Roosters raid Canberra

The Sydney Roosters bounced back from last week's 52-12 thrashing at the hands of South Sydney to produce a solid 28-4 win over the Raiders in sunny Canberra this afternoon, with Braith Anasta scoring two tries.

The Roosters started tentatively as the Raiders had the glut of possession in the early exchanges. The Raiders lack of technique and patience clearly lead to their downfall as they only got their first points just before the fulltime siren.

Minichiello was shaken early on but wasn't going to have a bar of it, his try opening up the scoring just before the halfhour mark.

The rest of the second half was enduring for both teams and a series of errors saw plenty of chances missed for both sides. The teams went into the sheds with the Roosters leading by a single try.

The second half started with the Raiders again controlling possession and territory but the Roosters' defence absorbed every attack and quite often Campese was left reeling in frustration.

Mitchell Pearce then helped open his team's second half account finding Ben Jones who fed Shaun Kenny-Dowall over in the corner. Craig Fitzgibbon added the conversion for the Roosters to take a 10-0 advantage.

The Raiders tried to grind it out but again missed several chances as Mark O'Meley smashed into Josh Miller sending the prop off and lowering the Raiders' bench to just one replacement after Glen Butriss had earlier left the field.

It took until the last quarter of the match for the scoring to increase with Anasta throwing a cutout pass to send Pearce over in the corner. Shaun Kenny-Dowall then showed a neat trick with a conversion to bring the Roosters to a nearly unbeatable scoreline of 16-0.

Braith Anasta put the final nail in the coffin of the homeside with two quick tries inside five minutes increasing the Roosters lead to 28-0 with two Fitzgibbon conversions.

The Raiders had the final say as Adrian Purtell broke out and Bronson Harrison was on hand to give the Raiders their only points of the match on the fulltime siren, 28-4 the fulltime score.

Match Details Sydney Roosters 28 def Canberra Raiders 4 Round 2 :: Sunday, March 22nd, 2009 Venue: Canberra Stadium Crowd: Referee: Jared Maxwell & Gerard Sutton Touch Judges: Mohamad Fajajo & David Abood Video Ref: Tim Mander

Canberra Raiders (4) Tries: Bronson Harrison Goals: Terry Campese (0/1) Sydney Roosters (28) Tries: Anthony Minichiello, Shaun Kenny-Dowall, Mitchell Pearce, Braith Anasta (2) Goals: Mitchell Pearce (0/1), Craig Fitzgibbon (2/3), Shaun Kenny-Dowall (1/1)

LeagueUnlimited.com Player of the Match 3 Points: Braith Anasta (Roosters) 2 Points: Shaun Kenny-Dowall (Roosters) 1 Point: Craig Fitzgibbon (Roosters)

LeagueUnlimited.com Live Commentary Welcome to Sunday's Rugby League at Canberra Stadium. Can the Green Machine bounce back from their 34-26 loss to the Tigers? Or can the Roosters erase the memory of last Sunday's mauling at the hands of Souths? See you in a few minutes.

RAIDERS: 1. David Milne 2. Phil Graham 3. Adrian Purtell 4. Joel Monaghan 5. Justin Carney 6. Terry Campese 7. Marc Herbert 8. David Shillington 9. Glen Butriss 10. Josh Miller 11. Glen Turner 12. Bronson Harrison 13. Alan Tongue (c) Interchange: 15. Trevor Thurling 16. Joe Picker 19. Troy Thompson 20. Jarrod Croker 22. Tom Learoyd-Lahrs

ROOSTERS: 1. Anthony Minichiello 2. Sam Perrett 3. Mitchell Aubusson 4. Sia Soliola 5. Shaun Kenny-Dowall 6. Braith Anasta (c) 7. Mitchell Pearce 8. Mark O'Meley 9. James Aubusson 10. Nate Myles 20. Willie Mason 12. Craig Fitzgibbon 13. Setaimata Sa Interchange: 11. Lopini Paea 14. Frank-Paul Nuuausala 15. Shane Shackleton 18. Ben Jones

1st min: Kickoff and we're away! Let's see how this pans out. Two teams who finished strongly last year, can they get rid of the cobwebs?

6th min: Possession heavily favouring the Raiders here. 69% - 31%.

23rd min: Minichiello for the line! No! He just loses it. Beautiful jink and run from the fullback but a vital chance lost.

25th min: Minchiello is looking a little groggy for the Roosters. He's in quite some pain as he get some assistance from the trainers.

