Teenage sensation Sam Walker scored a try and set up another as the Roosters overcame the loss of James Tedesco to shine on Anzac Day with a commanding 34-10 win over the Dragons at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Tedesco’s first clash in charge as Roosters captain on the historic occasion ended early with the fullback failing a HIA following a swinging arm from Dragons winger Jordan Pereira in the 34th minute.
The incident resulted in Pereira spending 10 minutes on the sidelines in an act of foul play that had Australian coach Mal Meninga saying Pereira should’ve been sent off.
“The question is could he have pulled out of that tackle, and I think he could have,” Immortal Mal Meninga told Fox League.
“He’s gone through with the tackle, the ball’s gone past Tedesco with a touch of the hands to the winger.
“It’s late, and I think it should have been a send-off.”
However, the fullback’s exit from the game, if anything, sparked the Roosters to life with 18-year-old Sam Walker, named winner of the Anzac Medal as man of the match, and Joey Manu stepping up to get the side home in front of a healthy 37,620 crowd.
Walker’s dazzling footwork was on show as the Roosters peppered Pereira’s vacant edge in the final six minutes of the first half with two tries setting up a 16-6 lead after an arm wrestle early.
From there, the Roosters went up another gear in the second period with a further three tries – one of which included Walker showing strength to weave his way over the line.
St George Illawarra looked shell-shocked in comparison with their opening 20 minutes of the game when Lindsay Collins charged over the line in simple fashion to extend the lead.
An individual effort from Manu, who took advantage of flimsy goal-line defence from Josh McGuire and Andrew McCullough, put the game beyond doubt despite Mikaele Ravalawa snatching a late try.
Both coaches made changes prior to kick-off with Jack Bird moving to five-eighth for the Dragons and Sam Verrills making his return from a knee injury for the Roosters via the interchange.
The clash started in frantic fashion with three errors inside the opening minute soon compounded by a clumsy high shot from Tyrell Fuimaono on Tedesco that landed him on report.
However, the Roosters’ decision to take a penalty shot backfired with Walker’s attempt sailing wide before the Tricolours conceded a six-again that sent the Dragons downfield.
Griffin’s gamble on Bird almost paid immediate dividends until the Bunker overturned a try in the seventh minute following a Roosters error in-goal.
The Roosters weren’t out of trouble, however, with back-to-back sets from the Dragons setting the tone for Tariq Sims to crash over the line from an Andrew McCullough short ball.
That’s where the momentum ended for the Red V though, with the side failing to respond once Pereira was given his marching orders.
Source: NRL News