Well, the sun was back for the first game of NRLW round 3 at the Sydney Cricket Ground, and the Sydney Roosters looked determined to bounce back to their winning ways against the Newcastle Knights.
The scoring kicked off for the Roosters in the 7thminute through some great wide out passing which saw Brydie Parker go over in the left corner. Parker continued her domination of the left edge forming a great pairing with centre Isabelle Kelly who went over to score for the Roosters in the 13thminute.
However, in the 24thminute captain Romy Teitzel was able to barge her way over for the Knights giving them some much-needed points.
Jess Sergis then showed her toughness yet again after walking off a tackle where her ankle seemed to go the wrong way and put Knights player Ngatokotoru Arakua on report.
Later in the set, Arakua was yet again in trouble after a crusher tackle that saw her sent to the sin bin for 10 minutes.
Unfortunately for the Knights, Arakua will face the judiciary this week and could face a spell on the sidelines.
Knights coach Casey Bromilow did say after the game that “it was an unfortunate series of events for her but that’s just the type of player she is, she always plays with passion and I have no doubt she will bounce back."
The second half started in a similar fashion to the first, with Kelly and Parker yet again dominating the left edge. Through some beautiful ball work, Kelly sent Parker over for her second try of the day in the 36thminute.
A touch of brilliance followed from Olivia Kernick, as she scored in the 39thminute, as she charged down a kick and regained it perfectly to score a try.
A hard-fought second half saw the Rooster's prop Sarah Togatuki look a bit dazed and confused as she was brought off with a Head Injury Assessment in the 50thminute after a nasty head collision.
The Knights were desperate to get on the scoreboard as halfback Kirra Gibb aimed to steady the ship and get the girls over. They did so in the 51st minute through hard-hitting forward Annetta Nu’uausala who powered her way over the try line to give the Knights a much-needed try.
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Unfortunately for the Knights, from then on it was all one-way traffic as the Roosters dominated with great ball playing and expansive play.
After a wonderful left foot step from Keilee Joseph from 10 metres out, she went over to score in the 61stminute putting the Roosters in a comfortable lead, beyond any comeback from the Knights.
The Roosters iced the game as Jess Sergis scored on the right wing in the 66thminute of the game giving the Roosters their first win of the season.
After the match, both coaches were pleased with the toughness of their teams.
Roosters coach John Strange said he was “happy to finally get on the board in 2022," and that he thought "the girls showed that they have learned a lot from the past few weeks and were eager to impress their home fans”.
Coach Strange also commented that “there was a bit of an injury concern with Jess [Sergis] at one point, but in true Jess fashion she just pushed on and showed her brilliance”.
A sensational day of football was capped off by even better footy and the Roosters finally got their first win of their 2022 NRLW campaign.