Roosters bash the Bulldogs black and blue to sound finals alarm
10.03pm Roosters bash the Bulldogs black and blue to sound finals alarm
9.55pm Tupou completes hat-trick as Roosters march into top eight
9.33pm Burton intercept gives Bulldogs some hope
9.25pm Galvin gets it wrong, Walker gets it right as Tupou scores again
9.15pm Whyte crashes over for his second and the Dogs are in trouble
8.51pm Roosters pile on the pressure and score another
8.36pm Walker edges Roosters ahead after penalty
8.25pm Walker kicks for Tupou and it's all square
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Pinned post from 10.03pm on Aug 15, 2025
By Dan Walsh
For a team that was supposed to be rebuilding, according to those outside the Roosters' opulent Allianz Stadium walls (and quietly, a few within the Tricolours HQ), Trent Robinson's side is giving the 2025 title race one hell of a shake.
And for a pack featuring roughly $3.5 million in Origin and international talent, it is undoubtedly hustling, bustling Kiwi prop Naufahu Whyte who is now the Roosters' spiritual leader.
Just ask Canterbury, beaten first physically with Whyte leading the assault, then on the scoreboard too – 32-12 – as the front-rower bagged two tries in nine minutes and doubled his career tally.
For all the hand-wringing after a small galaxy of stars left the building and the Broncos put 50 on them in round 1, the Roosters have suddenly emerged as one of the NRL's form sides.
How else can you describe them? In the past three weeks they've outmuscled Manly in the wet, thrashed the Dolphins and now trounced the Bulldogs, a genuine premiership contender. All while knowing their season could be all but scotched with a loss anywhere in that run.
All season, Whyte has been immense. And for all the representative credentials of his teammates like Spencer Leniu, Lindsay Collins, Angus Crichton and Victor Radley, the 23-year-old with big hair and a bigger motor is the top prop around Bondi way.
By the time Robinson gave him his first breather on Friday night, Whyte had two tries, 113 metres from 17 runs and 22 tackles to show for his 54 minutes at the coalface.
'I thought the system of play these guys wanted to play pulled [the Bulldogs] apart and then Naufahu has been leading the way a lot in that,' Robinson said.
'He's been impressive, really impressive.'
Skipper James Tedesco added: 'He's been here for a while and this year I think he's just matured and grown as a person and a player. He's really turned into a leader... he's become one of the best front-rowers in the game.'
The Roosters' timely run has lifted them into the top eight with games against Parramatta, Melbourne and South Sydney to finish the season. Their finals fate is now not only in their hands, but alongside Penrith, Robinson's side suddenly shapes as one rivals won't fancy crossing in September.
Canterbury's yo-yoing of late meanwhile, is cause for concern. A 42-4 carve-up of Manly, into an insipid loss to the Tigers, back to their best against the Warriors, and now beaten black and blue by the Roosters is hardly an encouraging form line.
'I sort of blame myself there,' a quietly fuming Cameron Ciraldo said.
'Guys are carrying niggling [injuries] and they just get through training instead of actually training. I'm going to stop that. If you can't train it results in a performance like that.
'We've got a deep squad and a lot of good players who didn't play tonight. If we don't want to prepare to win then I'll put someone in that does.'
Aside from Enari Tuala's opening try, and a late Matt Burton intercept, the Roosters had the Bulldogs covered.
Standing opposite Tuala, Daniel Tupou was a natural target for Sam Walker's chipped and dinked kicks – putting a pair of tries on a platter for the veteran.
Between Tupou's first two tries came a rough and tumble grind the Roosters slowly gained the ascendancy of. Thanks to Whyte.
The big man's first try was fortuitous, a late Angus Crichton offload falling his way when Canterbury's line couldn't be cracked.
But Whyte's second was a front-rower's dream – with Lachlan Galvin a bug on his windshield and carried for five metres to the tryline, along with three of his teammates.
