With both teams guaranteed a spot in the Auckland Nines finals, the Roosters didn't look too worried about attempting a massive win to earn a meeting with the Warriors in the quarter-finals, instead going down 20-14 to the still-unbeaten Sharks to book a match against the Wests Tigers.
A mistake from the Roosters from the kick-off put the highly-impressive Sharks on the attack early, and when playmaker Todd Murphy held a ball up nicely for Ricky Leutele, he did well to beat the remaining defenders on the way to the line.
Another mistake from the restart put the Sharks on the attack again, with Jack Bird the beneficiary of a good draw and pass from Blake Ayshford, making it 10-0.
The Roosters hit back with an impressive try to Sio Taukeiaho, who showed great footwork at the line to make it 10-4 on the stroke of half-time.
The Sharks swept downfield in the first set of the second half, an angled run from Jack Bird drawing the defence before a deft offload put Sami Sauiluma over. Bird turned provider again when a short ball at the line sent prop Saulala Houma crashing over.
The Roosters dragged it back to 20-10 when Samisoni Langi's angled run back in towards the posts found a gap between defenders. An Evans offload at the line followed by fast hands from Mitch Williams and Jackson Hastings helped put Taukeiaho over for a second to make the final margin 20-14.
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