Roosters skipper James Tedesco proved he is still one of the game's leading fullbacks, steering the Roosters to a narrow 25-24 victory over the Bulldogs at Gosford.
Back in the Tricolours after suffering a 26-18 loss to the Maroons in Wednesday's State of Origin series opener, the Blues skipper had a point to prove, silencing critics with a performance consisting of two tries, one try assist, 11 tackle breaks and 190 run metres.
Late inclusions into the Bulldogs lineup, Blues teammates Josh Addo-Carr and Tevita Panagi Junior stood up in Cameron Ciraldo's side but losing hooker Reed Mahoney to a head knock in the first half, the Bulldogs couldn't capitalise in the back end of the match.
Forward Pangai Junior was quick to assure no signs of Origin fatigue, powering downfield to scoop up a loose ball at pace to score under the sticks, drawing first blood for the Bulldogs.
Pangai Junior scores a try
Up and about, the Dogs went back-to-back three minutes later when Addo-Carr broke Roosters defenders before finding Mahoney on the inside who crashed over for just his second try as a Bulldog. Another successful Matt Burton conversion put the visitors in front by six.
Come the 17th minute and Tedesco got his side on the board, pushing up to support a Luke Keary linebreak to score beside the posts.
After a week of criticism following his Blue's series opener defeat on Wednesday, Tedesco was looking out to make a statement, gathering a Corey Allan kick to go back-to-back in just four minutes for the tricolours and lock up the scores 12-12.
Tedesco doubles up
Just one minute before half-time, the Tricolours fullback looked to bag his third try for the half off the back of five-eighth Joey Manu but the try was ruled out for obstruction by Nat Butcher in the lead up and the score was tied up at the break.
Two minutes into the second half and the Bulldogs broke the deadlock with Blues winger Addo-Carr streaking away from inside his own half, burning Roosters centre Joseph Suaali'i to score his seventh try in just seven games this season.
Addo-Carr with the after burners
Ten minutes into the first half Tedesco burst out of dummy-half and broke through Bulldogs defenders before finding winger Junior Pauga in support to cross on his club debut.
But four minutes later, the Dogs had all the momentum off several Roosters errors and a pin-point Matt Burton kick found Addo-Carr who scored his second try of the term and the Bulldogs were back in front by six.
Bringing the Gosford fans to their feet again, the Roosters struck back with centre Suaali'i going over untouched for his first try since Round 1 and the scoreboard was locked for the third time of the match.
With five minutes to play, the Roosters hit the lead when Keary calmly slotted a clutch field goal to put his side in front and that was enough to seal the two points in the tightly contested Round 14 match.
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Match Snapshot
- Bulldogs hooker Reed Mahoney left the field in the 35th minute with a head knock and did not return after failing his HIA.
- Bulldogs forward Tevita Pangai Junior backed up his Origin debut with a strong first-half with one try, 122 run metres and 11 tackles.
- Roosters fullback James Tedesco has scored seven tries in his past five games against the Bulldogs.
- Both sides completed well in the first half with the Roosters finishing 87 per cent of their sets and the Bulldogs 86.
- Bulldogs winger Josh Addo-Carr has scored 12 tries in his past 13 games against the Roosters.
- Lindsay Collins backed up from Origin to get through plenty of work for the Roosters with nine runs and 32 tackles.
- Bulldog Khaled Rajab and Rooster Sandon Smith entered the fray in the second half to make their NRL debuts.
Play of the Game
Luke Keary teamed up with fullback James Tedesco superbly to hand the Roosters their first victory since Round 9. Keary was in control early on Sunday, setting up a try for his fullback and applying pressure to the Bulldogs with his kicking game. But what he did in the 75th minute of the match is what ensured Trent Robinson's side walked away with the two points on Sunday. With the scores locked and 12 minutes to play, calm and in control, the veteran halfback produced a perfectly punted field goal to seal the much-needed win for the Roosters.
Keary field goal clinches it
What They Said
“It was painful (way to lose). I thought we did well. We didn’t start exactly how I wanted to, but we got up to a 12-0 lead and I thought that was a good sign for us, but to let Keary show and go to get them back into the game was a bit disappoint.
I thought we defended well for good periods and then we let in points and let them off the hook.
I thought for big periods of the game, we were the better team, but they were just too good in the end, they nailed that last 10 minutes and we didn’t." - Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo
NRL Press Conference: Roosters v Bulldogs - Round 14, 2023
“Not sure whether it is or not (a must win) … (but) it’s been a month, so it was nice to win. We were in that spot where you are going to eke out a win and we did. I liked the way we handled that last 15 minutes, sometimes you can get a bit tight in those circumstances, I thought we handled it really well to finish the game in the way that we did, I felt that we defended well, felt like we organised the one point well, from 24-18, I thought we managed it well.
“(James Tedesco) carried us right from the start there today, put us on his back and went, I am going to play footy. He played all different styles today and he showed who he is." - Roosters coach Trent Robinson
What's Next
The Roosters host the Panthers at Allianz Stadium for what will be arguably the match of Round 15. Dylan Edwards and James Tedesco going head-to-head at fullback and James Fisher-Harris and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves clashing up front are just two of many match-ups you won't want to miss.
Meanwhile, a traditional NRL rivalry will be on display on the King's Birthday Public Holiday when the Bulldogs host the Eels at Accor Stadium next Monday.