The Sydney Roosters want to develop a long-term deal to continue taking NRL games to Adelaide, after Saturday night's experiment was declared a success.

More than 21,000 fans turned out to see the Roosters beat Melbourne in golden point at Adelaide Oval - the biggest NRL crowd in the city since the defunct Adelaide Rams' first game in 1997.

It's estimated around 18,000 of the fans were locals, and they were treated to a quality encounter in their first game of NRL since 2011.

And the Tri-colours now hope to establish a deal which will see them take more games to Adelaide.