'Not doing cartwheels': James Tedesco and Trent Robinson cool the jets despite one-sided win over Manly
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The wounded Sydney Roosters are through to a prelim final, cruising to victory over Manly on Saturday night as superstar captain James Tedesco bagged a double in his milestone 250th NRL appearance.
The absence of Sam Walker and Brandon Smith was but a distant memory as the experience of the Chooks proved too much for the Sea Eagles to handle.
In front of a sold-out crowd at Allianz Stadium, the hosts flew out of the gates and never looked back, recording a 40-16 triumph and will now travel down to Melbourne next weekend for a clash with the minor premiers.
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After a chaotic start that saw Tolu Koula knocked out and Jake Trbojevic forced off with a head knock, it was one-way traffic as the Roosters dominated proceedings.
Sandon Smith celebrates a try with his Roosters teammates. Getty
Victor Radley, Tedesco and Sandon Smith all crossed for tries in a tremendous start for the Tricolours, bouncing out to a 20-0 lead in the first half.
Manly showed some signs of life before the break as Haumole Olakau'atu latched onto a perfect kick from his skipper Daly Cherry-Evans to get his side on the board.
The second half started in ugly fashion for the Sea Eagles, with a dodgy captain's challenge leading directly to a Daniel Tupou try in the corner moments later.
Josh Aloiai drops the ball in the tackle. Nine
Josh Aloiai was deemed to have lost the ball in the ruck but urged Cherry-Evans to review it, before the Bunker opted to stick with the on-field decision.
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Manly began to enter desperation mode with less than half an hour remaining and the mistakes crept in, allowing Tedesco to score his second try next to the posts.
Tedesco continued to light up the 40,000-strong crowd deep into the match, finishing with an enormous 226 run metres, two try assists and two linebreaks.
James Tedesco celebrates a try with his Roosters teammates. Getty
Tommy Talau and Ben Trbojevic scored late consolation tries, but it was too little too late as Manly's campaign came to a disappointing end when Dom Young put the icing on the cake in the 76th minute.
"They bounce back into the winners circle - but the most important thing is, they've hit form ... they've got some strike across the park," Billy Slater said on Nine.
Immediately after the full-time siren, the Roosters skipper already had his mind on the next task at hand, which will see them travel south to face the Storm.
"It's a great standard for us, but we need to go up another level," Tedesco said.
"We've been doing it the hard way, but if we play our best footy like we did tonight, we can beat any team. We'll have to go up another level next week."
Those sentiments were backed up by coach Trent Robinson, who said his side won't be going "over the top" in their celebrations after toppling Manly.
"We're not gonna be doing cartwheels tonight and sprouting who we are," he said.
Trent Robinson and James Tedesco front the media after the semi final. Nine
"We need to make that next week. I'm really proud of the way they handled the week and proud of what we did, but we need to go and do it again next week.
"No one was over the top, everyone was quite focused … there's a happiness there, but also a focus on what we can do and getting ready for next week."
There was one late concern for the Chooks, with centre Joseph Suaalii spotted limping after a heavy tackle, but Robinson is adamant he will be fit to play.
