Anthony Minichiello hailed Mitchell Pearce after the Sydney Roosters halfback handed him a try on a platter so he could mark his 250th appearance for the club in style on Sunday.
With hopes of making the NRL finals long gone, the Roosters used the occasion of the veteran fullback’s milestone game to produce their best display of the season, brushing aside the Wests Tigers 44-20 at Allianz Stadium.
Pearce, who scored one of the Roosters’ eight tries, raced over the Tigers’ line midway through the second half then flicked a pass to Minichiello, who delighted the home crowd by touching the ball down.
It was the former NSW star’s 115th try in Roosters colours and the 32-year-old said it capped off an emotional week that saw him cleared of a grade three striking charge at the NRL judiciary on Wednesday night.
“I love him (Pearce); champion guy and he let me have a try in a special game,” Minichiello said.
“During the game I was like `get me over, I need a try’ and it finally came. I just had to catch and put it down.”
Minichiello and skipper Braith Anasta, who was playing his last home game for the club before moving to the Tigers next year, spent 40 minutes shaking hands with supporters after the siren and he said he’d been moved by the messages of support he’d received.
“It was pretty emotional seeing some of the messages, not every day you walk into the sheds and see almost 1000 messages just for you,” he said.
“It’s something to cherish and keep for future to look back on.
“It’s pretty special to play 250 for a sole club. I’ve been here since 16 – half my life.”
A Daniel Tupou hat-trick laid the foundations for the win and Roosters coach Brian Smith was delighted with the contribution of the 20-year-old.
“He’s played all his footy this year at Newtown. I think he scored 20 tries this year at the Jets,” said Smith, who also saved praise for brilliant young centre Tautau Moga.
“He’s got big things in front of him. He’s never really applied himself as a younger player. He’s only just worked out that he’s bloody good at it.”
For the Tigers, the defeat was a huge blow to their finals chances.
Tim Sheens’ side now need to beat Melbourne next Saturday and hope either Brisbane lose at home to lowly Penrith 24 hours earlier or Canberra suffer a heavy enough defeat to the Warriors on Sunday to overturn a 14-point points differential.
They also face the prospect of losing Benji Marshall for the game against the Storm after he was placed on report for a high shot on Roosters prop Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.
“Obviously there’s still another game to play, but right at the moment we are no chance of beating Melbourne unless we are 300 per cent better,” Sheens said.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do this week.”
Marshall said he was unconcerned about being charged, and he was supported by his Kiwi teammate.
“It hit me in the chest and slid up. It wasn’t bad at all. I didn’t think much of it,” Waerea-Hargreaves said.