We only have ourselves to blame: Roosters

The Sydney Roosters have refused to point the finger at the referees following their insipid showing in their 44-12 NRL thumping the hands of Cronulla.

The Roosters dropped from second to fourth after being soundly thumped by the premiers at Central Coast Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Sharks headed into halftime up 20-12 however there were big question marks over Sosaia Feki's try just a minute out from the break.

Cronulla five-eighth James Maloney threw a questionable pass which many, including a majority of the 20,060-strong crowd, believed was forward.

Feki's try proved somewhat of a turning point, with the Roosters emerging from the sheds flat while the Sharks piled on five tries in the second half.

Despite the controversy, and skipper Jake Friend questioning referee Gerard Sutton on the field after the halftime whistle, they refused to point their finger at anyone but themselves.

"My job's to talk to the ref and ask him about things that were 50-50," Friend said.

"We chatted and that was it. It was no excuse.

"We couldn't get ourselves into the grind of the game and we probably got out-played in that tough footy area."

The Sharks rarely gave the Roosters a sniff after completing 33 of 37 sets - compared to the Tricolours' 22 of 31 - and controlling 60 per cent of possession.

Friend was forced to make a mammoth 66 tackles while Sharks captain Paul Gallen was his side's top tackler with just 22.

The Sharks - who have lacked discipline all year - won the penalty count 6-5 - including 5-1 in the first half.

Asked if the Sharks were given the rub of the green, and whether that influenced the game, Robinson said: "No not really. That's not the reason. No."