The Sydney Roosters have delivered a dominant performance at Allianz Stadium, crushing the North Queensland Cowboys 34-4 in a one-sided affair on Saturday evening.
It was an emphatic statement from the Tricolours, who ran in six tries to one, with centre Billy Smith and captain James Tedesco leading the charge.
Smith crossed twice for a double, including a clinical finish off a James Tedesco line-break and another after a smooth backline shift, underlining his growing influence in the Roosters’ strike arsenal. The first of his tries came shortly after half-time, signalling a momentum swing that the Cowboys never recovered from.
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Tedesco, instrumental throughout, was involved in several key moments. He engineered the Savala-to-Smith play with sharp ball movement and later latched onto a deft grubber from Sandon Smith to score himself, extending the lead to 34-4 midway through the second half. He also produced a crucial one-on-one steal on John Bateman just before the break, keeping the Cowboys at bay.
Earlier, the Roosters surged to a 14-point halftime lead thanks to tries from Smith, Connor Watson — who finished off a sweeping move initiated by Robert Toia’s spectacular regather — and steady conversions from Sandon Smith. North Queensland’s only try came through Jaxon Burns, who muscled through two defenders to give the visitors a glimmer of hope late in the first half.
But the match turned into a blowout in the second stanza. Mark Nawaqanitawase grabbed a stunning intercept try, his 10th of the season, sprinting 35 metres after reading a Tom Dearden pass destined for Jeremiah Nanai. From that point on, it was all Sydney.
The Cowboys struggled to match the pace and execution of the Roosters, especially in the ruck where the hosts’ quick play-the-ball consistently caught their defensive line napping.
The win consolidates the Roosters’ position in the top four, while the Cowboys are left to regroup after one of their most disappointing defensive displays of the season. Making matters worse, they lost young forward Siua Wong to a suspected MCL injury early in the match.
With finals footy looming, the Roosters appear to be hitting their stride at just the right time.
