The Sydney Roosters have overcome a spate of controversial calls to pip Canterbury 36-32 in an NRL Sunday afternoon classic at the Sydney Football Stadium.
A 75th minute try to second rower Mitch Aubusson completed a brave comeback from the Roosters, who had been down 30-18 early in the second half after a dubious forward pass call against them had led to a Luke Patten try.
Down 24-18 at the break, the Roosters scored the last three tries to send a crowd of 19,121, which had been livid moments earlier, into rapture.
A host of controversial calls had threatened to overshadow a cracking clash.
Roosters fans were left fuming by two forward pass decisions and a no-try to skipper Braith Anasta ruled by video referee Sean Hampstead.
A 29th-minute try to Dogs prop Michael Hodgson appeared to come moments after a pass from dummy half Michael Ennis had travelled forward.
And a controversial call on Anasta’s quick hands to Joey Leilua a minute after the break, with the Bulldogs leading 24-18, had the crowd seeing red.
But all hell broke loose when man-of-the-match Anasta, in brilliant form for his 200th game, was ruled to have knocked on in the 53rd minute when he pinched his own grubber from 300-gamer Brett Kimmorley and a try was disallowed.
When Leilua scored his second in the 62nd minute, a Roosters comeback began before a Bryson Goodwin penalty goal provided some breathing space for the Dogs at 32-24.
Todd Carney’s second, in the 71st minute, made it a two-point ball game before Aubusson’s late clincher.
The Bulldogs’ halftime lead had come after the visitors finished a sizzling first half the stronger.
Intent on all-out attack, the sides traded tries from the fourth minute, when Roosters back Leilua outleapt the Bulldogs defence to grab a Mitchell Pearce bomb and score.
Ennis had a hand in three of the Bulldogs’ first half four-pointers, crossing for his own from dummy half in the 11th minute.
Josh Morris latched on to a Ben Barba grubber in the 21st before Carney completed a brilliant move from Pearce, hauling in the halfback’s pinpoint grubber three minutes later.
Canterbury, though, scored the last two tries of the half, although the first looked to have come after a blatant forward pass from Ennis, to finally lead the match in the 39th minute.
Ennis sent Hodgson over in the 29th minute and Micky Paea in the 39th.
The Roosters won three straight for the first time since 2008, while the Bulldogs are in trouble six points outside the top eight.
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