Cooper Cronk and James Tedesco have showed why the Sydney Roosters are an NRL premiership force after combining to lead their side to a 30-12 win over Canterbury.
The Roosters were leading by 12 midway through the second half on Friday when Cronk put Tedesco through a gap before backing him up to finish off a 60-metre movement.
Bulldogs captain Josh Jackson gave his side a chance after crossing in the 62nd minute, but the Roosters sealed their first win of the season with a penalty goal and Ryan Matterson try.
The Cronk-Tedesco connection was easily the highlight for the 12,229 crowd, with Tedesco also scoring his first try for the club and assisting on a Luke Keary four-pointer.
Winger Blake Ferguson was also in form at Allianz Stadium, carrying the ball for a game-high 204 metres, while Tedesco finished with eight tackle busts and 163 metres.
Trent Robinson’s side also had to overcome the sin-binning of Isaac Liu in the first half.
But the win is likely to have come at a cost, with winger Daniel Tupou suspected to have torn a pectoral muscle attempting to pressure a Kieran Foran kick in the first half.
The win leaves rookie Bulldogs coach Dean Pay without a win after a challenging two-week initiation that included a first-round loss to defending premiers Melbourne.
The match began ominously for Pay’s men, who had to chase down Tupou following a long-range break from Latrell Mitchell in just the third minute.
But Roosters fans didn’t have to wait long to open the scoring, with Keary and Ferguson crossing twice in the space of five minutes.
The Bulldogs had a chance to hit back when Liu was sin-binned for a professional foul in the 21st minute, resulting in six straight sets on the Roosters line.
Marcelo Montoya thought he had cut the lead for the Bulldogs in the 25th minute, but the bunker overturned the decision after ruling Matt Frawley caught the ball behind a decoy runner.
Dylan Napa made it a three-try lead at halftime when he ran over Jackson to set up Tedesco.
Roosters forward Mitch Aubusson also came off midway through the second half after a copping friendly fire from skipper Jake Friend that required ten stitches.