Roosters skipper Braith Anasta says his team can take a lot from their defeat to Manly on Saturday despite the 38-18 scoreline.

The seven-tries-to-four loss was the Roosters' fourth straight NRL defeat but Anasta took a positive line after a much improved display from their previous outing, when they were mauled 48-6 by Penrith.

"We're still disappointed in the loss and would rather win but we can take a lot out of that game," Anasta said.

"We just sort of had a good look at ourselves this week really and we really just got back to the basics and tried to work for each other."

The Roosters were trailing by just two points 57 minutes into the game and on the attack when the match turned as Sea Eagles winger David Williams pounced on a loose ball to sprint 90 metres for a game-breaking try.

Anasta had thrown a tough pass to centre Ben Jones to create the error, Williams bringing the majority of the 10,549 fans at Brookvale to their feet when he sprinted clear.

"I felt like we really had a good shot of winning tonight and obviously that Dave Williams try was really costly for us," Anasta said.

"We went from probably close to scoring a try to the other way around so that hurt us.

"I was probably a little bit disappointed with the way we finished, we worked so hard all week and we worked really hard out there on the field and to sort of let points in at the end there that really hurt us.

"I wasn't happy about that."

Despite two-try winger Shaun Kenny-Dowall brilliantly releasing Jones with 10 minutes left in the match, late tries to Sea Eagles centre Steve Matai and fullback Michael Robertson - both off the boot of Matt Orford - sealed the win.

Orford was also full of praise for the Roosters, claiming the final margin was probably a bit harsh on the Bondi club.

"Under the conditions and the circumstances we probably forced our hand a little bit but the reflection on the scoreboard probably doesn't have a reflection on the game," the halfback said.

"I thought that was the Roosters' best performance all year, we got some late tries there and I think they can take a lot out of it.

"But I think still putting on 38 points and not playing to our best is still very positive."

The only dark note for the Sea Eagles was a high ankle sprain which forced NSW centre Jamie Lyon off the field in the 15th minute.

Lyon said he was confident the injury wasn't too serious but would undergo scans on Monday to assess the damage.

"You're always concerned and it's always in the back of your mind it might be worse but we'll just have to wait and see on Monday," he said.

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