The Sydney Roosters have defeated the St George Illawarra Dragons 27-26 in another exciting traditional Anzac Day clash.
Result
Sydney Roosters 27
Tries: James Tedesco (5) Victor Radley (21), Luke Keary (29), Joseph Manu (46)
Goals: Joseph Suaalii (6, 22, 25, 30, 47)
Field Goal: Luke Keary (74)
St George Illawarra Dragons 26
Tries: Tautau Moga (16, 51, 59), Jack Bird (33), Tyrell Sloan (54)
Goals: Zac Lomax (17, 34, 55)
Field Goal:
Report
A bumper crowd was on hand to see a special ceremony of respect paid to the Anzacs. The stadium stood together for the Last Post and national anthems, before the players took centre stage. Inside the first five minutes, James Tedesco scored the opening try. Egan Butcher broke the line and setup Tedesco for a long range effort.
After a penalty against the run of play, the Dragons responded. Tautau Moga scored on the end of a backline shift from the Dragons to level the scores at 6 all. The Dragons were their own enemy in the following sets, when they coughed up possession inside their own half. As a result, a flat pass from Jared Waerea-Hargreaves put Victor Radley over for a try under the posts. Following the Radley try, a flurry of points came for the Roosters, with a penalty goal and try to Luke Keary pushing the lead out to 14 points.
However, the Dragons had the last say of the half. After a disallowed try to Egan Butcher, Jack Bird grabbed a try off an attacking kick from Ben Hunt.
After halftime, the Roosters started fast. A string of passes got the ball to Joey Manu, who powered his way into the in-goal to extend the Roosters lead. The response was swift from the Dragons. Against the run of play, Tyrell Sloan produced a flick-pass to Tautau Moga who grabbed his second try. A few minutes later, Sloan was in the action again. This time, he finished off a break from Moses Suli to score his own try.
The Dragons weren’t done there. A third try came for Tautau Moga, leveling the score at 26 all. With the Roosters reeling, they were reduced to 12 men when Victor Radley was controversially sin-binned for high contact. Despite being a man down, the Roosters controlled possession well. Their spine rose to the occasion, as Luke Keary converted a field goal with six minutes remaining.
In the end, the field goal was enough to get the Roosters over the line, holding on to secure the win 27-26.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR POINTS
Embed from Getty Images3 – Luke Keary (Sydney Roosters)
2 – Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (Sydney Roosters)
1 – Tyrell Sloan (St George Illawarra Dragons)
