Match Details
Match Date	24th Aug, 2009
Opponent	Sydney Roosters
Result	Win 28-4
Coach	Kevin Moore
Captain	Andrew Ryan
Venue	Homebush (ANZ Stadium)
Crowd	12,298
Referee	Jared Maxwell Chris James

The Bulldogs have ensured the race for the minor premiership will go down to the wire after defeating the Sydney Roosters 28-4 at ANZ Stadium on Monday.

In a match that failed to reach any great heights, the Bulldogs did the minimum required against the cellar-dwelling Roosters to secure the two competition points and draw level with the Dragons atop the NRL table.

Early on we'd control the ball nicely, look promising then throw it away with a soft error. But we regrouped a bit, came home strongly and got the job done, said coach Kevin Moore.

Luke Patten finished with a first-half double while evergreen halfback Brett Kimmorley yet again showed glimpses of brilliance with ball-in-hand, playing a key role in four of the Bulldogs' five tries a fact not lost on captain Andrew Ryan.

He (Kimmorley) had spiders on him out on the right, said Ryan. 

He says it a million times he's loving his footy at the moment. He's got plenty of confidence, his kicking game is outstanding and he's leading us around the park really well.

After an opening period where both sides were guilty of poor ball retention, the Bulldogs finally got to their kick and reaped immediate reward.

A crossfield bomb from the boot of Kimmorley was knocked back by airborne centre Jamal Idris for trailing fullback Patten to scoop up and score.

Patten was over for his second try seven minutes later courtesy of a linebreak from the veteran half.

Kimmorley glanced to his outside, ran straight past dumbfounded centre Setaimata Sa before finding Patten on his inside.

The 32-year-old was in his element as he slipped through the line again moments later.

However this time the defence rounded him up and his hopeful kick for a hat-trick-hunting Patten rolled dead-in-goal.

The Roosters hit back in the 35th minute as they took advantage of cheap turnover ball from the Dogs and sent Ben Jones to the left-hand corner.

Craig Fitzgibbon's conversion attempt was denied by the upright, leaving the halftime score at 12-4.

Kimmorley didn't take long to impose himself in the second forty.

He launched a monster 40-20 kick, from which the Dogs spread left and found numbers - Josh Morris crashing through the attempted tackle to score his 16th try of the season.

In the 53rd minute Kimmorley again found holes on the right-side fringes of the defence and unleashed Greg Eastwood with a magical ball.

The versatile prop dummied fullback Sam Perrett before sending El Masri to the line.

As the match drew to a close, lock David Stagg received reward for yet another immense defensive performance with a try on the end of a one-armed offload from man mountain Jarrad Hickey.

With two rounds left before the NRL finals, coach Moore is content with the form of the team but believes there is still room for improvement.

Tonight our attack looked dangerous but then all of a sudden we'd break down and turn it over that still needs some work. But what's pleasing is that we're meeting the challenges that are thrown at us week after week.

Source: Evan Sieff

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