Bring on the prelim: Phins up next for rampant Roosters

The Sydney Roosters have finished over the top of an undermanned Sharks side to set up a mouth-watering preliminary final showdown with the Dolphins next Friday night.

With Nicho Hynes failing a HIA early in the match and Mawene Hiroti suffering a knee injury, the Sharks simply ran out of steam in the second half as the Roosters ran riot.

After leading 18-10 at the break the Roosters piled on five second-half tries to rack up 46 points – the most ever by a Roosters side in a finals match in their 118-year history.

GET YOUR DOLPHINS-ROOSTERS TICKETS HERE

The final score of 46-10 sends a clear warning to the Dolphins, who have their feet up this weekend and are ready for the biggest game in their four-year history.

Skipper James Tedesco (161 run metres, 11 tackle breaks) was immense for the Roosters in front of 39,147 fans at Allianz Stadium while Mark Nawaqanitawase bagged a double and ran for 187 metres.

Follow all the NRL Telstra Premiership Week 2 finals action on NRL.com’s live blog.

Roosters v Sharks at Allianz Stadium

Media conference

The Cauldron awaits: When the Dolphins entered the NRL in 2023 it was the Roosters they played in their first ever match and beat them at Suncorp Stadium. That was a magical day for the Phins and now they get to host the Roosters in a preliminary final that promises to be an absolute cracker. The Roosters have a great track record in finals footy while the Dolphins are in their first ever finals. 

Full-time: The Roosters power on to the preliminary final with a powerful 46-10 victory over the Sharks. Veteran playmaker Daly Cherry-Evans showed his class with three try assists, two line break assists and a try.

79 min: Cam McInnes tries to make something happen in his last game as a Shark but can’t handle a short ball from Addin Fonua-Blake and knocks it on.

73 min: Mark Nawaqanitawase makes it a double after some fancy footwork and a flick pass from Hugo Savala who finds James Tedesco and then on to Rob Toia who puts in a grubber and it spills free for the winger to pick up the scraps and swan dive into the in-goal. Savala converts. Roosters 46-10

71 min: Lindsay Collins loses the ball, the Roosters challenge and replays show a strip by Cam McInnes. The Roosters have a penalty to come out of their own end.

70 min: Daly Cherry-Evans goes to Siua Wong who comes up with a clever offload in traffic to James Tedesco who is trailing on the inside as always. The skipper caps a sensational game with his 12th try of the season. Roosters 40-10

66 min: The Roosters are marching on to a prelim final as Rob Toia comes up with a spectacular take off a Daly Cherry-Evans bomb and slams the ball down for a try. A pinpoint kick from DCE and the classy centre has a 14th try for the season. Hugo Savala converts. Roosters 36-10

63 min: Mark Nawaqanitawase has a clear run to the line thanks to a Daly Cherry-Evans long ball over the top after Reece Robson and Victor Radley had handled on the inside. The pass from DCE is a beauty and Marky Mark slides in for the four-pointer that should wrap it up for the Roosters. Hugo Savala converts. Roosters 30-10

61 min: Billy Burns delivers a sweet offload for Braydon Trindall to go for the line but the Roosters have the answers with Billy Smith getting an arm in to force it loose just before Trindall can get to the line.

60 min: Teig Wilton goes for the line but James Tedesco and Rob Toia scramble back to deny him. Daly Cherry-Evans is placed on report for a tripping action on Wilton. Sharks penalty 10m out.

58 min: A Rob Toia drop on the right edge hands the Sharks a chance to start mounting a comeback. They get a six-again call on halfway and move down to the red zone.

56 min: Will Kennedy is penalised for tackling James Tedesco in the air as the Roosters fullback came up with another safe catch off a bomb.

52 min: A classic try from the Roosters as 10 players handle including Mark Nawaqanitawase who produces an outrageous flick pass to Rob Toia who beats a number of players before James Tedesco, Siua Wong and Hugo Savala play their part before Connor Watson crosses under the sticks. Savala converts. Roosters 24-10.

50 min: He’s back! After 12 weeks on the sideline with a foot injury, Angus Crichton enters the game off the bench.

48 min: Braydon Trindall kicks for the in-goal again but Rob Toia climbs high to make the catch. Seven-tackle set for the Roosters.

47 min: Nat Butcher with a simple error to hand Cronulla the ball with a midfield scrum from 25m out.

46 min: The Sharks go to the left edge where KL Iro is shut down well by Mark Nawaqanitawase and the ball is turned over.

44 min: Connor Watson crabs across field and throws a pressure pass to Siua Wong which the back-rower puts down. Sharks scrum on halfway.

43 min: Braydon Trindall’s kick is too deep and easily defused by James Tedesco who takes a quick tap and gets the Roosters moving.

Teddy on song: Now fully recovered from an ankle injury and ready to lead the Roosters’ premiership charge, James Tedesco was everywhere in the opening 40 with 93 run metres and five tackle breaks.

