The Sydney Roosters are back in the winner's circle after downing the Gold Coast Titans 36-18 at Cbus Super Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
In their 10th consecutive win over the Queensland-based side, James Tedesco was dominant; setting up two tries, claiming one of his own and making a handful of courageous tackles as the last line of defence.
Match: Titans v Roosters
Round 21 -
home Team
Titans
14th Position
away Team
Roosters
12th Position
Venue: Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast
Maintaining possession for the opening five minutes after receiving a set restart and a penalty, Roosters hooker Brandon Smith poked a sneaky grubber through the line with the Tricolours reinforcements rushing in to hold Titans centre Jojo Fifita down in-goal.
On the restart, Tanah Boyd kicked the drop-out out on the full, resulting in a penalty goal to Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii who kicked the visitors to a two-point advantage.
The Titans plotted an attacking raid immediately after, dominating field position following a successful Captain's Challenge but strong defence from Egan Butcher dislodged the ball from Chris Randall's hands to reclaim possession for Easts.
In the 10th minute, a slick left edge play through James Tedesco set up Egan Butcher with a short ball for the opening try, as the young backrower rolled over the Gold Coast defence to ground the ball. Suaalii converted the try to take the Roosters to an eight-point lead.
Butcher Rolls Over
Three minutes later Butcher returned the favour, turning Klese Haas inside out to split the Titans defensive line before finding his Skipper on the inside to finish the effort with a four-pointer and the worm. Suaalii added the extras from close range to make the margin 14.
Tedesco Brings The Magic
After absorbing more defensive pressure, the mighty Tricolours found the scoresheet nine minutes later with a pin-point bomb by Sandon Smith plucked straight from the sky by Suaalii and planted on the stripe in a try-of-the-year contending play.
Suaalii Leaps High, Claims Try
Lifting across the field and building on the momentum, a dazzling play by Joseph Manu saw the Golden Boot recipient deliver a flick offload out the back that was cleaned up by none other than Lindsay Collins.
The Maroons star made light work of the two defenders on his back to muscle his way over the line and celebrate Cena-style. Suaalii slotted the conversion to make it 24-0.
Collins with the Cena Celebration
Nat Butcher joined in on the action following a Tedesco line-break two minutes later as the classy Captain raced downfield before flicking an outside ball to the backrower, making it a try assist for each Butcher brother. Suaalii had no trouble with the conversion, kicking the Roosters to a 30-point lead.
The Tricolours picked up where they left off in the second half, with an incredible one-on-one strip by Tedesco halting the Titans early attempt at scoring.
A marvellous chip kick from Luke Keary was gathered by Manu over the top of the Titans defence, before the New Zealand International offloaded to late inclusion Fletcher Baker who crashed over undefended. Suaalii's conversion made the difference 36.
Fletch Channels Fatty
In the 56th minute, Sandon Smith delivered a special ball for Daniel Tupou who looked to coast over for a record-breaking try. Hoisted high on his teammates shoulders in celebration, the four-pointer was then denied following review from the video referee that ruled Billy Smith obstructed Tanah Boyd.
Backing up their awe-inspiring attack with courageous defence, Tedesco stepped up to make a try-saving tackle to dislodge the ball on the left edge, shutting down the Titans who came in numbers.
Tedesco With a Terrific Try Saver
A small lapse on the stripe saw Gold Coast centre Brian Kelly reach through the legs of the Roosters' defence to claim a try in the 65th minute, with Jayden Campbell nailing the sideline conversion to reduce the deficit to 30.
The hosts made it back-to-back tries when Sam Verrills delivered a crisp ball out of dummy half to set up Chris Randall from close range. Campbell kicked the conversion, making the score 36-12.
Titans lock Erin Clark burrowed his way over with two minutes remaining before Campbell converted to make the margin 18 points.
Sydney Roosters 36 (Egan Butcher, James Tedesco, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Lindsay Collins, Nat Butcher, Fletcher Baker tries, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii 6 goals) def Gold Coast Titans 18 (Brian Kelly, Chris Randall, Erin Clark tries, Jayden Campbell 3 goals)
