Addo-Carr in overdrive as Bulldogs stun Roosters
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A dazzling double from Josh Addo-Carr has led the Bulldogs to an upset 16-12 win over the Roosters at Accor Stadium on Saturday night.
Heading into the game on a six-game losing streak and with their skipper Josh Jackson sidelined by COVID, the Bulldogs dug deep to stun the star-studded Roosters outfit.
The Bulldogs struck the first blow of the night in the 14th minute when Addo-Carr caught the Roosters napping with a short side raid out of dummy half and carried two defenders over the line to score.
Come the 21st minute and 'The Foxx' had a double as he took an intercept on his own 10-metre line and raced 90 metres to touch down and the underdogs were up 10-0.
The Roosters were made to wait until the 39th minute to grab their first try when Joseph Suaalii flew high to pull down a Luke Keary cross field kick and the score was 10-4 at the break.
Addo-Carr catches the Roosters napping
A pair of Bulldogs blunders early in the second half opened the door for the Roosters to hit back and it was James Tedesco who scythed through two tacklers to grab a four-pointer and the margin was two.
Replays suggested it may have been a lucky try as Angus Crichton lost the ball in the previous tackle but the bunker can't go back and check the previous play so the try stood.
Bulldogs five-eighth Matt Burton's second 40-20 of the season in the 54th minute put his team on the attack and Matt Dufty delivered a superb lofted pass for Jayden Okunbor to score.
Tedesco flicks the switch
Trailing 16-8 and needing to respond the Roosters instead put the kick-off out on the full and then conceded two six-agains but they hung on courtesy of some great scramble defence by Keary and bomb defusal by Adam Keighran.
With six minutes to play the Roosters launched their comeback with a try to Sitili Tupouniua off a Keary kick and the Bulldogs were left clinging to a 16-12 lead.
Joseph Manu then produced a miracle pass for Suaalii to dive for the corner but the young winger's foot went into touch and the try was denied.
The Roosters then launched another raid but Victor Radley lost the ball in front of the posts and the Bulldogs hung on for a memorable win.
Suaalii denied by a whisker
The Roosters now sit at 4-4 on the season while the Bulldogs' second win of the year draws them level on four competition points with the Titans, Tigers, Knights and Raiders.
Having conceded 148 points in their previous four games the Bulldogs put the steel back in their defence to concede just 12 points to a potent Roosters side.
Match: Bulldogs v Roosters
Round 8 -
home Team
Bulldogs
15th Position
away Team
Roosters
7th Position
Venue: Accor Stadium, Sydney
Match snapshot
- Josh Addo-Carr has scored 10 tries in his past 12 games against the Roosters.
- With Josh Jackson sidelined by COVID the Bulldogs were captained by Luke Thompson and Josh Addo-Carr.
- Bulldogs bench forward Billy Tsikrikas was placed on report in the first half for a hip drop tackle on Sitili Tupouniua.
- James Tedesco enjoyed a night out for the Roosters with 301 running metres, 11 tackle breaks and a try, his 11th in nine games against the Dogs.
- Victor Radley produced a typically wholehearted performance for the Roosters with 26 runs for 164 metres and 33 tackles.
- The Roosters completed just 28 of 43 sets at 65 per cent.
- Jake Averillo was forced from the field with 10 minutes remaining for a HIA.
Play of the Game
After missing out in his first five games as a Bulldog, Josh Addo-Carr has exploded back to form in recent weeks with one try against the Rabbitohs, a double against the Broncos and another double tonight. After getting over from close range in the 14th minute he brought the blue and white army to their feet in the 21st minute when he swooped on a Sam Walker pass and raced 90 metres to grab the 107th try of his career in just 135 games.
No one is catching the Foxx from there
What They Said
"Tonight was the night when we finally got one of those close decisions go our way at the back end. Over the moon for the players. Some of them have had really tough weeks. Thommo [Luke Thompson] hasn't trained all week and the captain [Josh Jackson] with COVID. Billy [Tsikrikas] the school teacher is back in and he's over the moon. It was a great win and the club needed it. They just hung in and hung in and hung in. They're a good team and they're tough to beat."
- Bulldogs coach Trent Barrett
Bulldogs: Round 8
"I feel like we had enough opportunities to execute but we're just not finding that ability to pressure teams and execute tries and put some pressure back on teams. We're working really hard but there's quite a few areas we need to improve to nail those opportunities that we do get. I think we had line breaks but we're not creating them off combination play. There's a couple of different areas we've identified and we're working hard on but it's just not coming off but it's not far away." - Roosters coach Trent Robinson
Roosters: Round 8
What's Next
The Bulldogs travel to the national capital to take on the Raiders while the Roosters are taking a home game to Mackay to tackle the Titans. Daniel Tupou will return from suspension for Trent Robinson's men.
