Sydney Roosters 25–24 Gold Coast Titans — Elimination Final, 2021 NRL Finals Series
11 Sep 2021 · Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville, QLD · Attendance: 15,237
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Elimination Final, 2021 NRL finals series: Sydney Roosters 25–24 Gold Coast Titans, at Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville, QLD on 11 Sep 2021.
Sourcing caveat: Individual scoring minutes are a synthesis cross-checked across sources rather than a single verbatim source-quoted timeline. No official player-of-the-match award was found for this fixture.
Scoring timeline
| 22′ | Sydney Roosters — try, Ikuvalu |
| 31′ | Sydney Roosters — try, Tedesco |
| 39′ | Gold Coast Titans — try, Fermor |
| 42′ | Sydney Roosters — try, Tupou |
| 47′ | Gold Coast Titans — try, Fa'asuamaleaui |
| 53′ | Gold Coast Titans — try, Kelly |
| 60′ | Sydney Roosters — try, Morris |
| 70′ | Gold Coast Titans — try, Wallace |
Tries with a sourced minute, in order scored, with the conversion kicked/missed alongside each one where source data lets us match a kicker to that specific try. Tries whose exact minute isn't recorded in available sources appear in the Scorers table below but not here; goal tallies we can't attribute to one specific try are shown as descriptive text in Scorers rather than guessed into this timeline.
Scorers
| Sydney Roosters | Tries: Ikuvalu 22'; Tedesco 31'; Tupou 42'; Morris 60' Goals: Keighran (4/5 goals) — penalty goal 10', conversions 33', 42', 60' Drop goals: Walker 78' |
| Gold Coast Titans | Tries: Fermor 39'; Fa'asuamaleaui 47'; Kelly 53'; Wallace 70' Goals: Fogarty (4/5 goals) — penalty goal 13', conversions on Fa'asuamaleaui, Kelly and Wallace tries |
Team sheets
| Sydney Roosters | Gold Coast Titans | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Tedesco | Fullback | Jayden Campbell | 1 |
| 2 | Daniel Tupou | Wing | Phillip Sami | 2 |
| 3 | Josh Morris | Centre | Brian Kelly | 3 |
| 4 | Adam Keighran | Centre | Patrick Herbert | 4 |
| 5 | Matt Ikuvalu | Wing | Corey Thompson | 5 |
| 6 | Drew Hutchison | Five-eighth | Tyrone Peachey | 6 |
| 7 | Lachlan Lam | Halfback | Jamal Fogarty | 7 |
| 8 | Jared Waerea-Hargreaves | Prop | Jarrod Wallace | 8 |
| 9 | Sam Verrills | Hooker | Mitch Rein | 9 |
| 15 | Isaac Liu | Prop | Moeaki Fotuaika | 10 |
| 11 | Angus Crichton | Second Row | Kevin Proctor | 11 |
| 12 | Sitili Tupouniua | Second Row | Beau Fermor | 12 |
| 13 | Victor Radley | Lock | Tino Fa'asuamaleaui | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 10 | Siosiua Taukeiaho | Erin Clark | 14 | |
| 14 | Sam Walker | Sam Lisone | 15 | |
| 16 | Egan Butcher | David Fifita | 16 | |
| 17 | Fletcher Baker | Jaimin Jolliffe | 17 | |
| Trent Robinson | Coach | Justin Holbrook | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Adam Gee |
Match report
Relocated to Queensland Country Bank Stadium in Townsville because of COVID-19 border restrictions in Sydney, this 2021 Elimination Final between the Sydney Roosters and Gold Coast Titans turned into one of the most dramatic finals of the season. The sides traded four tries apiece and were locked at 24-24 deep in the second half after Jarrod Wallace's 70th-minute try levelled the scores for the Titans. The Roosters, already missing prop Siosiua Taukeiaho to injury inside the opening two minutes, turned to 18-year-old rookie halfback Sam Walker off the interchange bench in the 71st minute. Walker had an earlier field-goal attempt charged down before slotting a match-winning one-pointer in the 78th minute, then made a try-saving tackle on Phillip Sami as the Titans surged for a match-winning try in the closing seconds. The 25-24 win sent the Roosters through to a second elimination final against Manly at Mackay, while the Titans' campaign ended at this hurdle.