Sydney Roosters 40–14 Newcastle Knights — Preliminary Final, 2013 NRL Finals Series
28 Sep 2013 · Allianz Stadium, Sydney, NSW · Attendance: 37,752
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Preliminary Final, 2013 NRL finals series: Sydney Roosters 40–14 Newcastle Knights, at Allianz Stadium, Sydney, NSW on 28 Sep 2013.
Sourcing caveat: Try-scoring minutes could not be confirmed. The goal-kicking figures are combined conversion-plus-penalty-goal totals as presented by Rugby League Project, which does not break out the two categories separately; the totals are consistent with the final scoreline. No official player-of-the-match award for this fixture was found.
Scorers
| Sydney Roosters | Tries: Guerra (2 tries); Jennings (2 tries); Aubusson; Friend; Tupou Goals: Maloney (6/8 goals — conversions and penalty goals combined) |
| Newcastle Knights | Tries: Leilua (2 tries) Goals: Roberts (3/4 goals — conversions and penalty goals combined) |
Team sheets
| Sydney Roosters | Newcastle Knights | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anthony Minichiello (c) | Fullback | Darius Boyd | 1 |
| 2 | Daniel Tupou | Wing | Kevin Naiqama | 18 |
| 3 | Michael Jennings | Centre | Dane Gagai | 3 |
| 4 | Shaun Kenny-Dowall | Centre | Joey Leilua | 4 |
| 5 | Roger Tuivasa-Sheck | Wing | Akuila Uate | 5 |
| 6 | James Maloney | Five-Eighth | Jarrod Mullen (c) | 6 |
| 7 | Mitchell Pearce | Halfback | Tyrone Roberts | 7 |
| 8 | Jared Waerea-Hargreaves | Prop | David Fa'alogo | 8 |
| 9 | Jake Friend | Hooker | Danny Buderus | 9 |
| 10 | Sam Moa | Prop | Willie Mason | 10 |
| 11 | Aidan Guerra | Second-Row | Robbie Rochow | 11 |
| 12 | Sonny Bill Williams | Second-Row | Beau Scott | 12 |
| 13 | Frank-Paul Nu'uausala | Lock | Jeremy Smith | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Daniel Mortimer | Matt Hilder | 14 | |
| 15 | Mitchell Aubusson | Chris Houston | 15 | |
| 16 | Isaac Liu | Neville Costigan | 16 | |
| 18 | Dylan Napa | Alex McKinnon | 17 | |
| Trent Robinson | Coach | Wayne Bennett | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Shayne Hayne and Ashley Klein (two-referee system) |
Match report
Newcastle arrived at Allianz Stadium as one of the finals series' great surprise packets. Having limped into the eight in seventh place, the Knights authored a genuine Cinderella run: an away elimination-final upset of Canterbury-Bankstown and a nerve-shredding semi-final win over Melbourne Storm carried them, against most expectations, to within one victory of a Grand Final berth — their deepest finals appearance since their 2001 premiership triumph. The Roosters, fresh off a bye and playing at home, proved too strong from the outset, racing to a 12-4 halftime lead before pulling away in the second half behind a dominant forward platform and clinical finishing from Michael Jennings and Aidan Guerra, two tries apiece. Compounding Newcastle's task, veteran hooker and club great Danny Buderus was forced from the field in the first half after an accidental collision, an injury that effectively ended his career. Despite the lopsided 40-14 scoreline, Newcastle's finals campaign was widely regarded as a season-exceeding success, while the Roosters advanced to the Grand Final.