# 2008 Sydney Roosters season

The 2008 Sydney Roosters season was the 101st in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2008 Telstra Premiership and finished the regular season 4th out of 16. Despite losing their first finals match, the Roosters got another chance the following week but were knocked out by the New Zealand Warriors.

## Ladder

2008 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 584 | 282 | +302 | 38 |
| 2 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (P) | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 645 | 355 | +290 | 38 |
| 3 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 451 | 384 | +67 | 38 |
| 4 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 511 | 446 | +65 | 34 |
| 5 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 560 | 452 | +108 | 33 |
| 6 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 640 | 527 | +113 | 30 |
| 7 | St George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 489 | 378 | +111 | 30 |
| 8 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 502 | 567 | -65 | 30 |
| 9 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 516 | 486 | +30 | 28 |
| 10 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 528 | 560 | -32 | 26 |
| 11 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 501 | 547 | -46 | 26 |
| 12 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 10 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 504 | 611 | -107 | 25 |
| 13 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 476 | 586 | -110 | 24 |
| 14 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 453 | 666 | -213 | 20 |
| 15 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 474 | 638 | -164 | 14 |
| 16 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 433 | 782 | -349 | 14 |

## Squad

The following players are contracted to the Sydney Roosters for the 2008 season.
| No. | Position | Player 989 Craig Fitzgibbon – SR (c) 994 Anthony Minichiello – FB 1033 Lopini Paea – PR 1035 Anthony Tupou – LK 1040 Sam Perrett – WG 1046 Amos Roberts – WG 1047 Iosia Soliola – CE 1052 Mickey Paea – SR 1053 David Shillington – PR 1054 Shane Shackleton – SR 1055 Braith Anasta – FE 1061 Steve Meredith – PR 1063 Setaimata Sa – CE 1065 Shaun Foley – WG 1067 Mitchell Aubusson – CE |
| No. | Position | Player 1069 Shaun Kenny-Dowall – WG 1070 Nate Myles – SR 1071 Danny Nutley – PR 1072 Mitchell Pearce – HB 1074 Frank-Paul Nuuausala – PR Albert Hopoate – CE Jai Ayoub – HB Riley Brown – HK Daniel Howard – SR Tevita Folau – CE Rory Kostjaysn – HK James Aubusson – HK Willie Mason – SR Mark O'Meley – PR Brent Grose – WG |

## Player movement

The Roosters have had a rather significant amount of player movement which will result in an extensive squad change from the 2007 season. The Roosters have lost 10 players from their 2007 squad and gained 4 new players, including high-profile signings Willie Mason and Mark O'Meley.

### Gains

| Name | From | Details |
| Mark O'Meley | Bulldogs | 4-year contract |
| James Aubusson | Melbourne Storm | 3-year contract |
| Willie Mason | Bulldogs | 3-year contract |
| Brent Grose | Warrington Wolves | 1-year contract |
| Riley Brown | Newcastle Knights | 2-year contract |

### Losses

| Name | Club Going To | Details |
| Craig Wing | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 4-year contract |
| Joel Monaghan | Canberra Raiders | 3-year contract |
| Jamie Soward | St George-Illawarra Dragons | 2-year contract |
| Josh Lewis | Gold Coast Titans | 3-year contract |
| Nigel Plum | Canberra Raiders | 2-year contract |
| Chris Flannery | St Helens R.F.C. | 4-year contract |
| Heath L'Estrange | Manly Sea Eagles | 2-year contract |
| Ashley Harrison | Gold Coast Titans | 3-year Contract |
| John Williams | North Queensland Cowboys | 3-year Contract |
| Danny Williams | Bulldogs | 2-year Contract |
| George Ndaira | South Sydney Rabbitohs | |
| Chris Beattie | Retired | |