Showing the way: If the Sharks are to pull of a victory against the odds then much will depend on Addin Fonua-Blake, who came up with 121 metres from 10 runs in his opening stint of 29 minutes. The NSW Blues prop will need to get over the top of Naufahu Whyte and Lindsay Collins if the undermanned Sharks are to come from behind and keep their season alive.

Half-time: The Roosters go to the sheds with an eight-point lead over a Sharks side that will have to do it the hard way with Nicho Hynes and Mawene Hiroti both gone for the rest of the night.

38 min: Rob Toia goes close but somehow the Sharks scramble back to deny him with Niwhai Puru making up for his error by getting involved in the tackle on the tryline.

36 min: Niwhai Puru with a cold drop at dummy half just 20m out from his own line and the Sharks are under the pump.

33 min: Billy Smith grubbers into the in-goal and Sione Katoa fumbles it but manages to clean up. Braydon Trindall’s dropout is brought back by Mark Nawaqanitawase and the Roosters are inside the red zone.

30 min: A further injury drama for the Sharks with Mawene Hiroti ruled out for the rest of the night after suffering a knee injury when he crashed into the fence trying to tap a kick back into play in the 18th minute. 

28 min: On the back of two six-again calls the Roosters cash in as Daly Cherry-Evans throws an extravagant dummy from 10m out and goes over the top of Will Kennedy to score the 105th try of his career. Hugo Savala converts. Roosters 18-10

24 min: Blayke Brailey skips out of dummy half and picks up Siosifa Talakai who makes big metres before James Tedesco brings him down. Braydon Trindall then takes the ball 20m out and bamboozles the defence with his footwork before putting Ronaldo Mulitalo for a try. Trindall converts. Roosters 12-10

22 min: Braydon Trindall sends a lofted pass over the top for Sione Katoa to use his footwork and strength to get past Billy Smith and Daniel Tupou to score. Trindall fails to convert. Roosters 12-4

18 min: Braydon Trindall chips over the top, Mawene Hiroti chases hard and manages to tap it back as he flies over the dead ball line. The ball goes back to Billy Smith who is ruled to have made it dead so the Roosters are forced into a line dropout.

17 min: Lindsay Collins is penalised for a high shot on Will Kennedy and the Sharks move into Roosters territory.

Injury alert: Nicho Hynes has been ruled out for the rest of the night after failing his HIA.

11 min: Another spectacular try from a kick for Daniel Tupou courtesy of a pinpoint Hugo Savala kick. Tupou climbs high above Sione Katoa and makes a clean catch to come up with career try No.197. Savala bangs over the conversion. Roosters 12-0

10 min: Will Kennedy tries to pick up Braydon Trindall on a wrap-around play but the five-eighth can’t hang onto the pass.

9 min: Jesse Colquhoun powers onto the ball from close range and Victor Radley comes up with a great tackle to bring him down just short with the help of James Tedesco.

8 min: Braydon Trindall’s kick comes down in the in-goal and the Roosters are forced to knock it dead. They go long with the line dropout and the Sharks start their set on halfway.

6 min: Hugo Savala kicks to the corner for Daniel Tupou but the kick is too wide and Tupou was out of play when he leapt for the ball. Sharks come away.

3 min: Nicho Hynes leaves the field for a HIA after he had put his head in a bad position trying to tackle Salesi Foketi and was left on the turf. Hynes is deemed a Category 2 head knock.

2 min: A stunning start for the Roosters as Salesi Foketi busts the line and picks up James Tedesco who is dragged down 10m out. The Roosters go right and Daly Cherry-Evans delivers a peach of a pass to put Lindsay Collins over for a try. Hugo Savala converts. Roosters 6-0

Late Mail

Roosters: A late change on the bench with Toby Rodwell coming in 90 minutes before kick-off in place of Tommy Talau. Young playmaker Rodwell returns after suffering a head knock in Round 27 and sitting out a week. Sam Walker’s comeback from an ankle injury remains on ice for another week but star back-rower Angus Crichton is back from a long-term foot injury. Young talent Salesi Foketi is set to start in the back row after coming off the bench last week, with Egan Butcher unavailable due to a concussion. 

Sharks: Mawene Hiroti joins the starting side in jersey No.22 in the 90-minute update with Riley Jones going to the bench. Hiroti makes his return from a rib injury. Jayden Berrell dropped off the bench on Friday and was replaced by Niwhai Puru, who was a late call-up last week to replace his brother Hohepa. 

Numbers Game

• The Roosters have won three out of four finals clashes against the Sharks.
• The Sharks have won four of their last six finals games.
• Roosters centre Billy Smith has scored seven tries in his last six games at Allianz Stadium.
• Sharks winger Sione Katoa has scored seven tries in his last four games.
• Winger Daniel Tupou will make a record 28th finals appearance for the Roosters.