The Roosters pulled off an impressive comeback at Allianz Stadium on Friday night in the Holden Cup, defeating the Bulldogs 30-26.
The Bulldogs were on fire to start the game, scoring back-to-back tries on the ten minute mark, both on the right side edge.
It turned into a fiery match, with a couple of scuffles erupting in the opening twenty minutes, one of them saw Roosters player Jack Hetherington sent to the bin for punching.
Off the back of the punch, The Bulldogs scored right in the middle and converted from in front.
The Roosters were next to score when Connor Watson made the break, passed to Joey Lussick, who then passed to Joseph Manu, running in open space to plant it down on the left edge.
This was no bragging right though, especially when the Bulldogs hit straight back again on the right hand side.
The game of back and forth was in full swing when Joseph Manu hit back at the Bulldogs for his second of the night, and dancing through numerous defenders to do so. That would be the end of the scoring for the first half and the boys were trailing 8-20.
The Roosters would score twice in the opening ten minutes, with Charlie Taylor scoring on the right hand side, and Johnny Tuivasa-Sheck putting it down on the left, with both players showing an impressive amount speed to do so.
Charlie Taylor went in again after showing his speed minutes later, and the Roosters were well on top to start the second half.
The momentum would quickly swing in the final fifteen minutes, when a dropped ball from Latrell Mitchell saw the Bulldogs gain the lead back after a try from Reimis Smith.
Some tense minutes followed, with the Roosters looking likely to score on a couple of occasions but falling just short. That was until Latrell Mitchell scored a freakish length of the field try, palming off a few players on his way.
The Bulldogs got one last crack to shake things up, but the game was over when Tuivasa-Sheck took a wayward pass that saw the Roosters wind the clock down with thirty seconds remaining.
