Roosters Hold On for Hard-Fought Win

The Bulldogs applied the pressure early, pushing the Roosters into touch in their first set of the match to take possession 20 metres from their try-line. A massive tackle from Jade Anderson sent his opposing centre straight into the turf on the ensuing set, before Rob Toia caused an error in the in-goal to re-gain possession for the visitors. 

Following a penalty, the Roosters made the most of their time with the ball to claim first points after Toia broke the line, connecting with Jaxson Paulo on the right edge before the winger set himself up with a chip-and-chase and converted his own try. 

Toia and Paulo forced an error from the Bulldogs on their next run towards the try-line, jamming up in defence to put them under pressure. 

The men from Bondi tirelessly defended their line following three set restarts before a knock-on by the Bulldogs as they reached out to ground the ball reduced the pressure. 

In the 28th minute Toia created the spark in attack once more, this time breaking the line before connecting with Siua Wong who outpaced the defence to score between the uprights. Paulo converted the try, taking the Roosters to a 12-point lead. 

A dominant run by Ethan King carried the Tricolours into good field position for their third try of the half, with a short ball from dummy half setting up Tyrell Neiufi for a four-pointer in the 36th minute. Paulo made no mistake with the conversion, giving the Roosters an 18-point lead at the break. 

The hosts came out of the sheds firing to score successive tries in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Ryan Gray weaved through the defensive line to open the Bulldogs account before Franklin Pele ploughed his way over five minutes later. Bailey Hayward kicked both conversions to reduce the deficit to six.  

Needing a response the Roosters utilised a penalty to maintain good field position before sending Corey Allan over in the 52nd minute, but Paulo was unable to add the extras from the sideline, leaving the margin at 10. 

After the Roosters charged down a Canterbury-Bankstown kick, but couldn't collect the loose ball, the hosts used their time in possession to execute a slick edge play for Jonathan Sua to cross in the corner. 

Two try-saving tackles by the Roosters left edge kept the Bulldogs from claiming more points in the dying minutes.

After absorbing the significant pressure on their line, the visitors were gifted a penalty after Joseph Taipari was hit high on his run towards the try-line. Playing the right edge, a crisp cut-out ball to Paulo cemented the win, with the Samoan representative winger running into the in-goal before grounding the ball in the 75th minute. 

Sydney Roosters 26 (Jaxson Paulo 2, Siua Wong, Tyrell Neuifi, Corey Allan tries, Jaxson Paulo 3 goals) def Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 16 (Ryan Gray, Franklin Pele, Jonathan Sua tries, Bailey Hayward 2 goals)