The Roosters have survived a furious Manly fightback to hang on for an epic 34-30 win over the Sea Eagles to hold onto their place in the top four.
After racing out to a 22-0 lead, the Tricolours clocked off as the Sea Eagles came roaring to life on the back of three long-range intercept tries.
But in the end the Roosters held on for the win to move into third on the competition.
It was a courageous effort from Manly, who lost Jason Saab and Reuben Garrick to HIA's in the first half.
Those departures were not without controversy - Saab was hit high by Michael Jennings, who was put on report but not sin-binned.
Asked if Jennings ought to have been sent to the sin-bin, Manly coach Anthony Seibold said" "Jason is crook in the changing room, he couldn't pass the HIA protocols and so we lose him for the game.
"The Roosters player gets put on report and it doesn't help us. We don't get any benefit from it just being a penalty.
"I thought that would be a sin-bin but it wasn't tonight for whatever reason."
Garrick was spotted by the independent doctor but was adamant he had not been concussed.
"Priority number one, two and three has to be the welfare of the players. It's a tough game and they need to be protected," Seibold said.
"But the player is in there saying 'I cannot believe I've been checked'."
Earlier, the Bulldogs pulled off a shock belting of the Broncos, running out 41-16 winners in a statement victory at Lang Park.
The result all but ends Brisbane's finals hope while moving Canterbury closer to their first top eight berth since 2016.
North Queensland are also among the winners after they punished a wasteful Cronulla side with a 30-22 triumph in Townsville.
The win puts the Cowboys in striking distance of the top four.
Re-live the live blog below, keep up to date with all the latest stats in our ScoreCentre, and tune in to our live radio coverage.
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Signing off
That'll be the end of it for me guys, what a day of footy's it's been.
Be sure to tune in tomorrow from 2pm when we'll do it all again with three more matches - Panthers vs Saints, Titans vs Dolphins and Raiders vs Souths.
Particularly pumped for that last one as a Raiders man, so be sure to stop by.
Be good and if you can't be good, be careful.
LoadingMatch report: Roosters hang on to deny Manly
The jury remains firmly out on the Sydney Roosters' premiership credentials after scraping past an undermanned Manly in a 34-30 NRL win.
Pilloried all week due to their 1-7 record against fellow top-eight teams prior to Saturday's game, the Roosters showed in 80 minutes why they are yet to convince many they will be a threat in finals.
Trent Robinson's men cruised to a 22-0 lead in as many minutes at the Sydney Football Stadium but then conspired to let Manly back into the game.
Five-eighth Luke Keary threw two intercepts that allowed Anthony Seibold's depleted Sea Eagles to score tries and the Roosters' discipline was concerning.
It was in stark contrast to Manly's fight and resolve after losing centre Reuben Garrick and winger Jason Saab with first-half concussions.
Prop Josh Aloiai also played limited minutes with concussion but Seibold's men remained in the game until the death, slumping to seventh with the loss as the Roosters moved up to third in front of a 25,155-strong home crowd.
It should have been so much easier for the Roosters who looked a class above when Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, James Tedesco, Luke Keary and Dominic Young crossed inside the opening half an hour.
Manly hit back when Luke Brooks darted over from close range but the Sea Eagles were forced into a major reshuffle when Garrick and Saab went off for head injury assessments late in the second half.
Garrick failed his test as did Saab, who was the victim of a high shot from Michael Jennings that will earn the attention of the match review committee.
Referee Ashley Klein opted against sending Jennings to the sin bin and even with their backline in disarray, Manly bravely hung on to nab a crash-over try through Toff Sipley.
The Roosters' ill-discipline was giving Manly belief and that confidence only grew when Tommy Talau picked off a Tedesco pass and raced 90m to score and cut the lead to 28-18 with a little over half an hour to go.
Jennings touched down for the Roosters but Keary gifted two late intercepts that allowed Clayton Faulalo and the peerless Daly Cherry-Evans cut the lead to just four points.
Manly had a fighting chance with three minutes left but the Roosters withstood an attacking barrage to claim victory.
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Press conference: Sydney Roosters
Trent Robinson says he's happy with the performance and thought there was a lot to like but also plenty to learn on how to close a game out.
"I thought our defence improved exceptionally in the first half. But our control of the game needs to improve," said Robinson.
Tedesco says there was a big focus on starting fast after the slow start against Melbourne last week but they found it difficult to sustain.
"I thought we defended our goal-line really well in the second half, there was just my pass and Kez's two passes," Tedesco said.
"That's just a concentration thing, that's easy to fix."
Press conference: Manly Sea Eagles
Anthony Seibold says he's proud of how Manly reacted to the start and how they fought their way into the contest.
"We missed the start. That's two weeks in a row where our first 20 minutes hasn't been where we expected it to be. But after that we worked our way back into the contest," said Seibold.
"We're a really adaptable team. We were right in there swinging towards the end of the game.
He's not happy about Jennings avoiding the sin bin for his shot on Saab, points out the Sea Eagles get no benefit from the tackle on the night.