28th min: TRY Sydney Roosters But he's back on his feet now and he goes in out wide! First try for the Roosters and a brave Anthony Minichiello! Who is then assisted from the field. Huge blow for his team. Pearce misses the conversion. 4-0 Conversion attempt by Mitchell Pearce unsuccessful. Sydney Roosters 4-0

31st min: Pearce kicks on the last but it skews off the side of his boot and sails into touch on the full. Poor play from the young half.

33rd min: Monaghan is impeded by Aubusson and the Raiders get a penalty.

35th min: Emotions running a little wild here this afternoon as Soliola is taken out in midair by Campese. Penalty to the Roosters and Anasta clears the ball.

36th min: It's becoming scrappy as Myles loses the ball and Sa gives away a penalty to the Raiders after the Roosters were in good field position. Can the Raiders get over the whitewash before halftime?

40th min: Halftime in Canberra. The half finished off in messy fashion. Hopefully these two sides can hold onto the ball more in the 2nd period but at the break a lone try to Anthony Minichiello who limped off earlier sees the Roosters take a slender lead of 4 points to nil.

41st min: Secondhalf and we're back underway!

42nd min: Raiders 5 metres out! On the attack, spreading it wide. Picker to Campese who chips over the top and Jones covers it in the in-goal. Butriss is leaving the field and Tongue has shifted to Hooker.

43rd min: Penalty to the Raiders. Tap 42 metres out from the Roosters line. Campese taps it.

45th min: Last tackle for the Raiders, chip from Herbert! Harrison taps it down! But has it gone forward off Monaghan? Going upstairs...

46th min: No try! Chances going begging!

47th min: Learoy-Lahrs knocks it forward and Furner must be tearing his hair out! Another chance lost! Turnovers galore!

50th min: Croker goes for a run, loses it and the Roosters will get the ball 35 metres out from their own line. 6 dropped balls in the second half so far. Sydney Roosters 4-0 Sydney Roosters 4-0

54th min: TRY Sydney Roosters Kenny-Dowall scores in the corner! Beautiful hands from the Roosters! Fitzgibbon adds the conversion. 10-0 to the Roosters. Conversion attempt by Craig Fitzgibbon successful. Sydney Roosters 10-0

57th min: Miller colides with O'Meley! Ouch! Miller isn't looking too good.

60th min: The Raiders attacking, they need this but it's intercepted by the Roosters. Poor play and there's a lack of patience.

62nd min: Herbert chips through and the Roosters loose it forward. Monaghan dives for the ball but it's called back for a scrum. Campese appeals to the referee but gets nothing. Scrum to the Raiders.

63rd min: Anasta chips it into touch just to slow things down and the Raiders will have a scrum. The Raiders are looking poor in attack, too much sideways action.

65th min: Penalty to the Raiders and Campese clears to 5 metres from the halfway line. Pearce intercepts the ball. Roosters on the attack now.

66th min: Kick is too big from the Roosters and the Raiders will have a tap restart.

67th min: Chip through from Campese and it's taken by Ben Jones. The Raiders seem to be out of ideas.

70th min: TRY Sydney Roosters Roosters spread the ball wide, Anasta cuts it out wide and Pearce goes in. That should be the match. Kenny-Dowall, oddly enough lines up the kick and gets it. 16-0 to the Roosters. Conversion attempt by Shaun Kenny-Dowall successful. Sydney Roosters 16-0

71st min: Campese chips over the top and once again the Roosters gobble it up. Tap restart for the Roosters.

73rd min: TRY Sydney Roosters Braith Anasta dots it down after another high kick. It's left by Carney, pretty soft try in the end as the Raiders just seem out of it. Fitzgibbon misses the conversion. 20-0 to the Roosters. Conversion attempt by Craig Fitzgibbon successful. Sydney Roosters 22-0.

78th min: TRY Sydney Roosters Anasta intercepts! He's away! They can't stop him! He's run 35 metres in for a try. He looks jubilant! Fitzgibbon adds the conversion. 28-0. Conversion attempt by Craig Fitzgibbon successful. Sydney Roosters 28-0

80th min: TRY Canberra Raiders Purtell's away! He's caught though. Quick play needed here and Harrison goes in! Campese lines up the conversion and misses it as the siren goes. Conversion attempt by Terry Campese unsuccessful. Sydney Roosters 28-4

Fulltime here in Canberra. The Raiders were ultimately beaten through skill and a lack of patience here. The Roosters took their chances and will be happy to bounce back with a 28-4 win after their 52-12 loss last week. Anasta is ecstatic, the Roosters are relieved as they will return home with the 2 points this afternoon. Wonderful performance after the lows of last week. The Raiders will have to go back to the drawing board, but they were not out enthused. Thanks for joining us.