The Roosters will head into the NRLW finals riding a four-game winning streak, although Sunday’s 32-18 triumph over the Eels appears to have come at a cost with captain Isabelle Kelly being forced from the field with a suspected dislocated elbow.
Kelly pulled away from an attempted tackle on a Parramatta player early in the second half, with the Jillaroos and Sky Blues star appearing in visible pain and requiring several minutes of medical attention as she lay on the turf.
It put a sour note on an otherwise commanding performance from John Strange’s side, who ran in three tries in the final 20 minutes to record a comfortable victory, although they fell short of winning by the 21 or more points required for them to climb past the Broncos to claim the minor premiership.
Concern as Roosters star Kelly forced from the fieldConcern as Roosters star Kelly forced from the field
Concern as Roosters star Kelly forced from the field
Alongside evergreen fullback Samantha Bremner – who scored a double and came up with some telling defensive plays on the other side of the ball – it was a standout day for halfback Jocelyn Kelleher, who stood tall in the absence of halves partner Tarryn Aiken as she remains sidelined by a shoulder injury.
The Roosters will now face the Knights next week for a spot in the grand final.
After fumbling the first kick of the game right into the hands of Bremner to score on the opening set, Parramatta looked rattled and struggled to put their stamp on the contest at all through the opening 15 minutes.
A second try to Mia Wood, coupled with Kelleher nailing the conversion attempt from out wide, gave the Roosters a 12-0 advantage.
While some brilliance from Cassey Tohi-Hiku, who split the line before linking with captain Mahalia Murphy to score, saw the deficit cut in half on 24 minutes, the joy was short lived as Olivia Kernick hit back following the Roosters earning back-to-back sets at the other end.
But after racking up a second four-pointer through a spectacular bomb claim by Zali Fay on 43 minutes, Parramatta suddenly had all the momentum and with Kelly off the field they looked a good chance of going on to draw even midway through the second stanza.
However a tipping point in the game soon arrived and from there the Roosters never really looked back.
Jayme Fressard earned a penalty with a spirited run on 49 minutes, before her side went coast-to-coast in a movement that saw the ball change hands five times before Bremner flew through a gap for her second.
Another penalty minutes later led to another Tricolours try, this time scored through powerhouse forward Amber Hall who got over the line for her fifth in six games.
A sixth four-pointer followed from Fressard, but to their credit the Eels managed to stop the rot a short time later and even got one back thanks to energetic interchange forward Rosemarie Beckett, with that score effectively ending the Roosters’ hopes of claiming the minor premiership.
