Sandon Smith shines as Roosters thump Dragons
Sandon Smith has ignited the Sydney Roosters' season and sent a message that he can be a long-term playmaker for the NRL glamour club after starring in a 46-18 win over St George Illawarra.
Smith scored two tries and kicked seven goals to chalk up 22 individual points as he won the Ashton-Collier Medal and piloted the Roosters (3-5) to victory in front of an Anzac Day crowd of 41,021 at Allianz Stadium on Friday.
The five-eighth even spent time in the sin bin for a high tackle on Lachlan Ilias but that was the sole blemish on arguably the most-impressive display of his 36-game NRL career.
Like his side, Smith's performances have been up and down to start 2025.
And at a time when the Roosters have been consistently linked to bringing outgoing Manly captain Daly Cherry-Evans to the club, Smith could have been forgiven for feeling like he was on borrowed time.
But the 22-year-old's performance will give Trent Robinson hope that Smith and Sam Walker, who is set to return from knee surgery in the next six weeks, can be a long-term combination for the Bondi club.
The Roosters went in knowing that a loss would have sent them to the bottom of the NRL ladder for the first time since 2016.
But Robinson's men shrugged off that pressure and hit the ground running when Smith scored in the third minute.
Smith dug into the line to create a right-to-left spread and then backed up Daniel Tupou on the inside to receive the winger's flick pass and cross.
The Dragons hit back five minutes later when Val Holmes jolted the ball loose from James Tedesco and winger Sione Finau raced 80m to score.
But that was about as good as it got for Shane Flanagan's side in the first half as Mark Nawaqanitawase powered over to push the Roosters further ahead.
After converting Nawaqanitawase's try, Smith added a penalty goal and then grabbed his second when he scooped up a loose ball and dummied past Clint Gutherson to give his side a 20-6 halftime lead.
The playmaker's dream afternoon hit a snare when soon after the break he was sin-binned for a high shot on Dragons halfback Ilias.
Smith's 10-minute absence did nothing to slow the Roosters down with bench forward Blake Steep tricking Gutherson with an identical dummy.
Kyle Flanagan scored for the Dragons just before Smith returned.
But the Roosters No.6 came back on set up Tedesco straight away.
The Roosters fullback added his second and set up halfback Hugo Savala in the final five minutes.
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Sydney Morning Herald
43 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
DCE's not good enough for Origin. Will he be good enough for the Roosters?
Shortly after the loss reports emerged he would need to show form for Manly to retain his spot. Bit of a leaky boat the Maroons camp. He responded and had a blinder in a 34-6 demolition of the Broncos on the back-up three days later. Despite that, he was suddenly auditioning for his position when Manly played the Knights. When Manly blew a 16-0 halftime lead in that match, his cards were marked and he was gone. On Friday night against the Titans, the decision seemed justified. Manly were awful in a 28-8 loss to the last-placed Titans. More often, Cherry-Evans is starting to look every bit of his 36 years. The inside word is the Roosters have not been put off by his patchy run. They want him for next year. The club makes no apologies about their driving ethos that it is all about winning premierships. Their Academy program, established in 2021, is starting to bear fruit, but the club's powerbrokers still want to pounce on opportunities rather than sit back and wait. And they think, in 2026, or at a push 2027, with Cherry-Evans and Sam Walker in the halves, it can happen. A key motivating factor is the age of fullback James Tedesco. They desperately want to win one before he's done because, once he's gone, it will be hard to find a fullback of his quality. The kind of guy who can win you one with the right people around him, just as they did in 2018 and 2019. During 2025 many have praised the unheralded Sandon Smith and Hugo Savala for the job they've done in the halves for the Roosters, and questioned why the club would risk losing one or both of them just to have Cherry-Evans for a season, maximum two. Smith at 22 Savala at 23 have ten years of first grade ahead of them. They won't be inclined to sit on their backsides or in reserve grade, especially with Perth entering the competition in 2027 and PNG in 2028. Halves are more precious than the ring in The Lord of the Rings. During the next two years, there'll be a frenzy. In Savala's case there has been a romanticism attached to his story. The kid on a pittance of $85,000 a year who always wanted to play for the Roosters is thrown into first grade and does well. To make extra cash he works as a bookmaker's clerk for his dad at the races. He's a throwback to yesteryear, when players worked and played for their clubs on the weekend. In the modern professional game, a bit of old school ignites the imagination and the memories. The good old days. The truth is, the club believes Cherry-Evans is better equipped, even at his age, to drive them to a premiership next year, or the year after. If they lose a youngster, so be it. This is the club, after all, that jettisoned favourite son Mitch Pearce to sign Cooper Cronk from Melbourne. It was a big call, and it delivered two titles. Loading Cherry-Evans' inevitable signing seems a big call too. In the cold light of day, it mightn't be that big. It might be perfectly sensible. Firstly, since making his NRL debut in the Manly premiership year of 2011, he has been nothing but the ultimate professional. His fitness and preparation, week-in, week-out, year-in, year-out, is nothing short of remarkable and admirable. Yes, Andrew Johns is right when he said with regards to Cherry-Evans that 'father time is undefeated'. Father time might be staring over his shoulder but the performance against the Broncos proved there is fight left in the old dog.
The Age
an hour ago
- The Age
DCE's not good enough for Origin. Will he be good enough for the Roosters?
Shortly after the loss reports emerged he would need to show form for Manly to retain his spot. Bit of a leaky boat the Maroons camp. He responded and had a blinder in a 34-6 demolition of the Broncos on the back-up three days later. Despite that, he was suddenly auditioning for his position when Manly played the Knights. When Manly blew a 16-0 halftime lead in that match, his cards were marked and he was gone. On Friday night against the Titans, the decision seemed justified. Manly were awful in a 28-8 loss to the last-placed Titans. More often, Cherry-Evans is starting to look every bit of his 36 years. The inside word is the Roosters have not been put off by his patchy run. They want him for next year. The club makes no apologies about their driving ethos that it is all about winning premierships. Their Academy program, established in 2021, is starting to bear fruit, but the club's powerbrokers still want to pounce on opportunities rather than sit back and wait. And they think, in 2026, or at a push 2027, with Cherry-Evans and Sam Walker in the halves, it can happen. A key motivating factor is the age of fullback James Tedesco. They desperately want to win one before he's done because, once he's gone, it will be hard to find a fullback of his quality. The kind of guy who can win you one with the right people around him, just as they did in 2018 and 2019. During 2025 many have praised the unheralded Sandon Smith and Hugo Savala for the job they've done in the halves for the Roosters, and questioned why the club would risk losing one or both of them just to have Cherry-Evans for a season, maximum two. Smith at 22 Savala at 23 have ten years of first grade ahead of them. They won't be inclined to sit on their backsides or in reserve grade, especially with Perth entering the competition in 2027 and PNG in 2028. Halves are more precious than the ring in The Lord of the Rings. During the next two years, there'll be a frenzy. In Savala's case there has been a romanticism attached to his story. The kid on a pittance of $85,000 a year who always wanted to play for the Roosters is thrown into first grade and does well. To make extra cash he works as a bookmaker's clerk for his dad at the races. He's a throwback to yesteryear, when players worked and played for their clubs on the weekend. In the modern professional game, a bit of old school ignites the imagination and the memories. The good old days. The truth is, the club believes Cherry-Evans is better equipped, even at his age, to drive them to a premiership next year, or the year after. If they lose a youngster, so be it. This is the club, after all, that jettisoned favourite son Mitch Pearce to sign Cooper Cronk from Melbourne. It was a big call, and it delivered two titles. Loading Cherry-Evans' inevitable signing seems a big call too. In the cold light of day, it mightn't be that big. It might be perfectly sensible. Firstly, since making his NRL debut in the Manly premiership year of 2011, he has been nothing but the ultimate professional. His fitness and preparation, week-in, week-out, year-in, year-out, is nothing short of remarkable and admirable. Yes, Andrew Johns is right when he said with regards to Cherry-Evans that 'father time is undefeated'. Father time might be staring over his shoulder but the performance against the Broncos proved there is fight left in the old dog.
Herald Sun
an hour ago
- Herald Sun
State of Origin Billy Slater cops heat over odd Hammer move for Queensland Maroons Game 2 against NSW Blues
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News. Billy Slater, who is in a battle to retain his place in charge of Queensland, has had one of his key moves questioned by an NRL coach. After a comprehensive 18-6 NSW victory in Game 1 in Brisbane, the Maroons need a win in Perth on Wednesday to keep the State of Origin series alive. FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. Coming off last year's 2-1 defeat, when Slater's Queensland outfit lost the deciding game at Suncorp Stadium, the 41-year-old would be unlikely to survive a second successive failure against their arch enemy. The former fullback has reacted by making a number of changes to his side for Game 2, including dumping captain Daly Cherry-Evans, recalling Kurt Capewell and naming Patrick Carrigan and Jeremiah Nanai on the bench. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow has starred in the centres for Queensland. Picture NRL photos But his positional switch for tryscoring beast Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow has been questioned by his coach at the Dolphins, Kristian Woolf. Tabuai-Fidow plays fullback for the NRL club, but has enjoyed great success in the centres for the Maroons, scoring nine tries across his eight appearances, including a hat-trick in last year's opening 38-10 win. So Slater's decision to move the 'Hammer' to the wing, an apparent bid to combat NSW gun Zac Lomax, caught Woolf by surprise. 'It's certainly not a position we'll look at playing him here,' Woolf told reporters. 'I think he's a fullback and that's his best position, I think he's done a great job in the rep arena as a centre. Billy Slater (right) with his new Maroons skipper, Cameron Munster. Picture Lachie Millard Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf was surprised by the move. Picture: NRL Images 'Look I'm not in those camps so I'm not going to talk about selections and things like that. 'But he's a talented footy player, we all know that, and playing for Queensland means a lot so I'm sure he'll make that sacrifice.' Meanwhile, Cherry-Evans broke his silence on his Queensland axing after the Sea Eagles lost to the Titans on Friday night. Cherry-Evans put in a poor display in Manly's horror 28-8 defeat, capping a disappointing week for the Sea Eagles skipper after being dumped by Slater. 'The start of the week was tough, Sunday got the news, Monday had to go to training and face the boys,' Cherry-Evans said after the game. 'After that it honestly started to feel normal. This is not the first time that I've been dropped from the Queensland side. 'So I guess I've had experience to take it on board and like I said pre-game, you can't just worry about the things you can't control and the initial news was tough but yeah I moved on and thought we were going to come here tonight and play some really good footy. 'Based on our preparation, it looked like all the signs were there and unfortunately the most important part of the week is showing up on game day and we didn't do that.' Cherry-Evans was pressed on whether he saw his Origin axing coming but dodged the question. 'No, I just got the call on Sunday and then just, yeah, moved on from there,' Cherry-Evans said. 'I think I got the call on Sunday which was tough and processed it pretty quickly during the week and moved on and yeah as I said the focus has been on Manly all this week so it's again disappointing to lose back-to-back games.' – With Fox Sports Originally published as Billy Slater cops heat over odd Hammer move for Queensland
