04:39 It’s the inner Sydney derby. It’s suburb versus suburb. It’s mate against mate. It’s husband against wife in some cases. And it’s sibling v sibling. Does it get much better than the Roosters against the Rabbitohs in a preliminary final?<doc-sep>Roosters' Luke Keary during NRL Preliminary Final match between the Sydney Roosters and South Sydney Rabbitohs at Allianz Stadium. Picture. Phil Hillyard LUKE Keary stood up with Cooper Cronk injured for the entire second half, guiding the Roosters to victory with a superb playmaking performance. Cronk bravely stayed out there for the last 40, but it was Keary who had to steer the ship and create the opportunities, and he did so with ease. Superstars Damien Cook and Boyd Cordner certainly weren’t standouts for their respective teams. In fact, Cook had a night to forget making a host of uncharacteristic mistakes. Get ready for cricket like never before. FREE Sport HD + Entertainment until the first 4K cricket ball as part of 2 months free on a 12 month plan. SIGN UP TODAY. T&Cs apply. MORE NRL NEWS SMOKE AND MIRRORS? : REAL SHARKS TACTIC TO EXPLOIT STORM ‘MOST IMPORTANT HOURS OF MY LIFE’: AFL GREAT’S STIRRING STORM ADDRESS BEERS EVERY CHRISTMAS: HOW BELLAMY-FLANAGAN RIVALRY FORMED BROOKS: IT WOULD BE ‘DIFFICULT’ TO PLAY UNDER CLEARY Read on for the full player ratings: ROOSTERS 1. James Tedesco 8 He was on. Fed a beautiful ball to Tupou for the opening try. At his roaming best. 2. Daniel Tupou 7 Scored the opening try off a beautiful pass from James Tedesco. Safe as houses under the high ball. 20. Paul Momirovski 6 Had a tough night on the edge with Dane Gagai in his face all night. Made a few errors but scored a try late to give the Roosters a handy lead. 4. Joseph Manu 6.5 Fed the ball to Ferguson for the first try and got the Roosters out of trouble when a Cronk kick went awry midway through the first half. Made a few errors, though. 5. Blake Ferguson 7 His brilliance in the air is was tempered with handling errors, but that’s the puzzle of Ferguson. Scored a decisive try in the 49th minute through sheer strength. 6. Luke Keary 8 Copped plenty of punishment for poking his nose through the line, but finished with a tackle break, and offload and a try-assist for his effort. 7. Cooper Cronk 7.5 Tough and organised. Took the ball to the line with no fear and his body took a beating. Exactly the player he is week in and week out, even while carrying a shoulder injury. 8. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves 5.5 Couldn’t seem to get on a roll, dropping the ball after big contact from Rabbitohs’ second-rower John Sutton midway through the second half. It was his third error. 9. Jake Friend (c) 7.5 Dangerous tackle on Greg Inglis, tipping the Rabbitohs’ captain above the horizontal. Could be in trouble with the match review committee. Still made 39 tackles in a touch defensive effort. 10. Sio Siua Taukeiaho 7.5 Bruising and aggressive in defence as usual. Kicking game left much to be desired. 11. Boyd Cordner (c) 6.5 A quiet night by his own exceptional standards. 3. Mitchell Aubusson 7.5 Rocked Sam Burgess in a tackle and forced an error in the first half. Solid in defence. 12. Isaac Liu 7 Saved a certain try in the first half, grounding the ball before rampaging Inglis could get to it. INTERCHANGE 13. Victor Radley 6 Energetic in defence as always, but missed three tackles. 14. Lindsay Collins 5 Solid in defence and luckily, because plenty of traffic was driven at him. Didn’t get a whole lot of game time. 15. Zane Tetevano 6.5 Had a gutsy stint in the middle and played with plenty of line speed. Gave away a few penalties defending the line. 17. Ryan Matterson 5.5 Didn’t get a lot of game time but did his job from the bench. RABBITOHS 1. Alex Johnston 5.5 Did well to clean up Cooper Cronk’s chip kick and then beat a couple of tackles. Threw forward pass to Jennings with try-line begging. Was thrown into touch by Joseph Manu with an overlap brewing. 2. Campbell Graham 6 Plenty of early tough carries from deep in their own territory. Shouldn’t have rushed in on James Tedesco when the Roosters scored their first try through Daniel Tupou, but chose the right time to come in most of the time. Didn’t defuse Keary’s kick, which led to Paul Momirovski’s try. 3. Greg Inglis 7 Made easy metres down the left edge and was fed plenty of ball. Inspirational charges midway through the second half when the game went into overdrive. 