The Sydney Roosters recorded a 22-22 draw against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in a first-versus-second battle at Belmore Sports Ground on Friday evening.
Trailing by four at half time, the Tricolours clawed their way back into the contest with three consecutive tries but a small lapse in defence allowed the Bulldogs to level the scores in the 68th minute.
Match: Bulldogs v Roosters
Round 22 -
home Team
Bulldogs
2nd Position
away Team
Roosters
1st Position
Venue: Belmore Sports Ground, Sydney
The Roosters and Bulldogs traded blows in the early exchanges, with strong defence from Captain Phoenix Steinwede halting the hosts momentarily.
A strong carry from William Afualo saw the Canterbury-Bankstown winger break through the Roosters line, weaving his way around the defence as they rushed in from across the field before eventually grounding the ball under the posts. Jonah Glover converted the try to give the hosts a 6-0 lead.
The crowd erupted when Tavita Henare-Schuster rushed in to put a heavy hit on his opposing winger after he gathered a kick. Building the pressure in defence, a wayward offload by the Bulldogs was picked up by Jack Smith, who set the foundations in attack to get the Roosters over the line later in the set.
On the fifth tackle, a perfect kick from lock Caleb Tohi bounced up in the in-goal for Corey Ross to plant in the 18th minute, with Vaiala Tamati converting the try to level the scores.
The Bulldogs kicked the ball low and short off the restart for back-rower Harry Haynes to scoop up and sprint 30 metres before being taken down right before the try-line. Sending the ball right, Canterbury-Bankstown capitalised on an overlap to send winger Jordi Mazzone over in the corner, but a missed conversion from the sideline kept the score at 10-6.
Alekolasimi Jones found a way through the defence to give the Bulldogs a boost early in the second half, with Joash Papalii converting the try to make the margin 10.
But the Roosters dug deep to produce three spellbinding plays in the space of nine minutes to put 16 points on the board and take the lead.
The run of momentum started with a barnstorming carry from Sione Vaenuku who barrelled over through a mountain of defence in the 54th minute before Tamati slotted the conversion to reduce the deficit to four.
Five minutes later the Roosters found more points with a right edge play from Kyron Fekitoa who stepped his way through the defence to open up a gap in the line. Tamati's conversion attempt hit the upright before bouncing off the crossbar and away from the posts, leaving the score at 16-apiece.
Easts capitalised on a knock-on from the Bulldogs in the 63rd minute, sending the ball back to the right edge off the scrum, this time to find Henare-Schuster who leapt into the corner to put the Roosters ahead by four. Tamati nailed the conversion from touch to make the score 22-16.
The Bulldogs responded through Joseph O'Neill who sold a massive dummy to break the line and cross five minutes later, with Glover levelling the scores with a conversion from in-front.
Sydney Roosters 22 (Corey Ross, Sione Foketi, Kyron Fekitoa, Tavita Henare-Schuster tries, Vaiala Tamati 3 goals) drew Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 22 (William Afualo, Jordi Mazzaone, Alekolasimi Jones tries; Jonah Glover, Joash Papalii goals)
