The Sydney Roosters survived an almighty scare from a resurgent Wests Tigers to avoid being on the wrong end of what would have been the upset of the season on Saturday night.
James Tedesco almost provided the Wests Tigers with a farewell present by dismantling his future team, however the Roosters managed to scrape home in the dying minutes to secure a 22-18 victory.
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Roosters fend off Tigers comeback
The Roosters have scraped home against the resilient Tigers, winning 22-18.
The Tigers clawed their way back from an early 16-0 deficit to take a two-point lead late in the match, only for the Roosters to score late to snatch victory.
On a cold, wet and windy night at Allianz Stadium, the NSW fullback scored a try, set up another and saved a few more in showing why the Roosters will be paying him more than a $1 million a year for the next four seasons.
"We've got to enjoy it while he is here," Tigers coach Ivan Cleary said.
"We won't be able to replace him. There is no James Tedesco sitting on a tree. The fact he has left has allowed us to build a different squad as well."
But unfortunately for Tedesco, it was to no avail.
"He is a good player," Roosters coach Trent Robinson said of Tedesco.
"He showed that tonight. If you can feel like you've got a team under control, then a player like him pops up and creates a change in the opposition in a major way. He did that tonight. He made a huge difference in the scoreline."
The win for Trent Robinson's men ends a two-game losing streak and ensures they stay in equal second position (third on differential) with the Broncos with two rounds remaining.Â
In front of 9585 brave fans at Allianz Stadium, the Roosters put aside back-to-back losses to Melbourne and Manly as they approach the finals series.
"We got into a really good position in the first 30 minutes and then two defensive errors which cost us," Robinson said.
"The play before half time really hurt. Put the score tight and put some pressure on us in the second half. Our cohesion wasn't good enough in key areas.
"We're playing some good footy. There's not one major area [where we need to improve]. We need to combine it next week if we're going to have a chance against the Sharks."
It was the skills of Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, who offloaded on his way to the ground, that allowed Mitchell Pearce to dive over from close range to give the Roosters an early 6-0 lead.
Pearce turned provider for the Roosters second try, hitting a barnstorming Aiden Guerra back on the angle with a lovely timed short ball.
It didn't stop the flow of momentum, with an acrobatic effort from Blake Ferguson to bring down a cross-field Pearce kick allowing veteran Mitchell Aubusson to dive over in the corner for a 16-0 lead.
Just when it looked like the Roosters would pile on a score, the Tigers got themselves back in the contest when Luke Brooks put Josh Aloiai through a yawning gap.
A fumble from Michael Gordon provided the visitors with another opportunity on the stroke of half-time, with Brooks and Kevin Naiqama combining to show the Roosters faithful what they are in for next year when James Tedesco strolled over to reduce the deficit to four points at the break.
The Tigers continued their resurgence through their No.1, whose contentious forward pass put Lolohea over under the posts to give Ivan Cleary's men an 18-16 lead, before Mitchell scored late to secure the win for the Roosters.
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