Match Report | Round 11

Next week: The Bulldogs host the Dolphins at Accor Stadium in Round 12 while the Roosters head to Gosford to take on the Sharks. Bulldogs captain Stephen Crichton will certainly be on Origin duty with the Blues while Kurt Mann and Matt Burton are also in the mix. The Roosters could be missing James Tedesco, Lindsay Collins and Angus Crichton.

Teddy's Origin push: The Roosters No.1 has talked down his chances of a Blues jersey but he again showed why he wouldn't be out of place should Laurie Daley give him a call. Tedesco had 28 runs for 183 metres and had a try assist and three tackle breaks.

Full-time: After coming back from 20 points down last week the Bulldogs have done it again, recovering from 14-0 down to collect their ninth win of the season. The Bulldogs' back five racked up huge metres, led by Connor Tracey (204m) and Jacob Kiraz (167m) while Max King was enormous in the middle with 17 runs for 187 metres. Lipoi Hopoi made 152 run metres in 47 quality minutes of game time. The Roosters will be left to rue 18 errors which in the end cost them dearly.

80 min: One last shot for the Roosters with Mark Nawaqanitawase launching a towering kick but the Bulldogs come away with the ball and wrap up another come-from-behind win.

78 min: The Roosters ask plenty of questions but the Dogs hold firm and Toby Sexton traps a Sandon Smith grubber and the danger is averted.

74 min: After the Roosters went long with the dropout the Bulldogs regain the lead when Matt Burton slices his way through to score under the posts and converts. Bulldogs 24-20.

72 min: Another Matt Burton bomb, another Mark Nawaqanitawase spill and the Bulldogs dribble one into the in goal and earn a line dropout.

71 min: An error by Connor Tracey hands the Roosters a shot at back-to-back tries but Sandon Smith comes up with a forward pass.

68 min: Mark Nawaqanitawase produces a stunning individual try to get the Roosters back in the game. The winger was hopping on one leg when he got a kick into the in goal and followed through to regather and score. The miraculous try is converted from touch by Sandon Smith and the Roosters are back in front at 20-18.

63 min: Mark Nawaqanitawase again spills a Matt Burton spiral bomb and the Bulldogs take the lead thanks to a slicing run by Bronson Xerri, who leaves some tired Roosters defenders in his wake. Matt Burton converts. Bulldogs 18-14.

60 min: Victor Radley comes up with a one-on-one steal and then the Roosters earn an offside penalty to steady the ship.

57 min: The Roosters are self-destructing with Egan Butcher making a simple drop and Toby Sexton scooping the ball up and racing away. Matt Burton converts. Roosters 14-12.

55 min: Mark Nawaqanitawase spills a Matt Burton bomb and the Bulldogs pile on the pressure but James Tedesco and Nawaqanitawase get across in cover to bundle Marcelo Montoya into touch.

53 min: Bulldogs debutant Luke Smith gets his first taste of the action.

50 min: The Bulldogs start the climb back when Bailey Hayward slices through some tired forwards and finds Viliame Kikau in support for the try. Matt Burton bangs over the conversion. Roosters 14-6.

45 min: A chance for the Roosters but Sandon Smith's flick pass is picked off by Marcelo Montoya and the Bulldogs march up field courtesy of a long run by Jacob Kiraz.

43 min: The Bulldogs go on the attack early but Stephen Crichton puts in a poor grubber and then comes up with a high shot on Lindsay Collins after the Roosters prop had scooped up the rolling ball.

Half-time: The Roosters were far from perfect (14 of 24 sets at 58 per cent) but their defence was outstanding as they repelled a number of Bulldogs raids. Connor Watson, Siua Wong and Victor Radley came up with 57 tackles between them. The Bulldogs completed 16 of 19 sets at 84 per cent but couldn't nail their opportunities in attack. 

38 min: Another error by the Roosters coming out of their own end through Daniel Tupou but the Bulldogs' attack is out of sync and the ball goes into touch after Viliame Kikau tries to tip it on to Marcelo Montoya. Roosters 14-0.

