The Roosters have clicked into top gear with a dominant 60-18 win over the Dragons in the traditional ANZAC Day clash at Allianz Stadium on Thursday.
Led by a superb kicking display from Sam Walker, the Roosters made it five wins in their past seven ANZAC Day clashes against the Dragons to send an ominous warning to their premiership rivals.
A horror start for the Dragons with Moses Suli forced out of the game in the opening minute after clashing heads with a rampaging Jared Waerea-Hargreaves on kick-off return.
Six minutes in and the Dragons had the game's opening try when Zac Lomax put Tyrell Sloan away down the right with a clever flick pass and the No.1 put a chip over the top of the oncoming defence.
The bounce was a poor one for the Dragons but Ben Hunt was on hand to gather the ball and pass to Jack Bird who sent it on to Jaydn Su'A for a try. Lomax converted for a 6-0 lead.
Dominic Young Try
The Roosters needed just five minutes to hit back when Dom Young finished off some slick hands from James Tedesco to burst through a desperation Kyle Flanagan tackle and touch down. Walker's conversion levelled the scores.
Come the 17th minute and a poor offload by Lomax just 15 metres from his own line was spilled by Hunt and Michael Jennings scooped up the loose ball and found Angus Crichton for the Roosters' second try.
A strong run by Nat Butcher in the 27th minute put the Roosters on the front foot and Walker came up with a neat chip over the top for Joseph Manu to follow through and score. Walker added the extra two points to make it 18-6.
Sam Walker receives the Ashton Collier Spirit of Anzac Medal
Walker continued to torment the Dragons with his kicking game and was awarded a penalty try in the 33rd minute after he chipped over the top and was prevented from getting to the ball by a professional foul from Fa'amanu Brown.
Nat Butcher had a try of his own in the closing moments of the half when Manu flew high to tap back a bomb and the back-rower stepped past Sloan to make it five tries in 25 minutes for the Roosters.
Trailing 30-6 at the break the Dragons struck first through Jack de Belin in the 51st minute before Luke Keary scored from close range to restore the 24-point margin for the Roosters.
Another high ball hoisted by the Roosters and spilled by the Dragons in the 60th minute resulted in a second try for Manu as the score blew out to 42-12.
Nat Butcher Try
Tedesco was next to join the party after Connor Watson found space out of dummy half and picked up Crichton who then delivered the ball to the skipper who raced away for the 125th try of his career.
The Dragons continued to hang tough and were rewarded with a try to Tom Eisenhuth after Manu had put down a Hunt kick but Walker again stamped his class in the 72nd minute when he set up another try by foot for Nat Butcher.
The final try of the day went to Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii as the Roosters put the icing on a stunning ANZAC Day statement in front of 40,727 fans.
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Match Snapshot
- Dragons centre Moses Suli left the field in the opening minute for a HIA after a head clash with Jared Waerea-Hargreaves. He did not return.
- Jared Waerea-Hargreaves produced a powerful 26-minute stint to open the game, racking up 97 metres from nine runs.
- The Roosters had 22 sets in the opening half compared to just 14 for the Dragons.
- Dragons fullback Tyrell Sloan was placed on report in the 39th minute for lashing out with his foot and collecting Sam Walker who had brought him down in a cover tackle.
- Roosters halfback Sam Walker kicked 10 goals from 10 attempts and came up with two try assists, a line break assist.
- The Roosters' tally of 60 points was the most they have scored in a match since defeating Wests Tigers 72-6 in 2022.
Dragons v Roosters - ANZAC Ceremony
- Roosters centre Joseph Manu has scored in four successive ANZAC Day matches.
- The Roosters have won five of their past seven Anzac Day clashes with the Dragons.
- Dragons centre Zac Lomax came up with 140 metres from 18 runs.
- Naufahu Whyte was impressive again off the bench for the Roosters with 107 running metres and 15 tackles in 31 minutes of game time.
- Dom Young ran for 184 metres and had seven tackle breaks in his return from suspension.
Walker gets a penalty try
Play of the Game
The Dragons produced a try befitting the big occasion in the sixth minute when Ben Hunt and Jack Bird combined to put Zac Lomax into space and the centre delivered a brilliant flick pass to Tyrell Sloan who chipped over the top but got a shocking bounce. Hunt picked up the bouncing ball and sent a long pass to Bird who found Jaydn Su'A and the back-rower bounced through a Joey Manu tackle to plant the ball down.
Jaydn Su'a Try
What they Said
"Sam owned the game, which is what we want from him as a young half. We want him to control the team and that instinctive stuff, the kicking, he sees the game really well. He's been doing that at training for years now but the next step for him is owning the team as our half and he did that in different ways today. It was first game back in a couple of weeks and he didn't miss a beat." - Roosters captain James Tedesco
Roosters: Round 8
"We came down to earth with a thud. The Roosters came off the back fence, won all the collisions, won the contest on the ground, ran faster, ran harder and their two halves played in dinner suits. It's a terrible way to start a game [Moses Suli getting knocked out] and we did miss him. He is powerful from the back of the field and we couldn't win that battle from the back of the field. We can't use the Moses Suli HIA as an excuse. It contributed and it wasn't a great start for us but we're not tossing that up as an excuse." - Dragons coach Shane Flanagan
Dragons: Round 8
What's Next
The Dragons face a local derby against the Sharks at PointsBet Stadium in Round 9 while the Roosters are away to the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium.