Roosters do enough against gallant Bulldogs

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Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs v Sydney Roosters

The Sydney Roosters have posted back-to-back wins for the first time since Round 9, defeating the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 20-12 at ANZ Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Scoring three tries to two in a match played before 10,586 supporters, the Roosters continued their dominance against the Bulldogs to record their 12th win from 15 clashes during Trent Robinson's tenure.

Coming close to scoring through Cooper Cronk and Joseph Manu during the opening exchanges, James Tedesco (10th minute) put the visitors on the board following a superb offload from Jared Waerea-Hargreaves in the lead up.

Adding a penalty goal midway through the first half after Dylan Napa was placed on report for making late contact on his former teammate Victor Radley, Manu (26th minute) made amends for his earlier blemish to give the Roosters a 14-0 halftime lead.

Needing to be first to score to stand a chance against the reigning premiers, the Bulldogs were rewarded for building pressure via a try to Reimis Smith (55th minute) to reduce the scoreline to 14-6.

Losing possession from the restart, the blue and whites were made to pay for their lack of concentration as Brett Morris (59th minute) crossed out wide to secure the result.

Refusing to go away only to come undone with errors at key moments, the Bulldogs threatened to pull off a miracle when Smith (75th minute) posted his second, however time would ultimately run out as the Roosters held on for a deserved 20-12 victory.

In a serious concern for the Roosters' premiership aspirations, front rower Siosiua Taukeiaho was assisted off the field late in the match.

Next week the Bulldogs host the in-form Panthers at Bankwest Stadium on Saturday evening, while the Roosters return to the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday afternoon against the Titans.