Roosters Triumph in Tense Tigers Tussle

The Roosters were made to pay for a handling error coming out of their own half in the opening minutes after Jahream Bula engaged the defensive line to set up Triston Reilly one-on-one against Joseph Manu. 

The Wests centre managed to ground the ball through the tackle to claim first points before Apisai Koroisau converted the try to give the Tigers a six-nil advantage. 

Back-to-back offloads from Siua Wong and Lindsay Collins laid the platform for the Roosters to return serve, with a blistering run from Sam Walker carrying the hosts into dominant territory. 

The young half collected an offload by Brandon Smith in the following play, brushing through the hands of multiple Tigers defenders to weave his way towards the line and crash down in-goal. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii converted the try, levelling the scores at six-piece. 

Easts absorbed a mountain of defensive pressure following back-to-back errors and a ruck infringement penalty before Wests kicked the ball in-goal and forced Manu to take it dead, a play in which the Golden Boot winner sustained a leg injury - ruling him out of the contest. 

The resuming drop-out failed to travel 10-metres and the Tigers opted to take the lead with an Api Koroisau penalty goal from in-front. 

Nat Butcher broke through the defence and travelled 30 metres in full flight before being taken down by Bula metres from the stripe. 

A few tackles later the Tricolours received a penalty after the Tigers were caught inside 10 metres, with Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii nailing the penalty goal to level the scores once more. 

An off-target pass by Daine Laurie was dropped by Reilly, affording the hosts another opportunity to set up camp in their attacking half.

Suaalii showed his finesse with a dazzling run down the edge before Walker poked a grubber through the line to claim more possession following a drop-out. But despite the period of possession, the Roosters couldn't turn their opportunities into points. 

Daniel Tupou broke the deadlock two minutes before half-time, latching on to a quick ball by Billy Smith to leap into the corner for a one-handed try. Suaalii's conversion from touch sailed through the uprights, taking the Roosters to a six-point lead at the break. 

Seven minutes into the second stanza, the Roosters received possession following a knock-on and took full advantage to expose the Tigers defence with a short-ball from Luke Keary finding Terrell May for his first NRL try. Suaalii continued his perfect night on the boot, extending the Roosters' advantage to 12-points. 

The Bondi Wall stood tall for a sustained period, turning the Tigers away following  multiple set restarts before Siua Wong eventually burst down the sideline and carried the Roosters upfield. 

Wong's scintillating carry allowed the Roosters to re-assert their dominance through a stunning solo try to Suaalii who dodges through the defence and stretched out to score, effortlessly converting his own try from touch. 

Jared Waerea-Hagreaves was sent to the sin-bin three minutes later for contact on Koroisau in the act of kicking the ball, leaving the Roosters with 12 men on-field. 

Despite being a man-down, the Roosters found more points through Victor Radley, who dived on a loose ball behind the posts capitalising on a miscommunication between the Tigers' back-line. Suaalii's conversion carried the Tricolours to a 24-point lead. 

Sydney Roosters 32 (Sam Walker, Daniel Tupou, Terrell May tries, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Victor Radley 5 goals, 1 penalty goal) def Wests Tigers 8.