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The Bulldogs' rally came all too late from 26-6 down. After the Roosters had dominated the physical exchanges for an hour, Canterbury found their shoulders and hammered the Roosters into errors.
Each error that left them defending deep in their own end was covered by scramble defence, though. And Canterbury turned balls over as they pushed passes and chased points.
Tempers frayed along the way too – with Sam Hughes and Max King both on report for high shots, though Billy Smith may have the most to worry about for an ugly cannonball tackle.
Otherwise for the Roosters, who finished in style as Tupou claimed his third try of the evening, life is looking pretty good.
9.55pm on Aug 15, 2025
Tupou completes hat-trick as Roosters march into top eight
That's the cherry on top for the Roosters and Daniel Tupou, who dives over for his hat-trick try in the left corner after some lovely passing from Sam Walker and James Tedesco. Tupou is now past 180 tries and closing in on Billy Slater's career tally of 190. Tupou is 34 years old but has still got it.
Walker meanwhile can do no wrong and fades his right-foot conversion in from the left touchline, capping a dream night for the Roosters.
It's hard to believe they came into tonight's game sitting ninth on the ladder, but they'll leapfrog the Dolphins and Sharks – at least for now – and climb into seventh place.
Roosters beat Bulldogs 32-12 at Allianz Stadium
9.50pm on Aug 15, 2025
Roosters defence comes up trumps again
Great defence again from the Roosters now – the Bulldogs go left, the Roosters defence slides, Mark Nawaqanitawase holds his spot on the wing, and when the ball finds Jacob Kiraz the Tricolours swarm to tackle him over the sideline.
Another penalty for a high tackle against the Bulldogs, this time on Max King, but after Roosters players run in again referee Grant Atkins has words with Tricolours skipper James Tedesco. If another Roosters player runs in for a bit of argy bargy they'll be spending the final minutes of this one in the sin bin.
Meanwhile time has just about run out on the Bulldogs tonight.
Roosters lead 26-12 with five minutes left
9.43pm on Aug 15, 2025
Bulldogs go close, then take pressure off with Hughes high shot
Another Roosters error now, Mark Nawaqanitawase doing well to bring down a bomb then beat the attempted tackle of Viliame Kikau, only to lose his grip on the ball while getting tackled. It gives the Bulldogs a new set 10 metres out from the Roosters' line – another try here could make this a very interesting finish.
It's not a great set from the Bulldogs, but it finishes well when they go through the hands to the left, and Jacob Kiraz kicks ahead and tackles Hugo Savala in the in-goal.
But this time Savala's dropout is a short one, which goes off Stephen Crichton's legs and ends up in the hands of Spencer Leniu. The Roosters have it back, and Billy Smith is hit high by Sam Hughes on the following play. The Roosters don't like it and players are rushing in from everywhere. The referee calms things down and it's a penalty to the Roosters.
9.33pm on Aug 15, 2025
Burton intercept gives Bulldogs some hope
A better kick from Lachie Galvin this time – once again it's caught easily by Daniel Tupou, but this time he takes it in the field of play and is shoved into the in-goal by the swarming Bulldogs defenders. The dropout gives Canterbury a much-needed repeat set, but it ends when Matt Burton's grubber is easily defused by Mark Nawaqanitawase.
Both wingers have been great for the Roosters tonight, as have both halves, and their props – across the board really they've been excellent. Angus Crichton has been a handful on the left edge, Victor Radley has shown some real class with his short passing in the middle, and the Tricolours' defence has been great.
But now… a rare mistake. And it's a costly one – Hugo Savala throwing an intercept pass for the very quick Matt Burton who streams clear to beat Nawaqanitawase to the tryline. Stephen Crichton nails the conversion.
9.25pm on Aug 15, 2025
Galvin gets it wrong, Walker gets it right as Tupou scores again
Everything's going the Roosters' way now – so much so that even when the Bulldogs get a trip upfield via a penalty and Lachlan Galvin puts up an attacking bomb, it backfires. Galvin's bomb is a little too deap, Daniel Tupou takes it in the in-goal, and charges upfield to take a quick 20-metre tap.
