Chloe Schibeci reviews the Saturday afternoon clash between the Sydney Roosters and North Queensland, where the Roosters victoriously celebrated James Tedesco’s 200th.
MATCHDAY RESULTS
SCOREBOARD
Sydney Roosters 32
Tries: Sam Verrills 2 (52, 68), Joseph Suaalii (4), Matt Lodge (16), Daniel Tupou (37), Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (65)
Goals: Sam Walker 4 (17, 54, 66, 69)
North Queensland Cowboys 18
Tries: Murray Taulagi (33), Reece Robson (57), Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow (78)
Goals: Valentine Holmes 3 (34, 58, 79)
MATCH REPORT
The first try came from the Sydney Roosters, with Joseph Suaalii scoring the first points of the afternoon, touching down in the right-hand corner off a floating pass from Victor Radley.
Matt Lodge scored the Roosters’ second try of the afternoon (10-0 the score), with the Roosters putting loads of pressure on the Cowboys’ defence.
The Roosters were just short of another try, after the Bunker denied them the four points. Despite this, they continued to build momentum and pressure against the Cowboys, who were struggling to put themselves into the game.
Finally, with just less than 10 minutes to go, the North Queensland Cowboys scored their first points of the afternoon: Murray Taulagi barged through the Roosters’ defence to put the Cowboys on the board for the afternoon. Valentine Holmes converted to close the gap to just four points, despite the Roosters dominating the majority of the first half.
In the dying minutes of the half, Daniel Tupou scored again for the Roosters, once again extending their lead as they headed into the break.
The Roosters maintained their dominance in the second half, giving the Cowboys little to no opportunities to attempt a comeback.
The Roosters scored their first try of the second half after 12 minutes of play and the Cowboys followed closely after. However, they were unable to carry this momentum for long in the end, allowing their opposition to score another two tries to put themselves further ahead.
Sam Verrills and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves were the second half try scorers for the Roosters.
In a last-ditch attempt to close the gap a little bit, the Cowboys scored a try with just two minutes to spare. However, it was unfortunately not enough.
The Roosters celebrated their fifth consecutive win, honouring James Tedesco’s 200th NRL game in style.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR POINTS
3 pts – Victor Radley (Roosters), 2 pts – Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (Roosters), 1 pt – Reece Robson (Cowboys)
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