The good thing of the day saluted not at Randwick, but just down the road. Winx won after an almighty fright, but she didn't scramble past a rag-tag team of NRL also-rans whose most ardent fans would have struggled to identify from a line-up.
Bookmakers actually thought there was more chance of Winx getting beaten for the first time in more than two years than the Roosters losing a two-horse race against the Titans, ready for Silly Saturday which precedes Mad Monday. Like horse racing's pin-up girl, the Roosters had to mow down their rival when most thought it was all over. They got there. Just.
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Late Roosters try cements second place
The NRL's top four has been decided after Boyd Cordner's try plucked a late win for the Roosters.
It means Brisbane come south instead of the Roosters going north in week one of the finals. But for Roosters coach Trent Robinson?
"We've got a good home record, they've got a good home record," Robinson shrugged. "But I didn't care [whether we played them home or away]. It doesn't make it any easier or any harder. We're playing Brisbane on Friday night, so let's go."
Their path to the grand final can be carved exclusively in Sydney after a late show featuring tries to Michael Gordon and Boyd Cordner inside the last 10 minutes subdued a plucky Gold Coast 20-16 at Allianz Stadium, saving second spot on the ladder and ensuring three finals will be played in the harbour city next weekend.
Is it good enough to threaten Melbourne? Hardly. But as Robinson is aware, titles are won on the first weekend in October rather than the first weekend in September these days. And his team, chalking up a rugby league record 11th win by six points or less in the course of one season, know how to win close games better than most.
"These guys think really clearly at the end of games – it's a real credit to them – but we weren't thinking very clearly for the first 60 [minutes]," Robinson said.
"We knew we've been fighting to get back into the top two and be at home. And it was just there – right there – and we could touch it. It was just 80 minutes away. We just got a bit tight to try to execute to get second spot. It wasn't a great performance for us.
"Would I have liked a better result from us today? Yeah, I would have liked to have seen a better result. Am I unhappy with the result? No. We get lessons out of those games. Teams can see us finishing well and that's put a memory in their mind at the back end of games against us."
Anthony Don's 90-metre intercept and a deft Ash Taylor kick that set up stand-in captain Kevin Proctor pushed the Titans to the brink of the upset of the season, marred by a frightening concussion to rookie Ben Nakubuwai after a shot from Zane Tetevano, which was placed on report.
Nakubuwai was driven from the field after several minutes, but Robinson described the collision as a "really good tackle".
"I didn't like to see the player coming off the field like that, I thought it was really tough," Robinson said. "It wasn't a loose tackle, he stepped in and wrapped with the arms and went all the way to the ground. Zane was really clear about the tackle and there was no malice about it, just a big, strong, firm tackle. None of us like seeing him move off the field like that."
If Terry Matterson and co-coach Craig Hodges were hoping to audition for the role vacated by Neil Henry's sacking, this was a good advertisement.
Using their 34th NRL player this season and handing a club record 17th Titans debut to a player in the one year – this time Keegan Hipgrave – they looked anything bar the near-anonymous team given no chance of toppling the Roosters at Winx-like odds.
On his own future, Matterson said: "I'd love to be head-coach. That will be sorted out in the future. We just wanted to move through this and go from there. The club will deal with that and the process they go through this week.
"If we won that my feelings [about the side's effort] wouldn't have changed. We're in a results-driven business and we were pretty desperate for a win, but what they went through out there probably mirrors our season. It's just been one of those years where injuries have made it really difficult for us."
Sydney Roosters 20 (Latrell Mitchell, Michael Gordon, Boyd Cordner tries; Gordon 4 goals) defeated Gold Coast Titans 16 (Leivaha Pulu, Anthony Don, Kevin Proctor tries; Ashley Taylor 2 goals) at Allianz Stadium. Referees: Ben Cummins, Matt Noyen. Crowd: 11,212.
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