Sydney Roosters defeat St George Illawarra Dragons 36-18
The Dragons miss a golden opportunity for a late try with Lafai offloading to Pereira and Pereira dropping it, as if caught by surprise.
Huge win by the Roosters, who now leapfrog their opponents on the ladder. Scary to think Dylan Napa comes into the mix too. Massive game by Mitchell and Tedesco, and a fair performance by Ben Hunt in a heavily-defeated side too.
Warning bells would be ringing for the rest of the competition after that Sydney performance.
Thanks for joining me for this Sunday NRL blog, and hope to see you again next week!
Updated
H2 1:14 Roosters 36-18 Dragons
Not sure what Nightingale was thinking there, ending the set with a very scrappy left-foot kick. Reckon the Dragons have done well to be as close as they may end – the Dragons have been at least twice as good. The Roosters finish their set with a wide Cronk kick, but it’s cleaned up nicely by the Dragons with Pereira gaining some good metres.
TRY! H2 3:30 Roosters 36-18 Dragons
The scoring fest continues: Tariq Sims runs into space and changes direction just at the right moment, with another try for the Dragons coming late in the game. Widdop converts, and St George suddenly have some pep in their step, perhaps aware of how important tries might be at the end of the season.
Updated
H2 6:00 Roosters 36-12 Dragons
Oh dear, Graham drops a sitter and it can’t get much worse for St George. They’ve been seriously outplayed today, but the fans reckon they’ve got a rough deal from the refs nonetheless.
2 tries from knock ons now a 1m forward pass. No excuses for dragons but wow, it’s like the 2013 GF all over #NRLRoostersDragons
— ISM (@ism73s) July 29, 2018
TRY! H2 8:12 Roosters 36-12 Dragons
This game just keeps delivering tries, and this time it’s Ferguson who goes over with the lovely short pass from Aubusson. Ferguson celebrates in style and the Roosters show there’s no coming back for St George. Ferguson has 13 tries for the season now – and Mitchell will surely convert from here. He does.
It's a good day if you're a Roosters fan. 😎 #NRLRoostersDragons
— Wide World of Sports (@wwos) July 29, 2018
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Updated
TRY! H2 11:30 Roosters 30-12 Dragons
Disappointing end to that set for the Dragons, after Sims looked set for a try and Dufty got pulled up short by JWH without penalty. Tedesco, however, makes a rare mistake and spills the ball to allow them to come again with the dropout. Finally, they get another through Hunt who adds a double of his own. Widdop converts, but it’s too little too late for the Dragons.
Hunt makes it two ✌️#NRLRoostersDragons 30-12 with 12 minutes remaining. #TelstraPremiership #NRL pic.twitter.com/bHPAzEFy5Y
— NRL (@NRL) July 29, 2018
Updated
TRY! H2 16:00 Roosters 30-6 Dragons
Far out, Mitchell could’ve had a fourth then as he flew over the top of a pack for a near one-handed, spectacular take. He looks sore as he loses it, too. Dragons finally put together a nice set, but Widdop’s little grubber on the right is intercepted by Tedesco and it’s yet another to the Roosters, plus a double to Tedesco.
That was a seriously impressive interception, and de Belin just had no chance of catching him. Definitely best on today. Latrell, however hits the upright.
No one can catch @jamestedesco93!#NRLRoostersDragons 30-6 with 16 minutes remaining. #TelstraPremiership #NRL pic.twitter.com/XUmYYmJl1d
— NRL (@NRL) July 29, 2018
Updated
H2 20:45 Roosters 26-6 Dragons
Cronk looks sore this time, and it sounds as if Keary might have sustained a medial. Great news that the club doesn’t think it’s an ACL, but that’s still not great news for a side approaching finals.
Things getting worse here for the Dragons as Tariq Sims is penalised for a loose carry opposed to Tedesco. Tedesco has been as good as Mitchell today for mine.
TRY! H2 25:40 Roosters 26-6 Dragons
Dufty with the most run metres today (157) and than Taukeiaho and Tedesco. Tedesco has been brilliant, as has Cronk.
Is Tupou over? Looks like Nightingale has pulled him up short. Great stop as Nightingale was almost a metre in the line but caught the ball in his lap. Roosters will get a repeat set now after a great kick from Jake Friend.
Wow, Collins drops the kick but it’s not called a knock-on, refs have backed themselves with the on-field calls today. And guess what, Latrell’s over for his third! He’s been on absolute fire today. Just too strong and steady on his feet for Aitken. He then bulldozes through Nightingale as well. Unstoppable. He also converts the very difficult kick.
Updated
H2 29:17 Roosters 20-6 Dragons
Injury time out here as Luke Keary’s leg gets caught under the weight of his teammates. It’s a nasty looking one, and he has to get the ACL and medial tests on the ground. He’s been great for his team today and will have to make his way from the field, so that’s terrible news.
Meanwhile, Dragons fans haven’t missed the Mitchell knock-on from earlier.
So Tupou may not have knocked it on in that set but Latrell Mitchell did and he knew he did and even the @FOXNRLLive commentator saw it 😡#NRLRoostersDragons @NRL #refs stuff up again pic.twitter.com/bv5A44Zogy
— Michelle Howard (@stgeorgeill4eva) July 29, 2018
Updated
TRY! H2 30:12 Roosters 20-6 Dragons
Wow, Frizell just saves the try by centimetres... and then Mitchell looks to lose the ball, clearly, but there’s no call. The crowd boos, but it seems to be only the TV viewers caught it. Latrell then grounds one for a possible double, but it might be a knock-on by Tupou by the looks. No, replay looks like he didn’t touch it, but is it definitive enough to overturn the on-field call? I’d say it’s not definitive, but let’s see. No - bunker overrules, it’s a try! This is a controversial one.
The controversy is two-fold - one the missed knock-on from Mitchell, and the second call by the bunker that that vision was definitive enough to overturn the on-field call.
Oh well, it goes down as a double to Mitchell, but he can’t convert.
Updated
H2 33:16 Roosters 16-6 Dragons
Frizell gains some nice ground on the angle, and the Dragons look to have their first real chance of the half, but Pereira knocks it on. Roosters come again, and Mitchell proves incredibly hard to tackle, as he has all day. Great take by Keary just over Aitken, but thankfully for the Dragons, he turns it over.
On the return the Roosters manage to pull Lafai over the line at the 30, big play.
H2 36:20 Roosters 16-6 Dragons
Dufty looks very sore after a tackle that caught him below the knee. Widdop gets a kick away, but Ferguson takes it easily. According to Lara Pitt, Dragons were told at half-time that they’ve not been patient enough with ball in hand. Very quiet in their rooms during the break, apparently.
Both teams trading some very safe sets at the moment.
Updated
H2 38:30 Roosters 16-6 Dragons
In case it wasn’t obvious the times that I’m listing are the times remaining for the half, as with the TV coverage. Looks like Ferguson and Tedesco are both still on the ground after that nasty head clash.
Great crowd out for this one, estimates are at around 20,000.
#NRL great crowd for roosters v dragons. #NRLRoostersDragons pic.twitter.com/Iy0X0McXNn
— Adam Huxtable (@Adamhuxtable2) July 29, 2018
Here’s that Ferguson/Tedesco collision...
Oh dear...
— Wide World of Sports (@wwos) July 29, 2018
One to forget. 😂 #NRLRoostersDragons
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And the belated Dragons try that breathed some life into this game right on the cusp of half-time:
Hunt does it all himself and gets the @NRL_Dragons on the board!#NRLRoostersDragons 16-6 right on HT. #TelstraPremiership #NRL pic.twitter.com/hlr2PO2AHk
— NRL (@NRL) July 29, 2018
Gold Coast Titans defeat NZ Warriors 36-12
In case you’re wondering about the earlier result, here’s the match report:
The New Zealand Warriors have missed a chance to nail down an NRL finals spot as Gold Coast ran away 36-12 winners at home. The Titans turned it on in a five-try second half on Sunday afternoon to get one back against a Warriors side that had won their past seven games at Cbus Super Stadium.
It may have come too late to save their own season but the Titans’ razzle-dazzle has at least given the Wests Tigers hope. The result left the ninth-placed side just two wins adrift of the Warriors, who missed a golden chance to consolidate their first finals appearance since 2011 against a team they’d beaten in 14 of their past 15 contests.
