Sydney Roosters are through to their first NRL grand final in seven years after Mark Nawaqanitawase’s genius and a miracle Sam Walker injury comeback inspired a 36-20 demolition of the Dolphins.
The Roosters shot out to a 16-0 lead inside 27 minutes in front of a sold-out preliminary final crowd of 52,286 at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.
Their defensive grit on the tryline, a feature of their finals campaign, limited the damage from a mini-Dolphins comeback, but two-try hero Nawaqanitawase has a box of unlimited magic tricks that he unfurled with a wow factor rarely seen on a rugby league field.
The Dolphins had won eight straight games to reach their first preliminary final, a wonderful achievement, but on this occasion it was the Roosters’ big-game players who stood tallest.
Walker returned in a record-equalling 27 days from a syndesmosis injury to orchestrate the backline in a masterclass to set up a decider clash with either Penrith or Newcastle.
Roosters coach, Trent Robinson, will be angling for his fourth premiership win in as many attempts.
An error or a moment of magic was needed to turn an early set-for-set stalemate, and Nawaqanitawase provided it in the 18th minute.
The rugby-bound revelation’s pivotal moment was pure instinct and skill backed with supreme confidence.
Dolphins centre, Herbie Farnworth, hesitated with his pass for what would have been a Dolphins try had it hit the mark. But Nawaqanitawase swooped, raced 90m and the Roosters never looked back.
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“Big players make big plays in big games,” Billy Slater said on Channel Nine commentary.
Dolphins bench impact man, Kurt Donoghoe, dropped the ball when he came on and then missed a tackle for a rampant Victor Radley to score.
Walker’s sublime lob for jumping Daniel Tupou had been well rehearsed and was perfectly executed.
The Roosters lost bench rake Connor Watson to a category one HIA, upgraded by the independent doctor, in the first half and the St George Illawarra-bound utility will miss the grand final.
Dolphins winger Jamayne Isaako scored tries either side of halftime, but Nawaqanitawase collected a kick and flicked it back for Robert Toia to crash over.
When Nawaqanitawase bulldozed over for his second and Walker sliced through, it was all over for the hosts.
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