Sydney Roosters 32–20 Cronulla-Sutherland — Qualifying Final, 2002 NRL Finals Series
13 Sep 2002 · Sydney Football Stadium, Moore Park, Sydney, NSW · Attendance: 25,366
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Qualifying Final, 2002 NRL finals series: Sydney Roosters 32–20 Cronulla-Sutherland, at Sydney Football Stadium, Moore Park, Sydney, NSW on 13 Sep 2002.
Sourcing caveat: No try-scoring minutes were found for this fixture. Sydney's #11 (Bryan Fletcher) is listed on the bench with #14 (Adrian Morley) starting second row instead — a deviation from Fletcher's usual starting spot, reported exactly as sourced. Cronulla's #21 (Jye Mullane) started at five-eighth.
Scorers
| Sydney Roosters | Tries: Flannery; Mullins; Byrne; Minichiello; Minichiello Goals: Fitzgibbon (5/5 conversions, 1/1 penalty goals — split inferred from arithmetic since only 5 tries were scored; the source gives a combined total of 6 successful goals without specifying the conversion/penalty split) |
| Cronulla-Sutherland | Tries: Rieck; Rieck; Rieck; Stevens; Bosnich Goals: Kimmorley (0/5 conversions) |
Team sheets
| Sydney Roosters | Cronulla-Sutherland | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Flannery | Fullback | David Peachey (c) | 1 |
| 2 | Brett Mullins | Wing | Matthew Rieck | 2 |
| 3 | Todd Byrne | Centre | Chris McKenna | 3 |
| 4 | Justin Hodges | Centre | Paul Franze | 4 |
| 5 | Anthony Minichiello | Wing | Paul Mellor | 5 |
| 6 | Brad Fittler (c) | Five-Eighth | Jye Mullane | 21 |
| 7 | Craig Wing | Halfback | Brett Kimmorley | 7 |
| 8 | Jason Cayless | Prop | Jason Stevens | 8 |
| 9 | Simon Bonetti | Hooker | Dean Treister | 9 |
| 10 | Peter Cusack | Prop | Chris Beattie | 10 |
| 14 | Adrian Morley | Second Row | Matt Bickerstaff | 11 |
| 12 | Craig Fitzgibbon | Second Row | Phil Bailey | 12 |
| 13 | Luke Ricketson | Lock | Nick Graham | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 11 | Bryan Fletcher | Danny Nutley | 14 | |
| 15 | Andrew Lomu | Karl Lovell | 15 | |
| 16 | Chad Robinson | Dean Bosnich | 16 | |
| 17 | David Kidwell | Pat Gibson | 18 | |
| Ricky Stuart | Coach | Chris Anderson | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Paul Simpkins |
Match report
Fourth-seeded Sydney Roosters, in first-year coach Ricky Stuart's debut finals series, saw off fifth-seeded Cronulla in a high-scoring opener at Aussie Stadium. Anthony Minichiello's double and a complete kicking display from Craig Fitzgibbon proved decisive, while Matthew Rieck's hat trick was not enough for the Sharks.