The Tigers had three chances, through Gareth Ellis, to score the first try of the match within the first 13 minutes, however, on each occasion, he was denied: first after Todd Carney had dislodged the ball from his hands, the second after he was held up over the line by some desperate Roosters defence, and the third after Benji Marshall was penalised for an off-the-ball incident with Mitchell Pearce.

[5] They were, however, the most dominant team of the first half, scoring two tries, through Lote Tuqiri and Beau Ryan, to the Roosters' sole penalty goal (kicked by Carney), and taking a 10–2 lead into half-time.

However, the Roosters would score two converted tries, both set up by Todd Carney for captain Braith Anasta and Mitchell Pearce, to narrow the margin to 15–14 with less than ten minutes left to play in regular time.

[9] In particular, the final five minutes in regular time proved to be the most dramatic of the match, whereby Benji Marshall left the field injured, leaving the Tigers with only 12 men.

The Panthers' loss to the Raiders left the Tigers at risk of an early elimination, however they survived after the Dragons defeated the Sea Eagles in their qualifying final.

The Roosters won 34–12, to progress to the semi-finals, where they defeated the Gold Coast Titans by 26 points to eventually make the grand final.