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Mark Kolbe/Getty Images
James Tedesco was one of the Roosters’ stand out players in their 20-12 win over the Warriors
At Allianz Stadium, Sydney: Roosters 20 (Jaxon Paulo 4 min, 47 min, Sam Walker 57 min tries; Sam Walker 4 goals). Warriors 12 (Wayde Egan 24 min, Addin Fonua-Blake 57 min tries; Shaun Johnson 2 goals). HT: 8-6
On report: Joseph Suaalii (Roosters), Marcelo Montoya (Warriors).
The Warriors paid a heavy price for not being able to take their chances in the 20-12 loss to the Roosters in Sydney on Saturday.
Losing by only eight points to a team as good as the Roosters sounds respectable, but Andrew Webster’s team had more than enough opportunities to at least get a draw, as they dominated the last 20 minutes but blew every chance they had.
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Warriors coach Andrew Webster had spoken about the importance of starting halves well after his team failed to do just that against the Knights last weekend and that continued to be a problem against the Roosters, conceding tries early in both halves at Allianz Stadium.
Mark Kolbe/Getty Images
Wayde Egan scored the Warriors’ opening try against the Roosters.
For large parts of the game the Warriors played well and they defended superbly.
But their biggest issue was self inflicted setbacks, whether that was from giving the Roosters repeat sets close to their line, or making errors when they had the ball to give up possession.
Without Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Matt Lodge and Victory Radley this was the best chance the Warriors have had in a while to end their losing streak against the Roosters, which stretches back to 2018.
But when pressure can’t be converted into points, there’s only one outcome.
The Warriors lost second rower Jackson Ford in just the second minute when he needed to go off for a HIA, which he failed, after running into Lindsay Collins.
Soon after the Roosters had two set restarts close to the Warriors’ line and when they moved the ball right, Jaxon Paulo had enough space to beat Marcelo Montoya into the corner.
Walker kicked a penalty for the Roosters in the 13th minute and at that point, his team had completed nine sets, while the Warriors completed only one.
In the 24th minute the Warriors got their first try, with Shaun Johnson popping a pass back to Wayde Egan as he was being held over the line by James Tedesco.
Eight minutes into the second half, the Roosters once more had a six again close to the Warriors line after a Warriors error and Paulo bagged his second four-pointer.
A win was looking likely for the Roosters when Joseph Suaalii ripped through the Warriors defence from near the halfway line, with the centre then offloading the ball to Sam Walker to score.
But with 19 minutes to go Marata Niukore made a run through the middle and then found Addin Fonua-Blake who completed the attack for the try.
The momentum stayed the Warriors’ way and with 10 minutes to go the Roosters’ defence was almost stretched to breaking point, but inexplicably, when Ed Kosi was tackled a couple of metres from the line, there wasn’t a dummy half at the play the ball and the Roosters got out of jail.
There was more of that type of stuff over the last few minutes from the Warriors. If Webster wasn’t sure how frustrating it can be at times to coach this club, he certainly does now.
AT A GLANCE
The big moment
Losing Jackson Ford after just two minutes was a significant blow for the Warriors, considering how well he played against the Knights last weekend.
Match rating
6/10: The first half wasn’t much to write home about, but the game did open up over the second 40 minutes, with Sam Walker finishing off the best try of the game.
The big picture
The Warriors have failed in their mission to win their first two games of the season for just the fourth time in the club’s history, but there were promising signs from them. However, the heavy injury toll from this game could be costly.
MVP
Joseph Suaalii was incredible for the Roosters, running the ball for over 200 metres and setting up a try for Sam Walker. No wonder Eddie Jones is so desperate to get him in a Wallabies jersey.
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