Arabic version: روسترز يتقدم على شاركس بعد ارتجاج هاينز

According to ABC News, the Sydney Roosters led the Cronulla Sharks 18-10 at half-time of their NRL semifinal at the Sydney Football Stadium on Saturday night. The live update said the Sharks were facing a difficult second half after losing halfback Nicho Hynes to concussion and centre Mawene Hiroti to a knee injury.

Hynes left the field for a head injury assessment after copping Salesi Foketi’s hip to the head in back play during the Roosters’ opening try. Lindsay Collins crashed over after Daly Cherry-Evans held up a pass, with Hynes left dazed following the incident. Hynes was ruled out in the 13th minute after failing his assessment, and Niwhai Puru entered the game.

The Roosters extended their advantage when Daniel Tupou took Hugo Savala’s cross-field kick to score, following an early left-side shift involving Billy Smith. Cronulla had earlier come close through Jesse Colquhoun, who was ruled short of the line before the Sharks knocked on during their attacking set.

Cronulla responded despite its setbacks. Braydon Trindall set up Sione Katoa with an overhead pass, although he could not convert from the right sideline. The Sharks then scored again after Blayke Brailey broke through the middle and Sifa Talakai made ground, allowing Trindall to send Ronaldo Mulitalo over. Trindall converted to reduce the margin to two points before Cherry-Evans scored under the posts to restore the Roosters’ lead.

At the start of the second half, Trindall’s bomb went into the in-goal and was marked by James Tedesco. The Sharks regained possession near halfway when Mulitalo pressured Siua Wong, who fumbled a Connor Watson pass. The live blog described the contest as leaving both teams with 40 minutes remaining in their season.