Sydney Roosters vs Canterbury highlights: NRL Finals scores, result

Match Results:

Sydney Roosters 38
Canterbury Bulldogs 12

The Sydney Roosters are off to the preliminary final, following a 26-point win over the Canterbury Bulldogs at Allianz Stadium, where the scoreboard didn’t reflect the closeness of the match, and we witnessed one of the most controversial refereeing decisions of the season.

In what was a highly physical and for large patches a very sloppy encounter, the Roosters ran away with the game during the second half.

However, for much of the first hour it was debatable who was on top, with momentum swinging back and forth as neither team could gain ascendency due to high error and penalty counts.

for the Roosters, Jackson Hastings controlled the game with assistance from James Maloney, who was good in patches. The forwards all played well, led by Boyd Cordner, who looked dangerous with every run, while Shaun Kenny-Dowall managed to bag a hatrick and was electric in general play.

The Bulldogs will undoubtedly be upset with the result, with Tim Lafai, Moses Mbye, James Graham and Frank Pritchard their best on ground. Brett Morris also had some very good runs and was close to scoring a few times.

Early in the contest, the Bulldogs looked to have the upper hand. Their defence was incredibly hard-hitting and the Roosters were barely holding the Bulldogs out.

So when the Chooks finally worked their way up the field and received a penalty it was unsurprising they elected to take the penalty goal to take the early lead.

However, a try off the very next set hurt the Bulldogs the most. After racing downfield, Kenny-Dowall crossed in the corner for his first try off a perfectly executed bat-back from a Hastings kick.

Leading 8-0, there was a long delay in scoring, as neither team seemed able to hold the ball. However, eventually Mbye put a grubber in for Lafai to score for the Bulldogs.

Missing the conversion, the halftime score was 8-4 after another sequence of dropped balls, penalties and missed opportunities in what was still proving to be an entertaining game.

After the break, both teams made two errors in the first four minutes.

After more errors, the Roosters got themselves on the attack and one of the most controversial decisions of the season followed.

What looked to be an average charge-over effort from Kane Evans seemed to be stopped. However, the referee sent it up to the video referee, with the on-field decision of try. Despite no angles showing the ball hitting the try line, and a lot of doubt, the four points were given.

It burst the game wide open.

Off the next set, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck scored a long-range try from one of the best offloads you are ever likely to see, from Evans.

The Bulldogs bounced back through Damian Cook, who scored his own long-range effort thanks to Pritchard bursting through the line and a final offload off the ground from Josh Morris.

However, the comeback was short-lived as Kenny-Dowall got his second try four minutes later due to some very poor defence.

Cordner then scored with a powerful effort, before Kenny-Dowall got his hatrick off a perfectly executed kick.

Curtis Rona scored off a long pass in the final minute as a consolation for the Bulldogs.

The Evans try was obviously controversial, however the Bulldogs still had plenty of time to come back and didn’t play well at all during the final 25 minutes, as the Roosters turned the screws.

The Roosters are off to Brisbane next week, while the Bulldogs can make plans for Mad Monday.

Match Preview:

After a disappointing performance last week, minor premiers the Sydney Roosters take on the Canterbury Bulldogs in the first NRL semi-final. Join The Roar for live coverage from 7:30pm (AEST).

In the first qualifying final last weekend, with a chance to be just 80 minutes from the grand final, the Roosters produced perhaps their worst, most lacklustre performances of the season to go down to the Melbourne Storm.

Now, instead of a much-needed week off they take on the Bulldogs in what will be a bruising encounter.

The Bulldogs themselves are coming off a very physical, up-and-down game against the St George Illawarra Dragons, winning in extra time.

While the Bulldogs won’t be entirely happy with that performance, there were massive elements of improvement from their wins against the New Zealand Warriors and the Newcastle Knights that closed out the regular season. Their defence was committed, and at times their attack looked to be flowing.

Still, a massive improvement is needed if they want to beat the Roosters.

In team news, the Roosters named Mitchell Pearce in the halves, with Jackson Hastings back to the bench and Suaia Matagi becoming the 18th man. However as of Thursday night there were rumours Pearce had failed a fitness test and would not feature.

The Bulldogs have named an unchanged side from the one that defeated the Dragons, only adding Lloyd Perrett to the bench. Frank Pritchard had a suspension hanging over his head, but has been cleared to play.

The battle of the fullbacks is going to be an exciting one. Brett Morris has had less impact since Trent Hodksinon was injured and needs to be injected into the game more, while Roger Tuivasa-Sheck has been fantastic all season.

Prediction
The Roosters should have enough motivation and skill to get over the line. The Bulldogs just haven’t been good enough of late.

Roosters by 12.

Join The Roar for live coverage of this clash from 7:30pm (AEST), and don’t forget to comment if you’re following along with the action.

Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde