Roosters de-claw tame Tigers

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Sydney Roosters v Wests Tigers

In a dominant performance from siren-to-siren, the Sydney Roosters have comfortably accounted for the Wests Tigers 40-6 at Allianz Stadium on Sunday night to close off the NRL's seventeenth round.

Coming off a bye with back-to-back victories under their belt, there was some promise that we would have a cracker of a game to finish round 17, but it became apparent early on that this was not to be the case.

With some emotion around Teddy playing his 150th for the club and Trent Robinson notching up 300 games as coach, the Roosters came out firing early.

They looked to be aiming attacks down their right side, seizing on the Tigers' left side, which was seeming to jam up and display an uneven line of defence. 

The Tigers were staying in the game to a degree, even getting down to the Roosters line, but it would be the story of their night, as they continued to give the ball back from errors right when they were looking dangerous.

It proved costly, as the Rooster would quickly take advantage of the weak defensive line and march back down to the Tigers quarter.

What would be the first of many tries came at the 14-minute mark after some slick movement through the hands on the Rooster's right gave Dominic Young the space he needed to go over the line.

Rattled, the Tigers would allow the big Brit another chance after Conor Watson found some space in the middle. It ended with Young taking his second try at the 16-minute mark.

A penalty for a high shot from Brent Naden on Angus Crichton gave the Roosters the ball at halfway, and a quick bust down their right saw them swing it back in for Terrell May in the middle, coming in too big and too quick, pushing the score out to 16 - 0 after Sam Walker's conversion.

Even though the score looked ominous, the Tigers were still in the game, but their defensive line was opening up canyons for the Roosters to jog through. Still unable to pull it together, a kick on the Roosters line after a sustained attack reaped the reward for an ever-present Luke Keary, and the score looked painful for Tigers fans at 20 - 0, thirty-three minutes in.

The first half had both teams relatively even across the stats, but with 4 line breaks to zip for the Roosters and 25 missed tackles by the Tigers against only 11 from the Roosters, it was clearly their defence that was the issue.

They did have several chances, which they butchered every time they got to the line, and they were thankful the halftime hooter rang.

The Tigers' second half opened with a different tact of swinging the ball quickly, which may have shown some hope was on the horizon for the young Tigers. But it was to go nowhere again, with Jahream Bula getting to the Rooster's red zone only to pass after being tackled, and the wind went out of the Tiger's sails again.

It was clear the Tigers were not going to get roaring, and after some goal-line attacks, the gaps opened up in the 51st minute with Daniel Tupou going over.

It only went from bad to worse for the Tigers after some tension was started up in the middle by Api Koroisau against Linday Collins, which resulted in Api lifting Collins beyond what the officials were happy with, and he had a 10-minute rest for his troubles.

The 12-man team soon turned to 11, with Adam Doueihi sent to the sin bin after a hip drop on Dominic Young in the 63rd minute, which saw James Tedesco go over only a minute later.

The attrition rate of players meant a tired team was giving even more yawing gaps for the relentless Roosters, and Victor Radley came to the try party in the 66th minute, followed by Daniel Tupou again in the 69th.

The 40-0 score line sent the Roosters off to sleep early, and some lazy errors allowed the Tigers to finally take advantage down their end of the field, with Founa Pole scoring with Api converting, stopping a clean sheet, but still not hiding the shellacking they had just been dished out.

No communication or commitment to a defensive line was the Tigers' Achilles heel, and the failure to nip it in the bud meant they would be chasing their tales for the rest of the game.

The Roosters would likely be celebrating a little more if it wasn't for Joesph Manu getting a fractured hand around the 37th minute, and Coach Robinson won't be happy with the lads allowing a late try when they were clearly in the ascendancy.

The Tigers go into the next round looking to find their stripes again, while the Roosters make it three wins in a row and a top-four spot on the ladder.