After a gutsy effort against a tough Cowboys outfit, the young Roosters have fallen 30-34 on their home turf.
The Roosters got off to a flying start against the Cowboys, scoring their first of the night through Zane Blake after he went flying through the air to catch a well placed bomb and fight his way to the chalk.
It would be a short lived lead though as the Cowboys did well to counter just minutes later through winger Murray Taulagi on the left edge.
They continued their siege to be the next to score down the same side of the field through second rower Ryan Lloyd after finding a small gap to work with and busting his way through it.
That would soon turn to back-to-back tries when centre Kurt Wiltshire stormed his way through the defence and continue their potent attacking flair on the left edge of the field.
Winger Murray Taulagi would go over for his second of the night for the Cowboys towards the back end of the half as the Cowboys looked set to blow this one wide open.
The Roosters were not willing to lay down though and it would be Nick O’Meley to take matters into his own hands to bring the score to within eight points after splitting the defence and running it between the uprights.
Jarred Anderson would receive a send off after a heated incident at the start of the second half, and it would cost his side almost instantly.
Centre Enari Tuala went over in the set of six to follow, then hooker Calum Gahan darted out of dummy-half to score between the uprights just minutes later.
There would be some hope for the young Roosters in the closing 20 minutes when Lachlan Lam chased a well weighted grubber to slam it down between the uprights and bring his side to within two converted tries.
Just minutes later and with plenty of time on the clock, Zane Blake would do well to score his second of the night with an acrobatic effort on the right wing.
Ten minutes to go and all the momentum, it would soon become a two point game when Sitili Tupouniua crashed over on the back of a perfect short ball.
The rug would soon be pulled out from beneath the young Roosters when experienced Cowboys fullback split the defence on the right edge and stormed his way over to have the final say for the away team.
Lyndon Hills scored in the closing two minutes, but it was a little too late to see a comeback.
TRIES: Blake x 2, O’Meley, Lam, Tupouniua
