Sydney Roosters record eighth successive NRL victory
Sunday 9 August 2015 22:08, UK
The Sydney Roosters staked their claim for the minor premiership title after beating the Newcastle Knights on Sunday.
The third-ranked Roosters are chasing league leaders Brisbane and second-placed North Queensland Cowboys and served notice with a 38-22 triumph over the Knights.
The Sydney side led 26-0 at half-time and overcame a shaky period in the second half, when the Knights scored four tries, to secure the two points.
Roosters coach Trent Robinson was happy with the winning run but said he was concerned about the lack of concentration in defence.
"Eight straight's really nice, but if you can learn lessons after a win, that's what we need to do," said Robinson.
"So our form has improved on one side of the ball, but we better get back to our 'D' on the other side. We need to improve our form."
The Broncos tasted defeat for the second consecutive week, going down 18-16 to the Canterbury Bulldogs on Friday.
The Bulldogs came from 10 points down to end their four-game losing streak in a thrilling match in Brisbane.
"We've won a lot of close games this year, we just happened to lose one tonight," said Broncos coach Wayne Bennett.
"We've lost it not because of a lack of effort or guys not turning up, like we did last week in Sydney.
"We turned up tonight, just didn't have the ball control necessary to win at this level."
The Cowboys also stumbled, losing 30-18 to the Cronulla Sharks on Saturday.
The disciplined Sharks led 14-0 at half-time. Despite a comeback by the Cowboys, led by playmakers Lachlan Coote and Johnathan Thurston, the Sharks confirmed their win with a last-minute try by Wade Graham that took them to an equal 28 points with fourth-placed South Sydney Rabbitohs.
The Rabbitohs paled in the face of a young Manly Sea Eagles side and struggled to maintain possession during their 28-8 loss.
Sixth-ranked Melbourne stormed to a 36-14 win over lowly Gold Coast Titans on Sunday, with full-back Cameron Munster the star as he scored a hat-trick.
The Titans started strongly, taking a 8-6 lead to the start of the second half before the Storm, which suffered a shock defeat to cellar-dwellers Wests Tigers last week, overpowered the visiting side.
Gareth Widdop starred as St George Illawarra Dragons whitewashed Sam Tomkins’ New Zealand Warriors 36-0 in Wellington, while Parramatta Eels kept their top-eight hopes alive with a dour 10-4 win over Penrith Panthers.
The Canberra Raiders take on the Wests Tigers in the last match of Round 22 on Monday.
