The Sydney Roosters were back home in Round 15, hosting the Penrith Panthers at Allianz Stadium.
Front Rowers Fight Through the Middle
Leading the charge for the forward pack, starting props Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Lindsay Collins packed plenty of punch.
They made their intentions clear from just the third tackle of the match, drifting out to the right sideline to deliver some heavy contact on centre Izack Tago.
Round 15 Match Highlights: Roosters vs Panthers
The pair went on to run for more than a combined 200 metres across their stints, with Collins making a strong 43 tackles with just three misses.
Tedesco Tightens the Screws
With his side trailing by four after 15 minutes of play, the skipper came up with a much-needed spark for his side to help build some momentum.
Receiving the ball out wide on the fourth tackle, he poked a left-footed grubber kick through the defensive line and into the in goal.
Tedesco Takes Down Edwards
Chasing his own kick, Tedesco forced a goal line drop out by tackling opposing fullback Dylan Edwards in the in goal when he tried to escape with the ball.
Easts Cross the Stripe
After a tough opening hour of football, the Red, White, and Blue were eventually able to find some points of their own.
A penalty allowed the Roosters to advance the ball upfield, giving them a full set in prime attacking territory.
Tedesco Breaks Through
Swinging the ball from right to left on the second tackle, the ball made its way to the hands of Tedesco who broke away from Stephen Crichton’s tackle before stepping off his left foot and charging towards the try line, beating another three players on his way to planting the ball down.
Tackling Machine Turpin
Tasked with stepping up into the hooking role in the absence of Brandon Smith, Jake Turpin let nobody down with an incredible performance.
He made an astonishing 69 tackles in his first 80-minute performance donning the Tricolours.
It was a pure defensive performance from Turpin who incredibly missed only two tackles all game.
Scrambling Defence Saves Points
A handful of desperate defensive plays from the Tricolours helped turn their opponents away from the try line throughout the night.
Early in the match, a line break from Penrith forward Isaah Yeo had him on course to open the scoring, but a clutch effort from Luke Keary to grab Yeo’s ankle as he hit the ground constituted the would-be try as a double movement.
Shortly before half time, a Panthers line break coming out of their own end almost ended in points for the visitors, but Joseph Manu’s effort to track back in defence proved crucial as he intercepted the draw-and-pass which could have enabled Penrith to score.
Robinson & Tedesco: Round 15 Press Conference
With 14 minutes left to play, an attempted trick-shot from the visitors to crash over on the fifth tackle was shut down by Sitili Tupouniua and Sandon Smith, who clobbered a barnstorming Jaeman Salmon and dislodged the ball in the process.
