Match Details
Match Date	21st May, 2017
Opponent	Sydney Roosters
Result	Loss 18-24
Coach	Des Hasler
Captain	James Graham
Venue	Homebush (ANZ Stadium)
Crowd	15,090
Referee	Gerard Sutton Alan Shortall

The Latrell Mitchell-inspired Roosters held off a spirited Canterbury fightback to notch a six-point win on Sunday, as Mitchell Pearce scored the match-winner to all but seal his inclusion in Laurie Daley’s NSW Blues side.

Pearce slammed the ball down with four minutes to go to kill off the Bulldogs, who had looked like stealing a late win despite trailing by 14 points at half-time thanks to second-half tries to Kerrod Holland and Matt Frawley.

With nine minutes to go, referee Gerard Sutton looked to have awarded Canterbury six again with the Bulldogs attacking the line, but the decision was overturned and possession went back to the Roosters.

The margin was two points at the time and the Bulldogs were threatening strongly, but the decision seemed to deflate the Canterbury sails and five minutes later Pearce sealed the deal.

But it was 19-year-old Mitchell who stole the show on Sunday – certainly in the first half, as the young flier from Taree scored a try and helped set up two more, although he didn’t finish the game after leaving the field with 20 minutes to go nursing what appeared to be a sternum injury.

He’ll likely be overlooked when Daley names his Origin team on Monday, but the classy speedster is quickly developing into a long term option at centre for NSW.

Meanwhile, the man who should be wearing No.7 in game one against the Maroons on Wednesday week played another steadying role for the Roosters as the Bondi outfit made hard work of a Canterbury side that refused to wilt after a poor opening 40 minutes.

This match pitted one of the NRL’s best first-half teams against one of its strongest finishers, and that’s exactly how this game played out. Bulldogs coach Des Hasler delivered another rousing half-time team talk as his side found itself 20-6 down when it went into the sheds, looking to emulate the comeback win it produced three weeks ago against the Raiders.

Yet the Dogs gamely fell short, suffering their sixth loss of the year despite a tireless performance from Josh Jackson who looks to have done enough to earn himself a Blues jumper. Rooster Dylan Napa was also superb and will give Maroons coach Kevin Walters plenty to think about ahead of naming the Queensland side.

Hasler’s side came out barking and were easily the best side for 10 minutes, before the Roosters kicked into gear and took full control.

Josh Morris stepped through some ordinary defence just six minutes in to score his third try against the Roosters this season.

The Bulldogs were switched on, tackling strongly and completing their sets but the speed at which it all unravelled was quite remarkable. On 13 minutes Daniel Tupou walked over in the left corner after a splendid no-look pass from Mitchell helped Michael Gordon feed his winger.

Off the next set of six the Roosters scored again, thanks to some more Mitchell magic down the left. This time Tupou put him into space and the rangy centre looked set to score himself but was brought down short of the line.

He still managed to heave a pass in field and Jake Friend was the beneficiary.

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

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