NRL round-up: Roosters win Minor Premiership, Oates bags four, Thurston waves goodbye
The Roosters won silverware on Saturday as rugby league waved goodbye to one of its best ever players.
New Zealand Warriors beat Canberra Raiders 20-16 in their final game of the regular season but it wasn’t enough to secure a home play-off game. Tonga star David Fusitu’a scored for the Warriors, while New Zealand internationals Solomone Kata and Peta Hiku also crossed.
St George Illawarra Dragons will face Brisbane Broncos away in the opening round of the play-offs following their 24-14 win over Newcastle Knights at McDonald Jones Stadium. Papua New Guinea international Nene MacDonald got on the scoresheet for the Dragons, while Ken Sio went over twice for the Knights.
Sydney Roosters beat wooden spoonists Parramatta Eels 44-10 to seal the JJ Giltinan Shield for the Minor Premiership. New South Wales star Latrell Mitchell scored a hat-trick and kicked six goals for the Roosters, racking up a tally of 24 points. Australia international Blake Ferguson scored two tries, while Tonga ace Daniel Tupou also crossed for the Roosters.
Cronulla Sharks beat Canterbury Bulldogs 30-18 and they will now face Sydney Roosters in the first round of the play-offs. Sosaia Feki scored two tries for the Sharks, while Australia duo Josh Dugan and Valentine Holmes also went over.
Four tries from Corey Oates helped Brisbane Broncos thump Manly Sea Eagles 48-16 at Suncorp Stadium. New Zealand winger Jamayne Isaako and Samoa half-back Anthony Milford also scored for the Broncos.
South Sydney Rabbitohs sealed their place in the top four at the end of the regular campaign with an outstanding 51-10 win over Wests Tigers. Tonga winger Robert Jennings went over for the Rabbitohs and so did England front-rower Tom Burgess.
Johnathan Thurston put in a fantastic display to help North Queensland Cowboys edge past Gold Coast Titans 30-26 in his last ever professional game of rugby league at Cbus Super Stadium. Ben Hampton scored twice for the Cowboys.
Melbourne Storm missed out on the Minor Premiership to Sydney Roosters after losing 22-16 at home to Penrith Panthers. Josh Mansour and Waqa Blake scored two tries each for the Panthers.
NRL Round 25 results:
South Sydney Rabbitohs 51-10 Wests Tigers (12,037)
New Zealand Warriors 20-16 Canberra Raiders (24,595)
Newcastle Knights 14-24 St George Illawarra Dragons (24,662)
Gold Coast Titans 26-30 North Queensland Cowboys (26,681)
Parramatta Eels 10-44 Sydney Roosters (11,543)
Canterbury Bulldogs 18-30 Cronulla Sharks (14,189)
Brisbane Broncos 48-16 Manly Sea Eagles (41,538)
