Roosters’ remarkable NRL comeback falls short in Bulldogs clash

Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson expressed his disappointment following his team’s 30–26 defeat against the Canterbury Bulldogs on Friday evening, despite having 11 players on the field due to concussions and a player being sent off in round 5 of the 2024 NRL Premiership.

The Roosters had a disappointing start, falling behind 26-0 by halftime after losing players Sam Walker and James Tedesco to concussions and Dominic Young being sent off for a high tackle on Bulldogs fullback Blake Taaffe.

Robinson contested that Youngs tackle, though high, did not merit a sending off and should have resulted in a sin bin instead.

He also raised doubts about Victor Radley’s sin binning for a hip drop tackle, suggesting that Connor Watson was responsible for Crichton’s ankle injury.

“It’s lower than what’s been sent off before, and it just feels like we can set a new standard here again.” Robinson commented.

“And then Rads’ one, Rads’ one was ridiculous. Connor (Watson) is the one that tackles him from behind and twists his ankle, and then he falls on that ankle. How they got to that decision, that’s incredible. That was below par.”

Despite facing challenges, the Roosters staged a courageous comeback in the second half, narrowing the gap to six points with 22 minutes left.

Yet the Bulldogs increased their lead, causing the Sydney Roosters to fall short of completing their comeback effort.

Robinson recognised the start by the Bulldogs and commended his team’s performance in the second half while stressing the importance of improvement.

Expressing disappointment Roosters player Luke Keary mentioned

“The first half was quite embarrassing for us as a team.

Our effort to turn up like that as a playing group it’s not good enough,” he said.

“We need to have a good, hard look at ourselves. There’s obviously a mental thing, not physical or talent. We need to sort it out quickly as a playing group.”

Canterbury Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo acknowledged that it was a game and applauded the Roosters for their resilience.

Ciraldo commented, “They are opponents with fewer players on the field.

Our performance in the thirty minutes was exceptional and dipped significantly in the second half.”

Despite facing defeat, Robinson remains focused on improving and is committed to steering the Roosters on track.

The Roosters will look to regain their form and confidence next week as they head up to the Hunter region to face the Newcastle Knights, who just came off an impressive 30-10 win against the Dragons.

With Tedesco and Walker receiving concussions and Young and Radley on report, expect the leading NRL bookmakers to favour the home side in round 6.

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