NRL scores: Roosters beat Dragons on field goal, Storm hits Warriors after slow start

Luke Keely’s boot saved the Sydney Roosters and helped them survive the grave horrors of Anzac Day, defeating St George Illawarra 27-26 in a dramatic clash.

Going 26-10 with half an hour remaining, the Roosters suddenly seemed to be gone when Tyrell Sloan turned it on to help the Dragons level at 26-26.

Red V looked like the favorites to win when Victor Radley sinned with a high shot after what appeared to be a head-on collision with Michael Moro.

Radley’s third offense in three games prompted Roosters captain James Tedesco to accuse referee Adam Gee of prejudice.

Ashton Collier Medal winner Keeley scored a field goal with six minutes remaining. This was the first real test of the new attack by Joey Manu of the Roosters.

However, the victory came at some cost as winger Daniel Tupou suffered a hamstring injury that could seriously affect New South Wales and their country of origin.

After a week of talks over Sam Walker’s firing and Manu’s move to the half, the Roosters’ offense looked at its most fluent in the first half of the season.

Against a Dragons defense that was divided down the middle, Keely dummyed through from close range and scored one try as Radley starred.

One occurred when Rock reached the line and holed Egan Butcher for Tedesco to score, and Radley scored another from a superb face ball by Jared Walea Hargreaves.

Manu also justified a move to the five-eight when he scored another four points after half-time, coming close to the ball and running it after the final Keely pass, trailing two lines.

At 26-10 at that point, it looked as though the Roosters would get away and score.

Enter Sloan.

The full-back’s first step passed Josef Aukso Suaari and Keeley before winger Tautau Moga delivered a crossed flick.

From the next set, he put Moses Suri into a hole, pressed inside, stepped on Jackson Paulo and went under the post.

Moments later, he handed off to Suli, who fended off two Roosters on the spot and found Moga to put the ball down for the third try.

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Sloan then missed an opportunity to lead the Dragons when he was unable to collect Taratau Amone’s grabber kick when he lunged near the line.

But it was the experience of Keely and Joey Manu, returning to halfback, that saw him knock over a field goal when the latter ran out of dummy half to come up with the winning play.

The result leaves the Dragons 2-5 in 13th place, putting more pressure on uncontracted coach Anthony Griffin.

Storm sees Warriors off after slow start

Nelson Asofa Solomona has shown why he is wanted as the Storm giants changed Melbourne’s ways in their first game after coming back from injury in a clash with Anzac Day.

The Storm took on the Warriors in their annual game at AAMI Park with a thrilling 30-22 victory, extending their winning streak to 14 games over their rivals over the Tasman.

The match was balanced until Star Storm hooker Harry Grant muscled across the line with four minutes remaining.

The Warriors’ loss was compounded by another knee injury to skipper Tofu Harris, who was assisted from the ground late in the first half.

They finished without a player on the bench, losing Chanze Nicole Krokstad and Bailey Sironen to head knocks and Jaz Tevaga to a possible Achilles tendon injury.

The Warriors got off to a strong start, quickly erasing the memory of last year’s 60-point horror show when Jackson Ford, Darin Watten Zelezniak and Adin Fonua Blake found a huge hole in the Storm’s defense and led 18-6.

However, the game changed when prop Asofa Solomona came off the bench in the first match since suffering a knee injury in the second round in the 21st minute.

He soon put the home side up front with a series of barn-raiding runs that caught the eye of Wallabies coach Eddie Jones, who convinced him to switch codes.

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Also in sight of the big-spending Dolphins, the Kiwi international finished with 148 run-meters from 14 runs and 20 tackles in 59 minutes.

Cameron Munster, who booted a brilliant 40-20 to set up the Storm’s first try scored by Justin Oram, leapt past himself in the 34th minute to close the gap to 18-12.

Warriors playmaker Dylan Walker has been charged and reported for an alleged high shot that saw Storm back rower Eli Katoa fail an HIA.

The Warriors scored first when Watene Zelezniak scored the second in the second half despite putting down their opponents, but that was all the visitors had to celebrate.

With the Warriors downing their forces, the Storm fought back with fullback Nick Meaney making the most of two kicks into the in-goal before Grant scored the win.

Fixtures

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