4. Dane Gagai 7 Solid shot on Boyd Cordner early. Gave away the penalty but would’ve lifted his teammates with that effort. 5. Robert Jennings 6 Dropped a high-ball but thankfully for Souths it didn’t cost them with Inglis cleaning up. He put his hand up for plenty of acting half darts, racking up more than 100 metres. 6. Cody Walker 6.5 Brilliant footwork to almost create a try in the first half. Looked their most likely. 7. Adam Reynolds 6 Long range penalty goal to break the deadlock, and ease the pressure on the Bunnies but missed the one at the death to keep alive their hopes. As usual his general play kicking game was sensational. One 70-metre torpedo stands out, but he was landing others on a dime. 8. Thomas Burgess 7 Forced Blake Ferguson back towards his own try-line with strong defence, and the Roosters made a mistake off the back of it. Led the line speed with Damien Cook, and was one of their best metre-eaters. 9. Damien Cook 5 Certainly wasn’t the game the Bunnies needed from him. His service was at times dreadful and had a mixed night with his short kicking game. 10. George Burgess 6.5 Bone-rattler on Victor Radley when the Chooks were pressing their line late in the first half and did plenty of work in the middle third, particularly in defence. 11. John Sutton 6 Threatened with the left step, and looked dangerous with early ball. 12. Angus Crichton 5.5 Tried to force the pass with a minute left in the first half and lost it, gifting the Chooks good late field position. 13. Sam Burgess 6 Poor mistake trying to get a quick play-the-ball away. Got better as the game went on as the contest became more physical in the second stanza, but dropped an inside ball fro reynolds under pressure. Huge defensive workload. INTERCHANGE 14. Hymel Hunt N/A Didn’t get on. 15. Cameron Murray 7.5 Came on after 20 minutes and immediately put a big shot on Waerea-Hargreaves, backed that up with a swag of others punching well above his weight. Couple of half breaks with ball in hand too. 17. Dean Britt 4 Didn’t look out of place despite having only played a handful of NRL games. 20. Tevita Tatola 3 Late hit on Cronk gave the Roosters a penalty goal attempt.<doc-sep>
Cooper Cronk of the Roosters kicks the ball. IT was the send off the old girl deserved. In front of the largest crowd for a sporting event ever at Allianz Stadium, the Roosters booked their place in next week’s NRL grand final opposite Melbourne. A whopping 44,380 people crammed into the old Sydney Football Stadium for the final time before she is demolished, for the privilege of allowing the two oldest rivals in the competition to thrill them with a gutsy 12-4 battle. As is usually the case with this ground and these old rivals, drama ensued. MATCH CENTRE: Roosters d Rabbitohs Get ready for cricket like never before. FREE Sport HD + Entertainment until the first 4K cricket ball as part of 2 months free on a 12 month plan. SIGN UP TODAY. T&Cs apply. One of the biggest recruits in the club’s history, Cooper Cronk will carry an injury cloud into next week’s decider against his former club after battling through the second half with a shoulder injury. Hooker Jake Friend could also have a case to answer alongside Billy Slater at the judiciary after tipping South Sydney captain Greg Inglis up in a tackle that was penalised, but should be found dangerous by the match review committee. The first half was a grind as both teams bashed out their aggressions, but as fatigue started to come into the game, the stars stood up. Going into the sheds tied up at 4-all, the Roosters simply held their composure as the Rabbitohs spoiled key moments with a lack of discipline. ROOSTER WINGED: Cronk gets half-time repairs on busted shoulder IN TROUBLE: Jake Friend in strife for dangerous tackle Although they had several attempts at the line, the Roosters continued to turn them away at every opportunity. Up the other end, they showed pure class to ice their opportunities with Luke Keary, James Tedesco and Cronk calling the shots. With Latrell Mitchell sidelined, they were without a recognised kicker and were forced to score all their points through tries. Tupou scored early in the first half, while Blake Ferguson and Paul Momirovski also made it over the white line. The Roosters will now play Melbourne for the premiership at ANZ Stadium next Sunday night.