A 79th-minute sideline conversion from Tuimoala Lolohea has given the Wests Tigers a dramatic 10-8 upset of the Sydney Roosters to open their NRL season.

The Roosters were leading 8-4 on Saturday when Tigers winger Corey Thompson fielded a Lolohea long ball that ricocheted off Michael Chee Kam’s head, before grounding one-handed for a try.

It was an impressive performance from the Tigers, who also overcame the 42nd-minute sin-binning of halfback Luke Brooks for a professional foul.

The win steals the thunder of Roosters debutant and key signing Cooper Cronk, who along with winger Blake Ferguson had been two of their team’s best at ANZ Stadium.

It also ruined the club debut of former Tigers star James Tedesco, who bombed a certain first-half try and was incessantly booed by the crowd of 18,243.

Ferguson appeared to have saved his team’s blushes when he finished off a 65th-minute try to give his team an 8-4 lead with 15 minutes to go.

But a Tedesco error gave his old team possession late in the match, paving the way for Thompson’s heroics, which included drawing a penalty for the game-deciding set.

Returning son Benji Marshall was also strong for his former side, winding back the clock with a vintage playmaking performance to celebrate his comeback to the club.

Twice the Roosters should’ve scored inside the opening 15 minutes, including a regulation dropped ball from Tedesco in the 13th minute that drew a bronx cheer from the crowd.

The Tigers’ faithful decided to get stuck into Tedesco from the kickoff, laying into their former fullback for the entire match with every touch of the football.

Cronk showed why the club were ready to give up on long-time halfback Mitchell Pearce, forcing two line dropouts and nailing a 40-20 to give the Roosters plenty of shots in attack.

But the Tigers proved their resilience by turning the premiership favourites away each time to take a 2-0 lead at halftime, with prop Ben Matulino particularly strong in defence.