With questionable refereeing calls falling the way of the Roosters they were relieved of an embarrassing loss to the spirited North Queensland Cowboys as they ended up 31-30 winners.
It took just half an hour for the hosts to race to 30-0, but the Cowboys didn’t give in and went to the break 30-12 down.
Three unanswered tries after their rest had the Roosters fretting.
James Maloney used tricky footwork and poise to knock over a field goal, but the visitors were sure they’d snatched victory through a Johnathan Thurston try. But it was disallowed due to a disputable knock-on call from the lead-up.
Manly take on Canterbury for the other Preliminary Final next week in a shootout for the big one.
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