Their dominance looked set to continue when the visitors turned the momentum to lead 12-8 at halftime, only for the Titans to produce some of their finest football under first-year coach Garth Brennan.
First, a Brenko Lee linebreak put Anthony Don over before the centre juggled a sharp intercept to jag one for himself. When AJ Brimson backed up Mitch Rein’s dart from dummy-half it was 26-12 and the Warriors looked out on their feet. Winger Phillip Sami then capped a fine game with a wicked step on Roger Tuivasa-Sheck for the first of his two late tries.
The Titans survived a video review for obstruction as Konrad Hurrell opened the game with his first try since round one. But they spilled the ball from the returning set and Shaun Johnson made the most of it, dancing through two would-be tackles to score almost untouched.
Gold Coast then ran 95m in three tackles but curiously opted to take the two points when awarded a penalty. Michael Gordon missed the kick but made amends when put in the same situation moments later. That put them ahead by two but also allowed the tiring Warriors to turn the momentum.
A reply eventually came through former Titan Karl Lawton after the Warriors were piggybacked by a needless penalty late in the previous set.
Jarrod Wallace’s availability next week could be the only concern for the Titans after the Queensland forward’s role in a tackle that sent James Gavet from the ground.
- AAP
Half-time Roosters 16-6 Dragons
Keary goes for the touch-finder with a few minutes to go before half-time. Both teams look equally relieved after a half played at break-neck speed. Dragons would love a try to see out the half, but they haven’t looked like it. Hunt with a nice run and a penalty results to Frizell. Just 35m out now with another six. Dufty stopped 15m out, but there’s just no holes for the Dragons to exploit. They continue to use the full share of the field but end up back where they started.
Finally the Dragons are over! Hunt goes straight at it from dummy-half and gets his side back into the game. Isaac Liu looked asleep, and Lindsay Collins just came off his line. Widdop adds the extras to salvage something from an otherwise very one-sided half.
Updated
H1 04:19 Roosters 16-0 Dragons
Nothing going the way of the Dragons - this time Cooper Cronk’s excellent kick is taken by Dufty but he’s forced over the sideline. The most worrying aspect for St George is that there was little to no pressure on the kick – by contrast Hunt is getting crunched every time.
Tedesco looks all but over but a desperate effort by the Dragons’ defence repels him. Frizell did brilliantly. Pereira then takes a wonderful grab to save the day after the kick.
H1 08:18 Roosters 16-0 Dragons
They just can’t get over, the Dragons, Aitken had the chance to offload to Nightingale but he holds onto the ball on the fourth, and Hunt has to take the kick again on the last. Roosters will come again after a disappointing (and another) missed chance from St George. Cronk’s kick is taken with a stunning leap by Tedesco, who throws the chaos ball back, but Cordner knocks it on. Some breathtaking stuff by the Roosters, particularly Tedesco.
H1 11:40 Roosters 16-0 Dragons
Finally something goes right for the Dragons - or wrong for the Roosters! Ferguson and Tedesco collide with a head clash as both try to take the Hunt kick. Surely they’ll have to be assessed for concussion. Will this finally be the break the Dragons needed? Hunt takes the cross-field kick at the end of the set, but there’s a knock-on from Euan Aitken.
Roosters make two interchanges: Radley off for Matterson and Tetevano on for Taukeiaho. Dragons take Graham off for Mann.
Oh no, it’s an error from Friend, which means the Dragons can come again from about 15m out.
Updated
TRY H1 17:10 Roosters 16-0 Dragons
Things are turning ugly for the Dragons as Cooper Cronk finds his way over after Tedesco’s line-break. Mitchell adds two more.
What.a.try.
Cronk ➡️ Tedesco ➡️ Cronk!#NRLRoostersDragons 16-0 after 24 minutes. #TelstraPremiership #NRL pic.twitter.com/AGBI1KR3WM
— NRL (@NRL) July 29, 2018
Updated
H1 18:20 Roosters 10-0 Dragons
Bit of panic setting in for the Dragons who need desperately to score. Still, things have settled into a bit more of a rhythm after the frenetic start. You can tell how much the win means to both sides. Fifth tackle, Hunt goes over the top but there’s no problem for Tedesco. It’s another penalty, this time for a slow peel from Euan Aitken. Dragons make an interchange with Vaughan off and Leeson Ah Mau on.