He also says Garrick couldn't believe he was even checked for a concussion and says the NRL should explore tweaking the interchange rules.
"Priority number one, two and three has to be the welfare of the players. It's a tough game and they need to be protected," Seibold said.
"But the player is in there saying 'I cannot believe I've been checked'."
Fulltime: Roosters 34 def Sea Eagles 30
Chan Kum Tong forces a drop out with a nice grubber and kick ahead and Manly have three tackles to win the game. They throw it around but the Roosters swarm and shut it down to win one of the games of the season! What an epic!
76' Another Manly intercept try as epic finish looms!
Collins forces an error with a strong tackle on Aloiai...BUT THERE'S ANOTHER INTERCEPT! THIS TIME IT'S CHERRY-EVANS AND HE GOES 80 METRES TO SCORE! WHAT IS HAPPENING?????
Cherry-Evans is lining it up, be nice to kick it but regardless the Sea Eagles will have plenty of time (three and a half minutes to be exact) and he drills it. Manly have pulled it back to 34-30!
74' Fualalo snags an intercept
Keary throws a lazy pass down the left edge, Fualalo pinches it and he goes 40 metres to score his first NRL try! Well deserved for the young fella and it keeps Manly alive. Cherry-Evans converts and it's 34-24 with just a few minutes remaining.
69' Roosters produce a beauty to retake control
Tedesco links with Young on a kick return, he pushes away from Ben Trbojevic, Tedesco backs up in support but the cover gets him. Next play Walker kicks wide to Tupou, he pops it inside for Jennings and the Roosters are in. Some more beautiful football from the Roosters and that's as much a defensive try as anything else - they did very well to deny Manly at the other end under heavy pressure.
This could be the end of the Sea Eagles fightback. Walker converts and it's 34-18 to the Tricolours.
65' Manly denied a try due to forward pass
Trbojevic goes for an awkward basketball pass over the top, it lands to Fualalo and the 18th man is over but the ref calls it forward! Manly are furious, they say it was touched in flight by Tupou but of course, they cannot challenge and it can't be checked by the video ref.
I think it was forward out of the hands. This game has really heated up, got a finals type atmosphere. Roosters work it away.
61' Young error gives Manly a chance
This is getting dramatic - Young loses sight of a curly Cherry-Evans kick and knocks it on. The Roosters completion rate is 6/11 since halftime, Manly go on the attack.
59' Roosters deny desperate Manly
Penalty on the fourth to Manly, Tupouniua gets done for a third man in. Big set here, Manly on the attack.
Bullemor goes perilously close off a Cherry-Evans pass, a trysaver from Crichton, before the halfback puts in a nice kick to earn a repeat set.
A six again on the fourth gives them a fresh start, Trbojevic almost barges over in the corner only for Jennings to stop him. This set feels so important in the context of the match!
Ben Trbojevic goes close on the other side of the field, great defence from the Roosters. Cherry-Evans goes for an early kick, Walker reads it all the way though and he shadows it over the dead-ball line. Good stuff from both sides.
47' Taulau goes 90 metres off an intercept
Tedesco goes for a cut out pass down the right but Taulau is wise to it and the Sea Eagle goes the length of the field! This game is alive! What a season Taulau is having, he's a low key contender for buy of the year. Cherry-Evans converts and it's back to 28-18.
46' Awful few minutes for Manly
Paseka drops the ball, challenges the decision, loses, then Waddell hits Suaalii with a high tackle. That's as tough as it gets for Manly. Roosters on the attack.
Second half is underway
We're back on and the Roosters make an error in their first set, so Manly will have the chance to narrow the gap straight away.
Injury update: Jason Saab
Saab has failed his HIA, so Manly can activate their 18th man Clayton Fualalo.
Halftime: Roosters 28 lead Sea Eagles 12
Ominous stuff from the Roosters, what a start that was - but Manly have done just enough to keep the game alive.
38' Manly barge over to stem the bleeding
Well, that was pretty simple. Sipley has just barged over from a metre out, right under the posts. That's one way to do it - he's a giant of a man, Sipley, always good to see a big lad get one.
Cherry-Evans converts and Manly keep their hopes alive at 28-12.
Injury update: Reuben Garrick and Jason Saab
It's been confirmed that Garrick will not be back tonight after failing his HIA. Saab is still being assessed and if he's out Manly will be in serious trouble - right now they've got Karl Lawton and Corey Waddell in the centres.
35' Roosters score again through Radley
Talau makes an error on his own 30 - that's Manly first mistake of the night, by the way - and the Roosters go back on the attack.
And they score another rebound try as Tedesco's kick deflects straight into Radley's hands and the backrower scores the Roosters fifth try of the first half. An unfortunate bounce for Manly but the Roosters plan was clear - they'd trapped Trbojevic in the line and were looking to exploit that.
Walker converts and it's Roosters 28-6.
Injury update: Jason Saab and Reuben Garrick
Jennings gets pinged for a high tackle on Saab and Manly get out of their own end but with both Saab and Garrick getting HIA'd in a matter of minutes, they're pretty patchwork right now.
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