Match result: The Sydney Roosters’ minor premiership hopes appear dashed after a disappointing 22-8 loss to a faultless Broncos outfit on Saturday night at Allianz Stadium. » Click here to read the full match report Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Reddit Email Share Final score Sydney Roosters 8 Brisbane Broncos 22 Match preview: A semi-final preview awaits as the Sydney Roosters take on the Brisbane Broncos, who are looking to cement their spot in the finals. Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match, starting at 7:35pm (AEST). Only a week after a four-point win over the Rabbitohs saw the Roosters regain premiership favouritism, doubts over their credentials arose again when they fell to the Raiders 14-12. The defeat saw them squander a valuable opportunity to move two points clear of the Storm on top of the competition table, although victory on Saturday night will almost certainly secure a home final for Trent Robinson’s men given that they play Parramatta the following week. The Tricolours put in another determined defensive effort, restricting the Raiders to just one try. Advertisement Advertisement However, they struggled to fire in attack and will be relieved at the return of five-eighth Luke Keary for Saturday’s clash with Brisbane. They may also welcome back enforcer Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, who has been named on the extended bench. Consistency has constantly eluded the Broncos in 2018 and after dismantling the Rabbitohs 38-18 last week, all eyes will be on Wayne Bennett’s men to see if they can back it up against another competition heavyweight. If they do, they will certainly establish themselves as genuine dark horses for the premiership given their big-game experience. Total concentration will be needed for the Broncos to topple the Roosters on Saturday night, something that was lacking in their victory over South Sydney last week. After rushing out to an early 18-0 lead, Brisbane went on to concede the next three tries before going on to finish the job. While they did eventually run away with the victory, the Roosters pose a far sterner test given that they have the best defensive record in the league. Prediction In a low-scoring contest, the class of Luke Keary and Cooper Cronk will guide the Tricolours to their 16th win of the season. Advertisement Advertisement Roosters by 4. As September draws closer, here at The Roar we will have you covered with all the action as the race for the premiership heats up. Join us for live scores and a blog of Saturday night’s blockbuster, starting at 7:35pm (AEST).<doc-sep>Loading Brisbane's NRL premiership window could be open two years sooner than expected. Super coach Wayne Bennett and his Broncos are threatening to do the highly unlikely after making a statement about their title credentials in Saturday's rousing 22-8 win over the Sydney Roosters. Timing: Brisbane's Jamayne Isaako scores a try during their victory over the Sydney Roosters. Credit:AAP Following last round's ambush victory of South Sydney, the Broncos have now knocked over two top-three teams in the space of 10 days. With the competition having been turned on its head and the likes of the Rabbitohs and Penrith showing signs of slowing at the finish line, the Broncos suddenly look well in the hunt.<doc-sep>WHATEVER coach Wayne Bennett cooked at his infamous barbecue has clicked the Broncos into gear as they proved they could do some serious damage in the looming finals. WAYNE Bennett says it’s up to the NRL to act on Dylan Napa’s controversial tackling technique after Broncos hooker Andrew McCullough was left with facial injuries in Brisbane’s 22-8 upstaging of the Roosters. It was deja vu at Allianz Stadium after Napa produced a carbon-copy tackle of the controversial headclash which shattered the jaw of Broncos prop Korbin Sims in Round 11 to knock McCullough senseless. Napa escaped suspension over the Sims tackle, but he is unlikely to be so lucky this time after NRL boss Todd Greenberg admitted he should have been charged last time. Bennett, the NRL’s most experienced coach with 811 games, slammed Napa after the Sims tackle and said it was up to the code to act. “I had a lot to say about it last time, it’s now up to the NRL,” he said. MORE: Roosters v Broncos — five things we learned Dylan Napa was sin-binned for a controversial hit on Andrew McCullough. Picture: Getty Images Andrew McCullough failed to return after Dylan Napa’s hit. Picture: Getty Images “I stood up for my player then and made my feelings known to everybody. “It’s up to the NRL now to do what they’ve got to do.” Asked if NRL could have stopped the McCullough incident by suspending Napa last time, Bennett said: “Don’t take me down that path, I’ll go where I don’t want to go.” Broncos captain Darius Boyd said Napa’s tackles were not a coincidence. “He’s an aggressive player and it’s probably something to do with his technique,” Boyd said. “It doesn’t happen by chance, not a couple of times. It’s something he needs to look at.” The Napa incident overshadowed a terrific win for the Broncos against the NRL’s second-placed heavyweights which proved Brisbane could do some serious damage in the looming finals. Whatever Bennett cooked at his infamous barbecue has seemed to click the Broncos into gear. A win against cellar dwellers Manly at next Sunday’s final round clash at Suncorp Stadium could catapult Brisbane into