36 min: A mistake by Zach Dockar-Clay invites the Bulldogs into good field position but the Roosters' defence stands firm again before Hugo Savala launches a long ball to pin the Dogs back down their own end.

32 min: Lindsay Collins takes a short ball from Zach Dockar-Clay and powers over in his return from a knee injury. Sandon Smith converts to make it 14-0.

32 min: James Tedesco is clipped high by Lipoi Hopoi as he looks to dive over from close range and the Roosters get another set on the attack. 

30 min: Sandon Smith snaffles a Stephen Crichton grubber and runs 80 metres before Crichton runs him down.

26 min: An error by the Bulldogs coming out of their own end and the Roosters look to have made them pay when Mark Nawaqanitawase scoops up the loose ball and delivers a flick pass to Robert Toia who crosses but the bunker rules he lost control of the ball in the put down. Roosters 8-0.

25 min: Bailey Hayward puts in a grubber but again it is too long and James Tedesco shepherds it over the dead ball line to earn a seven-tackle set.

23 min: The Bulldogs set up camp inside the Red Zone after a penalty against Naufahu Whyte for a flop and then a knock on by the Roosters as they scrambled to defend their line.

18 min: The Bulldogs send a grubber kick long and over the dead ball line and launch a captain's challenge to allege Sandon Smith touched the ball on the way through. Replays proved inconclusive so the Dogs keep their challenge but the Roosters get the ball from a tap.

15 min: A high tackle penalty against Max King gives Sandon Smith a shot at two points and he bangs it over to make it 8-0.

14 min: The Roosters mount more pressure and Bronson Xerri is forced to knock the ball dead when Hugo Savala rolls one in.

11 min: Matt Burton goes within inches of a 40-20 kick when the ball rolls into touch just short of the 20m line and the Roosters get the scrum feed.

8 min: Spencer Leniu again launches himself at the blue and white wall from the kick-off and Daniel Suluka-Fifita comes reeling out of the collision. Suluka-Fifita is sent for a HIA and is deemed a Category One concussion. 

6 min: From the line dropout set the Roosters grab the game's first try when Hugo Savala goes right to James Tedesco who delivers the final pass for Mark Nawaqanitawase to cross. Sandon Smith converts. Roosters 6-0.

5 min: Bulldogs fullback Connor Tracey is forced to scramble and knock the ball dead after a neat grubber from Siua Wong.

1 min: Spencer Leniu makes a powerful charge on the kick-off return but comes up with an error in the play the ball. The Bulldogs have a full set inside the Red Zone but come up empty.

Late Mail

Both sides will line up 1-17 with no late changes for the clash at Accor Stadium.

Numbers Game

• The Roosters have won only two of their last eight games at Accor Stadium.
• The Bulldogs have won only two of their past 12 games against the Roosters.
• Roosters captain James Tedesco has scored seven tries in his last six games against the Bulldogs.
• Bulldogs five-eighth Matt Burton has scored five tries in his last five games against the Roosters.

 

Knights v Eels at McDonald Jones Stadium

Full-time: A fourth home loss of the season for the Knights who continue to struggle in attack, averaging just 12ppg. Eels winger Zac Lomax was superb in his comeback from a foot injury with 27 runs for 249 metres to go with two tries and four goals. Jack Williams was also immense for the Eels with 135 run metres and 34 powerful tackles. The Eels 47 tackle breaks to 22 and dominated field position for much of the night.

76 min: Some joy at last for the Knights when James Schiller crosses after slick lead-up work by Kalyn Ponga and Dane Gagai. The conversion from Ponga makes it 28-6.

67 min: The onslaught continues as Jordan Samrani grabs his first try in the NRL courtesy of a short ball from Mitch Moses close to the line. More goalkicking practice for Zac Lomax but he hits the upright. Eels 28-0.

64 min: The Eels cash in immediately on the one-man advantage when Mitch Moses and Kitione Kautoga unlock Josh Addo-Carr and he finds Dylan Brown in support for Parra's fourth of the night. Zac Lomax converts. Eels 24-0.

62 min: On the back of two six-again calls the Knights lose Kai Pearce-Paul to the sin bin after he pushes Mitch Moses back to the ground as he attempts to play the ball. Moses bangs over the penalty goal to make it 18-0.

60 min: Mitch Moses muscles up in defence and forces Fletcher Hunt into an error coming out of his own end.

54 min: A one-on-one steal by Dylan Walker on Jacob Saifiti sends the Eels into the Red Zone and they came up with their third try of the night through Zac Lomax, who proves too strong for Fletcher Hunt and crashes over in the corner. Lomax converts from wide out. Eels 16-0.

49 min: Jack Hetherington enters the game for the first time in his return from injury.

47 min: The Eels go to the air and Fletcher Hunt puts the ball down close to his own line but the Knights defend their line and come out of danger.

42 min: A dropped ball by Toni Mataele puts the Eels under pressure but Tyson Gamble comes up with a forward pass as the sides trade early errors.

Half-time: For the first time this season the Eels lead at the half-time break thanks to tries to Zac Lomax and Mitch Moses. The Eels made three line breaks to one and had 23 tackle breaks to Newcastle's nine. Lomax racked up 123 run metres while Will Penisini broke five tackles and ran for 109 metres. Captain Kalyn Ponga did his best to spark the Knights with 11 runs for 131 metres.

38 min: The Eels get a chance to extend their lead but Kitione Kautoga puts the ball down close to the line and the Knights survive. Eels 10-0.

35 min: A Tyson Gamble grubber is pushed dead by Josh Addo-Carr and the Knights force a line dropout but the opportunity is wasted when Adam Elliott comes up with an error in contact.

33 min: Zac Lomax and Fletcher Hunt fly high to contest a kick and the referee rules the ball came off Hunt and orders a line dropout but the bunker overrules the call and the Knights get a 20-metre tap.

28 min: The Knights lose their captain's challenge when Thomas Cant makes a mess of the play the ball and is ruled to have knocked on. He asks Kalyn Ponga to fire in a challenge and they come up empty.

27 min: Kalyn Ponga comes back hard on kick return and earns the Knights a penalty after Will Penisini is slow to release.

22 min: Another chance for the Knights, another error, and Sean Russell comes away on a 50-metre run.

18 min: The Knights get a chance to mount some pressure but Dane Gagai is thrown into touch on the second tackle.

17 min: J'maine Hopgood leaves the field for a HIA after a head clash with Adam Elliott, who is also sent for a HIA after the next set. Both men pass their HIA and are good to return.

15 min: In his first game back from a foot injury, Zac Lomax scores in the corner after a Junior Paulo offload created an opportunity on the right edge. Lomax now has 50 career tries. Lomax can't add the extras. Eels 10-0.

11 min: On the back of a sensational long run by Jack Williams the ball finishes with Dylan Brown on the last tackle, the five-eighth launching a bomb which Mitch Moses takes on the full to score. Zac Lomax converts. Eels 6-0.

5 min: Knights debutant Fletcher Hunt soars high to bring down a bomb in a confident start to his first game.

3 min: The Eels make good ground down the right but Will Penisini is bundled into touch by the cover defence.

Great Dane

A special night for Dane Gagai, who becomes the 54th man to reach 300 NRL games. After debuting for the Broncos in the opening round of the 2011 season, Gagai moved to the Knights the following season and then spent time at Souths before returning to Newcastle in 2022.

Late Mail

A massive blow for the Knights with star centre Bradman Best dropping out due to a hamstring injury, cruelling his chances of pushing for NSW Blues selection. Dylan Lucas moves into the centres and Thomas Cant starts in the back row with Jack Hetherington joining the bench in his return from the shoulder injury that has sidelined since Round 5. 

Luca Moretti has come into the starting side for Parra an hour before kick-off and Ryan Matterson has been added to the bench. Matt Doorey drops out. Zac Lomax hasn't played since Round 5 due to a foot injury and gets one chance to stake his claim for Blues Origin selection. 

Numbers Game

• The Eels have won seven of their past eight games against the Knights.
• Knights centre Dane Gagai will make his 300th NRL appearance.
• Eels halfback Mitchell Moses has scored 60 points in his last four games against the Knights.
• Knights five-eighth Fletcher Sharpe has scored six tries in his last five games.