H1 22:20 Roosters 10-0 Dragons
Excellent high kick from Hunt, and the touch is off the Roosters - a knock-on against the Ferguson. Looks like a lucky call on the replay. The Roosters also look to throw a forward pass, but there’s no call. Saving the day, Isaac Liu dives on the loose ball. Paul Vaughan had looked over the tackle before, if only for a brilliant tackle from Radley.
Updated
H1 26:10 Roosters 10-0 Dragons
Wow. Dragons looked like they were going under the posts again before a timely ankle tap from Ben Hunt. They’re all the way to 10m with a Cronk cross-field kick, but it can’t quite clear Nightingale.
And now Dufty’s streaming down the field with a huge line break, and Victor Radley gets him with a coathanger... geez, I have no idea how that wasn’t any more than a penalty. They have another chance at it after Tedesco is caught for offside. They just don’t look as dangerous as the Roosters, and try to go to the right even though they only have three out there. No idea why, they also take a kick on the fourth. Strange from Hunt.
Updated
TRY! H1 29:10 Roosters 10-0 Dragons
Would you believe it, it’s another try to the Roosters in barely a minute! I also barely saw it it all happened to so quickly. It’s a try to Tedesco, but the work was all Joseph Manu with a special flick out the back and then an excellent line-break and curving kick back in from Ferguson.
This time Mitchell converts.
Updated
TRY! H1 30:58 Roosters 4-0 Dragons
Tedesco is causing all sorts of problems for the Dragons, and this time gets an arm free, but there’s noone to pass to. It doesn’t matter tho, because Latrell Mitchell is over on the next play. Brilliant stuff. He had three Dragons defenders on him and only 2m or so space on the left, but he does it with ease from virtually a standing start.
We’re just checking if his foot touches the line after the ball is grounded. It looks a try to me. Bunker agrees. On-field decision stands.
He can’t quite convert his own effort, however, which is across the face.
Updated
H1 33:00 Roosters 0-0 Dragons
Ben Hunt goes for a 40/20 right up, trying to get some metres back for his team but it doesn’t come off. Ohh, it’s an excellent offload from Tedesco and the Roosters are almost over, but Radley’s errant pass is intercepted by James Graham in an all-or-nothing play.
After that big win for Graham, tho, he’s turned the ball over for a knock-on - to be fair a poor pass from Ben Hunt.
H1 35:50 Roosters 0-0 Dragons
Great start from both teams, with the intensity right up. Latrell Mitchell looking dangerous first up, and the first penalty goes the way of the Roosters for a hand in the ruck from Gareth Widdop. The Roosters take six more again after the Dufty error – from just 5m out – but they don’t go to Cronk. Strange. Oh no, Isaac Liu has dropped it after a poor pass from Radley.
All happening.
Updated
Welcome
Hello everyone and welcome to this Sunday blockbuster between the Roosters and the Dragons. This could well be the match of the round, so thanks for joining us for this live blog.
Last week the Roosters’ thrashing of Manly lifted them into the top four, just the one win behind the Dragons, with Sydney now shaping up as a serious contender. The Dragons, meanwhile, have been in poorer form in recent times, bouncing back at least with the win against the Cowboys last week. Is this a sign that they’re on the way back up?
Some good news for the Dragons: the Tricolours have lost all three games against their fellow top-four teams this season. St George, meanwhile, will look to defeat the Roosters twice in a season for the first time since 2010.
Trent Robinson will coach his 150th match today – only the third Sydney Roosters coach to reach the milestone.
Looks like it’s a much nicer day in NSW than it is here in Melbourne...
15 minutes before kickoff. Atmosphere building. Big game for the Chooks. #NRLRoostersDragons #EastsToWin pic.twitter.com/KBIbfYFk1l
— Hugh Rothwell (@Hef0909) July 29, 2018
Kate will be here shortly.
