Roosters skipper James Tedesco has praised his front-rowers for how they responded after a stint in the sin bin on Saturday night following an explosive start to the game that reduced their side and the Dolphins to 11 men. <\/p>\n
And while he doesn\u2019t want to see them spend time off the field, Tedesco isn\u2019t going to tell Spencer Leniu and his fellow firebrands to tone things down because their aggression and intimidation is what strikes fear into opposition teams. <\/p>\n
Saturday\u2019s game against the Dolphins was dubbed a do-or-die clash for Trent Robinson\u2019s side as they fought to keep their finals hopes alive, and they delivered with a stunning 64-12 win at Suncorp Stadium.<\/p>\n
While their attack was faultless, the big boys up front saw red from the opening whistle, with Leniu racing in to defend halfback Sam Walker when he was shoved by Aublix Tawha.<\/p>\n
That set the tone and a minute later all hell broke loose when the powerhouse prop shaped up to Tawha after a try, with players from both teams coming together.<\/p>\n
Leniu, Tawha, Naufahu Whyte and Francis Molo were all sent to the sin bin, with a stack of fines dished out, including two to Leniu, who has to pay $3600.<\/p>\n
The stint in the sin bin cooled things down but it didn\u2019t slow down Leniu\u2019s momentum, as he scored a powerful try just before halftime, while Whyte continued his outstanding season with 178m \u2013 the most of any forward in that game.<\/p>\n
The Roosters have the attacking firepower to beat anyone, and the top teams better be scared of them if they continue to play with the swagger they showed for 80 minutes on Saturday night. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe were sticking up for each other there, and Spencer was sticking up for his teammates and his halfback. I think any front-rower would do that,\u201d Tedesco said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s obviously a fine line, and Spencer got charged for it, so you can\u2019t really run in and let it boil over like that and have players off the field.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat could cost any team when you have a man or two men off the field because it can really change the flow of the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen they came back on, they went about their business and dominated. I love the fire that our middles play with, but we can\u2019t have players off the field because it can cost you.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I\u2019m not going to tell them to stop being fiery because that\u2019s what makes them an intimidating pack and that\u2019s what makes them good players.\u201d<\/p>\n
Representative front-rower Lindsay Collins spoke with Leniu after the melee to calm him down and was proud of how he responded after his time off the field.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a fine balance for a team that has had guys like Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Dylan Napa and Victor Radley regularly push the envelope, with tensions to again be high when they host the Bulldogs in what shapes as a fiery Friday night affair.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can go into the red, and then sometimes it can be hard to come out of it, especially us Roosters in the past when we were sort of known for that,\u201d Collins said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe game can get away from you because you\u2019re still holding on to that red mentality.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about calming the boys down and getting them back to that flow state where they\u2019re level-headed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought they did a really good job at that. We want them to bring that energy because it shows it means something to them, and they went in there (the sheds) and came out and continued on with the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt like we did a better job at that. When you look at the past, we\u2019ve probably had a couple of games where we\u2019ve let that carry on throughout the game and it hasn\u2019t ended well for us.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the maturity of this team coming out. We\u2019re playing for our season at the moment, so every moment of every game counts. I think a lot of the boys understood that.\u201d<\/p>\n