The St George-Illawarra Dragons have defeated the Sydney Roosters 24-22, with a miraculous try in the final minute securing the win.
Result
St George-Illawarra Dragons 24
Tries: Moses Suli (8), Ben Hunt (14), Jayden Su’a (72), Mathew Feagai (79)
Goals: Zac Lomax (10, 16, 48, 80)
Sydney Roosters 22
Tries: James Tedesco (51, 75), Luke Keary (54, 62)
Goals: Joseph Suaali’i (52, 55, 76)
Report
The Indigenous Round celebration came to Kogarah with a traditional ceremony before kick-off. The Dragons had a change of coach mid-week, and Jack Bird was a late withdrawal with knee soreness. Once the game began, the Roosters got the better of the attacking opportunities early. However, it was Moses Suli who opened the scoring. He secured a kick from Luke Keary and broke into the backfield. With no Roosters in front of him, he raced away to score a 95-metre try.
Following the Suli try, the Dragons found their spark. Getting set restarts to help their advance, Ben Hunt finished off a dream set when he sliced through the defence for another try. The Roosters didn’t take kindly to being down 12-0, and a back-slam tackle from Zac Lomax ignited tensions between the sides. Victor Radley was put on report for leading with his head in the ensuing scuffle. An intense period of play followed, with the impact and force in each tackle increasing.
For the remainder of the half, the Dragons controlled possession and kept the Roosters scoreless, holding a 12-0 lead at halftime.
Beginning the second half, an early error from the Roosters saw the Dragons extend their lead to 14 with a penalty goal. After 50 minutes, the Roosters came to life. Brandon Smith threw a high pass from dummy-half to James Tedesco, who fell over the line untouched. Tedesco was in the action again minutes later. He made a break and linked up with Luke Keary for another try. The points continued to flow, with a second try to Luke Keary in quick succession giving the Roosters their first lead.
The final 10 minutes saw the lead see-saw, with the Dragons scoring through Jayden Su’a first. This was followed by a crucial one-on-one steal by James Tedesco, who grabbed his second try of the night and looked to have secured the win. However, the Dragons had one last chance, and in the dying seconds Mathew Feagai scored the match winning try off a Tyrell Sloan kick.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR POINTS
Embed from Getty Images3 – Ben Hunt (St George-Illawarra Dragons)
2 – James Tedesco (Sydney Roosters)
1 – Luke Keary (Sydney Roosters)