fifth or sixth spot on the ladder and deliver the Broncos a home final. If results go Brisbane’s way the Broncos could even sneak into the top four, although that seems unlikely. The Broncos have beaten top four outfits South Sydney and Sydney in the past fortnight after losing to bottom four teams Canterbury and North Queensland. Bennett may have finally struck gold in his search for consistency and it couldn’t have come at a better time with Brisbane facing the prospect of having to win four finals to claim the club’s first NRL title since 2006. “We were pretty good,” Bennett said. “It’s the right time of the year to be playing good football. “It was a really good effort. It was pretty good stuff. We are coming together as a group.” Jamayne Isaako scores a try for the Broncos. Picture: AAP Napa’s sickening collision with Queensland Origin teammate McCullough left the Broncos without a hooker for 56 minutes, but Brisbane did not miss a beat despite missing their super consistent No. 9. Halves Anthony Milford and Kodi Nikorima produced a playmaking masterclass, essentially kicking the Roosters out of the contest. Brisbane’s improving defence was also watertight for much of the contest, holding the Roosters try-less for 67 minutes. Corey Oates scored his 14th try of the season to get Brisbane on the board before fellow winger Jamayne Isaako bamboozled Roosters opposite Daniel Tupou on the other side of the field to give Brisbane a 14-8 lead. A mistake by Tupou gifted Kodi Nikorima an easy four-pointer on the cusp of half-time which saw Brisbane take a 20-8 lead into the break. The second half was a war of attrition, but the Broncos held solid to notch their 14th win and hit their straps at the business end of the season. BRISBANE 22 (J Isaako K Nikorima C Oates tries J Isaako 5 goals) bt SYDNEY ROOSTERS 8 (B Ferguson try L Mitchell 2 goals) at Allianz Stadium. Referee: Gerard Sutton, Peter Gough. Crowd: 13,263 Get 3 months free Sport HD + Entertainment on a 12 month plan and watch every game of every round of the 2018 NRL Telstra Premiership on FOX SPORTS. T & Cs apply. SIGN UP NOW ><doc-sep>
The Broncos are charging into the finals. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images) THE Broncos have secured a finals berth and ended the Tigers hopes of a top eight finish with a dominant victory over the Roosters. The second-placed Chooks have been the benchmark in recent weeks but Wayne Bennett’s men brought them crashing back down to earth with a 22-8 win at Allianz Stadium. Get three months free Sport HD + Entertainment on a 12 month plan and watch every game of every round of the 2018 NRL Telstra Premiership on FOX SPORTS. T & Cs apply. SIGN UP NOW The talking point is sure to be Dylan Napa, who was placed on report and sent to the sin-bin over an ugly head-first tackle which left Andrew McCullough heavily concussed. Fox League’s Greg Alexander called for the prop to be suspended to send a message that he needs to change his defensive technique. REPORT Brisbane have made a statement with a 22-8 NRL win over the Sydney Roosters in a match pockmarked by an ugly Dylan Napa hit on Andrew McCullough. Napa was put on report after leading with his head in a tackle that forced the Brisbane hooker to be taken from Allianz Stadium on a medicab. He was sin-binned for the 24th minute incident that was almost identical to the one that left Brisbane’s Korbin Sims with a broken jaw in May. Broncos staff reported that McCullough suffered a concussion and a lacerated mouth however he was cleared of a break or structural damage. Napa will come under the scrutiny of the match review committee on Sunday and could be set for a lengthy stint on the sidelines. Sims missed four weeks after being hit by Napa in round 11, however the Roosters front-rower was not charged for that incident. The Broncos came into round 24 in seventh but fired a shot across the bow of the rest of the competition with a comprehensive win over the second-placed Roosters. The Roosters were often their own worst enemies, coming up with 15 errors on their way to a second straight loss to put them on uneven footing just two weeks out from the finals. Hooker Jake Friend had a monumental game, making 71 tackles, just shy of Shaun Fensom’s alltime record of 74. With Napa off the field, the Broncos struck through Jamayne Isaako who produced an acrobatic put-down to give his side a 12-8 lead. And when Daniel Tupou made a mess of an Anthony Milford bomb, Kodi Nikorima picked up the spoils to put the Broncos in front 20-8 at the break. MORE NRL NEWS ‘NOT ILLEGAL’: LEAGUE IMMORTALS SAY UGLY NAPA HIT AN ACCIDENT ‘SMITH DOES WHAT HE WANTS?’: JAMES WHACKS STORM SKIPPER HE’S BACK: ANDREW JOHNS TO COME OUT OF RETIREMENT SO MANY UPS AND DOWNS: BROWNY REMEMBERS MATE THOMMO ‘IT DOESN’T HAPPEN BY CHANCE’: BOYD URGES NAPA TO CHANGE TECHNIQUE When Latrell Mitchell was sin-binned in the 56th minute for a professional foul, Isaako booted the only points of the second-half with a penalty goal to extend the Broncos’ advantage to 14 points. The Broncos are now showing signs of peaking at the right time of the year with prop Matt Lodge (118 metres) and Tevita Pangai Junior (150m, 21 tackles) leading their side up front. The Roosters were on two occasions denied by the video referees in the second-half with James Tedesco nearly reeling in a Friend grubber and Joseph Manu putting a foot on the sidelines after beating three defenders.