The Sydney Roosters made a huge statement holding off the Storm with a dramatic 18-14 win at AAMI Park last night.

The Roosters have now won seven on the trot after they dug deep to hold out a late charge from the Storm.

After the Roosters opened the scoring in the fourth minute with a Sam Walker penalty goal the Storm looked to have grabbed the first try of the night through Justin Olam.

The Roosters extended their lead in the eighth minute when Luke Keary took the ball to the line and found Drew Hutchison who sent Daniel Tupou over in the corner with a nice catch-and-pass.

Come the 19th minute and the Roosters went to a 14-0 lead after a superb team try was finished off by Joey Manu.

With time running out on the one-man advantage the Storm conjured a try on the right edge when Cameron Munster, Jahrome Hughes, Felise Kaufusi and Marion Seve combined to send Xavier Coates in the corner.

A penalty against Siosiua Taukeiaho for a high tackle on the stroke of half-time gave Nick Meaney the chance to close the gap to 14-8.

The Roosters struck the first blow of the second half when Joseph Suaalii surged onto an Angus Crichton pass from close range and showed enormous strength to get the ball down for his 15th try of the season to make it 18-8.

Just minutes later Meaney made amends when he took a flick pass from Kenny Bromwich and burrowed over for a try to close the gap to four points.

In another NRL match, Panthers outclassed the Warriors 46-12 with big guns Jarome Luai and James Fisher-Harris returning in style.

[Source: NRL]