Roosters Bring the Heat to Townsville in Dominant Display

There was plenty of emphasis on physicality in the opening stages of the contest, with both sides determined to gain ascendency through the middle of the field as Waerea-Hargreaves and Radley made their intent known.

A soaring Paul Momirovski handled early kick pressure with ease, and it was appropriate that he opened the Roosters' account soon after as Daniel Tupou took advantage of a towering bomb to tap the ball down for his centre to score. 

After seven minutes, the Roosters took a 4-nil lead following an unsuccessful conversion.

The strong start continued as the likes of Siosiua Taukeiaho and Nat Butcher made further inroads up the middle, but much like the Cowboys had done minutes earlier, the Roosters conceded back-to-back penalties to give their opponents an early chance of reply.

A ricocheting kick handed the home side another six tackles, but the Bondi Wall held up and Momirovski continued to diffuse aerial raids to hand his side possession following multiple sets on the line. 

James Tedesco and Sam Walker looked to use the dry track to their advantage as they caused havoc for their opponents, while Radley pulled off a bone-rattling textbook tackle on Cowboys captain Jason Taumalolo soon after. 

Sitili Tupouniua proved his prowess on both sides of the ball, executing a big hit to hand his side possession before forcing a line drop out with a deft kick and making a half break to put his side in prime position to score. 

Soon enough a Luke Keary cut-out pass sent Kevin Naiqama through, and with the halfback taken out of play illegally, the Cowboys were down to twelve men with the visitors on the attack.

Another opportunity was squandered with a lost ball on the line, but quick hands out the back saw Keary and Tedesco send Joseph Manu over from a right-side shift to extend the lead. 

Despite a second missed conversion, the Roosters took an 8-nil lead with just over twelve minutes remaining in the first half - but the best was yet to come. 

Tedesco continued to scheme through the ruck, while Taukeiaho pulled off a potential try-saving tackle on a runaway Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow as the men from Bondi regained composure and looked to turn the screws.

Another shift to the right proved fruitful despite Naiqama being tackled on the line as Manu called on his ball-playing skills to send Radley through a gap to dive over, with the Roosters taking a 14-nil lead with just over eight minutes left in the first half.

The Cowboys pulled out a trick of their own as Valentine Holmes regathered a short kick-off, but it was Manu to the rescue as he pummeled his opposite into touch short of the line. 

Daniel Tupou found himself in space soon after, and the momentum was well and truly in the Roosters' favour as the Kiwi ace sent a flick pass to send Naiqama over for his first try in the Tricolours.

With Walker's sideline conversion, the lead grew to a commanding 20 points, and despite the Cowboys' best efforts with the ball in the remaining five minutes, the Roosters continued to deny the home side in a convincing first half. 

Manu continued his rampage through the second half, taking a Keary bomb to score following a Connor Watson break that saw Tedesco screaming through the line, and the lead extended to 24 points after just three and a half minutes on resumption.

Trent Robinson's men continued to dominate across the park, holding off raid after raid with committed defence, and another professional foul saw Griffin Neame sent to the sin-bin as they welcomed another opportunity to continue their try-scoring streak. 

While the home side threw a counter-attack after picking off a wayward pass, the Roosters failed to yield as Keary collected a threatening grubber through the line - and ironically the mercurial halfback did so again on the other side of the field to score, only for a bunker intervention to overturn the call.  

Heading into the final quarter of the match, an unlucky knock-on combined with weight of possession saw Murray Taulagi touching down for the home side, closing the gap with less than fifteen minutes on the clock.

A powerful shot from the kick-off saw the Steeden dislodged and back in the hands of the Roosters, before an almighty group effort sent the Cowboys into their in-goal, only for Kyle Feldt to scoop up a pass to ground soon after. 

North Queensland looked to get on the board again as Taulagi thought he had his second before a forward pass was unsuccessfully challenged, and were then down to twelve men for a third time as captain Chad Townsend was marched to the sin-bin.

Daniel Tupou inched closer to claiming the Club's all-time try-scoring record as he leapt over to score soon after, with the scoreline extending to 28-4 as the Roosters' attack continued to flow with expansive play capping off a dominant victory. 

The Sydney Roosters will remain in Queensland this week ahead of the Round 5 clash against the Brisbane Broncos on Friday night. 

Roosters Members will have the opportunity to attend the Round 5 captain's run in Brisbane - click here to register! 

 

Sydney Roosters 28 (Joseph Manu 2, Paul Momirovski, Victor Radley, Kevin Naiqama, Daniel Tupou tries; Sam Walker 2 goals) def North Queensland Cowboys 4 (Murray Taulagi try)