The Sydney Roosters have condemned rugby league fans on social media for posting death threats towards players after their 42-18 thumping against the Warriors in their NRL season opener last night.
The Roosters went into the contest in Auckland as favourites, but were scrappy and ultimately outclassed as the Warriorsran in seven tries in front of 24,112 fans.
After the full-time siren, the Roosters posted a final score graphic, calling it a “tough night in Auckland” before adding an additional comment about a number of negative and nasty comments.
“While we appreciate the love and the passion that comes with sport, we will not tolerate death threats towards our players,” the Roosters said in the comments section.
“Rugby league is a game that we all love and at the end of the day don’t let it ruin your day. Peace and Love.”
The post on Instagram has been taken down and it’s unclear which players were targeted by fans. It’s also unclear weather it was just Roosters fans or supports of other clubs, while reports in Australia say the NRL is set to make inquiries into the matter.
A post by the Sydney Roosters on Instagram after Friday night's game has since been removed. Photo / Instagram
The Herald has reached out to the Roosters for additional comment.
Several fans were unhappy with what they saw from the Roosters, who finished the match with 44% possession and a 71% completion rate, while the penalty count was against them, 11-4, which coach Trent Robinson labelled “incredible”.
Their captain James Tedesco called the performance disappointing.
“We had a lot of calls against, with the penalty count and a couple of tries, and then a couple of their tries as well, so it was disappointing,” Tedesco said.
“But we still let in that many points and we can’t be doing that, so that’s disappointing, especially that last 10 minutes to let in a couple of tries, when we were sort of fighting our way back and giving ourselves a chance.
“I feel like there were some positives throughout the game in patches, but it’s disappointing to put all that work in pre-season and come over and let in that many points.”
The Roosters were expected to be among the title favourites this season, after the addition of former Manly Sea Eagles and Queensland halfback Daly Cherry-Evans, but the 37-year-old struggled to adapt with his new team.
Meanwhile, Warriors coach Andrew Webster was pleased with his side’s performance but conceded the scoreline was flattering as they scored two late tries.
The Warriors are back in action on Friday when they host the Canberra Raiders, while the Roosters face their arch-rivals, the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.
