Roosters stay alive as Dolphins finals dream dies

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Sydney Roosters v Dolphins

The Sydney Roosters have soared to victory with a dominant second half to down the Dolphins 30-14 at Allianz Stadium.

Turning a halftime deficit into an emphatic result to keep their top eight hopes alive with three rounds remaining, the win held special significance for Roosters five-eighth Luke Keary who celebrated his 200th NRL appearance in style.

In an opening quarter which saw the Roosters dominate attacking opportunities and the crowd pay closer attention to the Matilda's penalty shootout heroics against France, the Dolphins struck the first blow with Ray Stone (24th minute) barging over next to the posts.

Taking their lead beyond a converted try with a late penalty goal to Jamayne Isaako, which saw the rejuvenated winger bring up 200 points for the season, the visitors were dealt a blow with Connelly Lemuelu ruled out with concussion.

Striking back with an important try with seconds remaining in the half, Joey Manu (40th minute) ran onto a pass from James Tedesco to send the Roosters to the sheds trailing 8-6.

Hitting the front early in the second half after a strong run from Billy Smith (43rd minute), the Roosters capitalised on Stone being sent to the sin bin for a high tackle on Drew Hutchison with Keary executing a cross-field kick for Joseph Suaalii (51st minute) to score.

Continuing the flow of points after Sandon Smith executed a 40/20 out of dummy half, the decision to take on the line paid dividends for Hutchison (55th minute) as the Roosters extended their lead to 24-8.

Sealing the result with Hutchison (64th minute) snaring his first career double, a late consolation four-pointer to Isaako (75th minute) saw the home side run out 30-14 winners.

Next week, the Roosters will hope to keep their season alive against the Eels at Commbank Stadium on Friday night, while the Dolphins will face the Tigers at the same venue on Saturday afternoon.