but it wasn't the processional event that they expected.
How else do you explain a team which rolled into Parramatta Stadium a week ago and got handled? What other reason is there to apply to a squad which got embarrassed than 'they just wanted it more'? It doesn't matter how any potential opponents of either the Roosters or Panthers approached a game like this, they emerged victorious. This is a Roosters team which has really struggled to get on top of any opposition packs in big games this year, but had no such woes on Saturday night.
I have no clue which team is going to win the title this year - but what I do know is that there are multiple teams who have their hands thrown up in the air with no regard for the rest of us.
Same old story for Sharks kills any enthusiasm for 2027
This is not a team which I would associate with winning regularly, or even with taking care of business with a nod to the future. Instead, it was a meek season end with very little opposition thrown up.
This was meant to be the culmination of a team whose reputation was far greater than the reputation which we thought preceded it. Instead, absolute garbage. The Sharks,for the sixth straight year, lined up with absolute garbage. A meek and weak performance with the world watching. Why even bother? What does this team do in 2027? Who cares.
There is genuinely no reason why you should care about what this Cronulla team might do in 2027. It just doesn't matter. It's a waste of everyone's time to try and assume otherwise. They've had their chance to win it all and that is gone now.
A forward pack can hold its own if given the chance
Every year there are a few Roosters forwards sticking their hands on their heads, it's a game where a club which is desperate for premierships finds some young forwards who want to show the rest of the club that there's no reason to give up.
Fahu Whyte only played the opening 25 minutes but he was superb. Siua Wong gave the Roosters 80 minutes of superb footy. Angus Crichton and Nat Butcher came off the bench to make real differences for the Roosters as well. Whatever happens next week and possibly the week after, Trent Robinson's men are ready for it.