## 2008 results

| | Opponent | Result | Score | Date | Venue |
| Trial | Dhunghutti Broncos | Win | 48-0 | 15 February | Port Macquarie |
| Trial | Wauchope Wolves | Win | 22-0 | 15 February | Port Macquarie |
| Trial | Port Macquarie Sharks | Win | 24-4 | 15 February | Port Macquarie |
| Foundation Cup | Wests Tigers | Win | 34-28 | 23 February | Sydney Football Stadium |
| Trial | Parramatta Eels | Loss | 18-34 | 1 March | Bluetongue Stadium |
| Round 1 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Win | 34-20 | 14 March | ANZ Stadium |
| Round 2 | Brisbane Broncos | Loss | 14-20 | 21 March | Sydney Football Stadium |
| Round 3 | Melbourne Storm | Win | 10-6 | 29 March | Sydney Football Stadium |
| Round 4 | Bulldogs | Win | 40-12 | 4 April | ANZ Stadium |
| Round 5 | Penrith Panthers | Win | 28-12 | 12 April | CUA Stadium |
| Round 6 | Newcastle Knights | Loss | 20-34 | 20 April | Bluetongue Stadium |
| Round 7 | St. George-Illawarra Dragons | Loss | 6-26 | 25 April | ANZ Stadium |
| Round 8 | Bye | - | - | | |
| Round 9 | Canberra Raiders | Win | 30-4 | 10 May | Sydney Football Stadium |
| Round 10 | Parramatta Eels | Win | 32-12 | 16 May | Parramatta Stadium |
| Round 11 | New Zealand Warriors | Win | 38-12 | 25 May | Mt Smart Stadium |
| Round 12 | Wests Tigers | Win | 19-10 | 2 June | Sydney Football Stadium |
| Round 13 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Loss | 0-42 | 7 June | Brookvale Oval |
| Round 14 | Penrith Panthers | Win | 32-12 | 13 June | Sydney Football Stadium |
| Round 15 | Newcastle Knights | Win | 16-14 | 22 June | Energy Australia Stadium |
| Round 16 | Bulldogs | Win | 24-14 | 27 June | Sydney Football Stadium |
| Round 17 | Bye | - | - | | |
| Round 18 | Gold Coast Titans | Loss | 28-32 | 11 July | Sydney Football Stadium |
| Round 19 | Canberra Raiders | Loss | 12-34 | 20 July | Canberra Stadium |
| Round 20 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Win | 34-12 | 27 July | Sydney Football Stadium |
| Round 21 | North Queensland Cowboys | Win | 32-20 | 2 August | Dairy Farmers Stadium |
| Round 22 | Parramatta Eels | Loss | 24-28 | 10 August | Sydney Football Stadium |
| Round 23 | Melbourne Storm | Loss | 6-30 | 15 August | Olympic Park Stadium |
| Round 24 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | Loss | 0-20 | 22 August | Toyota Stadium |
| Round 25 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Win | 22-20 | 29 August | ANZ Stadium |
| Round 26 | St. George-Illawarra Dragons | Win | 10-0 | 5 September | Sydney Football Stadium |
| Finals Week 1 | Brisbane Broncos | Loss | 16-24 | 12 September | Sydney Football Stadium |
| Finals Week 2 | New Zealand Warriors | Loss | 13-30 | 19 September | Mt Smart Stadium |

## Player Summary

| Sydney Roosters 2008 | Appearance | Interchange | Tries | Goals | F/G | Points |
| Braith Anasta | 25 | - | 11 | 5 | 1 | 55 |
| James Aubusson | 6 | 17 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Mitchell Aubusson | 19 | 3 | 9 | - | - | 36 |
| Riley Brown | 21 | - | - | - | - | 0 |
| Anthony Cherrington | 5 | 9 | - | - | - | 0 |
| Craig Fitzgibbon | 21 | - | 3 | 62 | - | 136 |
| Jake Friend | - | 5 | - | - | - | 0 |
| Brent Grose | 11 | 4 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Ben Jones | - | 1 | - | - | - | 0 |
| Shaun Kenny-Dowall | 19 | - | 15 | - | - | 60 |
| Willie Mason | 18 | 2 | 4 | - | - | 16 |
| Anthony Minichiello | 9 | - | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Nate Myles | 15 | 2 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Frank-Paul Nuuausala | 6 | 5 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Mark O'Meley | 22 | 2 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Lopini Paea | 10 | 16 | - | - | - | 0 |
| Mickey Paea | 1 | 7 | - | - | - | 0 |
| Mitchell Pearce | 25 | - | 7 | - | 1 | 29 |
| Sam Perrett | 24 | 1 | 5 | - | - | 20 |
| Amos Roberts | 21 | - | 12 | 10 | - | 68 |
| Sean Rudder | - | 1 | - | - | - | 0 |
| Setaimata Sa | 16 | 4 | 7 | - | - | 28 |
| Shane Shackleton | - | 2 | - | - | - | 0 |
| David Shillington | 9 | 14 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Iosia Soliola | 20 | 2 | 5 | - | - | 20 |
| Anthony Tupou | 15 | 7 | 6 | - | - | 24 |
| Total | 338 | 104 | 96 | 77 | 2 | 540 |