Gallant Gadigal Roosters Overcome in Grandstand Finish

An error from Mosese Suli in the second minute of the match afforded the Roosters an early opportunity in their attacking half. Sending the ball right, Suli jumped into play once more, but couldn't gather an intercept, gifting the Tricolours another set within 10 metres of the try-line.

A nifty play from Drew Hutchison was sent to the Bunker for clarification a minute later after the halfback looked up to see a hole in the Dragons' defence, racing straight to the line. With St George rushing in, Hutchison was almost assisted into the in-goal by the hosts, but the senior review official deem him to be held up.

Suli sought redemption for his opening errors with a 95-metre effort to claim the first points of the match in the seventh minute, after snatching a Luke Keary chip kick mid-air. Zac Lomax kicked the conversion to extend the Dragons' lead to six.

Building momentum in attack, the Dragons utilised repeat sets to claw their way towards the stripe only five minutes later, before skipper Ben Hunt evaded the Tricolours defence with a dummy before the line, stepping through a tackle to ground the ball uncontested. Lomax made no mistake with the conversion, making the score 12-0. 

Patches of excellence were contrasted by ball-carrying disasters as the opening half continued, with the men from Bondi struggling to generating attacking creativity, although, making up for their lack of points with rock-solid goal-line defence. 

The hosts were first to find points in the second stanza through a Lomax penalty goal after Billy Smith escorted the centre off the ball. 

A knock-on by Hunt gave the Red, White and Blue an opportunity to enter the game in the 49th minute. With strong runs from the forward pack carrying Easts' towards the try-line, Brandon Smith scooped up the ball from dummy half, looking right to see the Dragons napping in defence. 

The crafty hooker propelled a ball across to his captain, who crashed over the line in front of numerous St George defenders, who stood watching the play unfold. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii kicked the conversion, reducing the deficit to eight.

Building confidence in attack, the Roosters erected a Bondi Wall to starve the hosts of possession. Three minutes later Tedesco dismantled the Dragons defence after being sent through the line by Roosters debutant Nathan Brown. Sprinting towards the fullback, Luke Keary called for an offload, and the skipper delivered, sending his five-eighth over for his third try of the season. Suaalii made no mistake from in-front, bringing the game into the balance. 

Eight minutes after his first try, the Irish international claimed a double, wreaking havoc on the right edge after outrunning Blake Lawrie and breaking the tackle of Sloan to slide over the stripe. Suaalii's kick fell short of the crossbar, leaving the Tricolours with a two point advantage. 

The Dragons responded with a try to Jadyn Su'a after a short side play found the second rower undefended out the back. Lomax's conversion from touch waved away, with the margin remaining at two points. 

Five minutes before the siren, Tedesco stepped up to produce a miraculous one-on-one strip, stealing the ball off Sloan who gathered a Keary chip kick within centimetres of the try line. The captain ploughed straight towards the line, claiming his second four-pointer of the day to put his team back in-front on the scoreboard with Suaalii kicking the conversion to make the score 22-18. 

Witnessing a significant left edge overlap, Sloan poked a kick over, where numerous Dragons stood in-front of a lone Jaxson Paulo. Mathew Feagai gathered the ball and claimed the try, with Lomax kicking the conversion to seal the win. 

Sydney Roosters 22 (James Tedesco 2, Luke Keary 2 tries, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii 3 goals) def by St George Illawarra Dragons 24 (Mosese Suli, Ben Hunt, Jadyn Su'a, Mathew Feagai tries, Zac Lomax 4 goals)