The Roosters charge down into Canterbury territory with their seven-tackle set, and on the last, another perfect Sam Walker kick is on the spot for Tupou to leap over Enari Tuala and score his second. All too easy.
Roosters lead 24-6 with 25 minutes left
9.15pm on Aug 15, 2025
Whyte crashes over for his second and the Dogs are in trouble
A rare error from Connor Tracey, who makes a meal of a Hugo Savala bomb, gives the Roosters another shot at the Bulldogs line. And they go in again, Naufahu Whyte running off Sam Walker and carrying three Canterbury defenders over the tryline with a bullocking run.
The Roosters scored 64 points last week. They won't match that tonight but they are every chance of running away with another big win, even against this excellent Bulldogs defence.
Roosters lead 20-6 after 47 minutes
9.12pm on Aug 15, 2025
Burton blunder then a cracker from Crichton
The second half is underway and once again Matt Burton looks to hammer a long 40-20 – but it's a little off target and Mark Nawaqanitawase makes a big play, planting a foot over the sideline before taking it on the full – and the Roosters get possession well inside Bulldogs territory.
The Roosters attack to the left but Billy Smith is wrapped up by a great Stephen Crichton tackle that spills the ball free.
Roosters lead 14-6 after 43 minutes
9.03pm on Aug 15, 2025
Half-time stats snapshot: Roosters well on top
8.54pm on Aug 15, 2025
Roosters with all the momentum at the break
It's all Roosters now. Five-eighth Hugo Savala makes a half break, then Sam Walker puts up another testing bomb, Mark Nawaqanitawase taps it back, and James Tedesco kicks for the in-goal to force another dropout. The Bulldogs kick it long and hold on for the final few seconds, and will be happy to go into the half-time break.
Roosters lead 14-6 at half-time
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"We just couldn't quite stop any of their scoring and we clearly couldn't score - pretty big parts of footy," said Eagles coach Andrew McQualter. Eagles star Liam Baker worked his backside off in defence. Young key forward Jobe Shanahan looks likely, but his finishing let him down and he kicked three behinds. Depending on your outlook, it was either a glorious endorsement of the AFL's father-son rule, or the damning indictment of why the system needs changing. Western Bulldogs star Sam Darcy (dad Luke, 226 games) handballed to Tom Liberatore (dad Tony, 283 games), who passed to debutant Jordan Croft (dad Matthew, 186 games), who took a great mark and kicked his first goal on debut. With Rhylee West (dad Scott, 324 games) also busy in attack, the Bulldogs thrashed wooden spooners West Coast by 94 points on Sunday at Marvel Stadium. The 19.12 (126) to 4.8 (32) win left the Bulldogs eighth on the ladder and sets up a massive clash next Sunday against Fremantle at the same venue. If Gold Coast win at least one of their two games in round 24 as expected, the loser of the Bulldogs-Dockers clash will miss the finals. So the Bulldogs and Fremantle effectively start their finals series next Sunday, with coach Luke Beveridge noting they had to beat GWS this time last year to make the eight. "It (the West Coast win) is a promising day on a number of fronts ... for both clubs, (next Sunday) is a big day," Beveridge said. "It was a mixture tonight - our stoppage strength wasn't really on show, but our offence and defensive elements were pretty good." There is plenty of ongoing commentary about the father-son rule, which the AFL has decided against changing. St Kilda in particular have been vocal in saying it skews the draft too much. Under the rule, the Bulldogs had easy access to Liberatore, Darcy, West and now Croft because their fathers played at least 100 games for the club. "It's a beautiful thing. Family in footy, it's something special," Beveridge said. "It doesn't matter what I say, because people will say 'well, you're going to say that'. "I'm hoping they protect it." Much of the pre-game chat had been around how many goals Darcy would kick, and he looked ready for a day out with the first two of the game in the opening 11 minutes. But Croft then lit up the second term, first taking a great mark. His kick from 50m was marked on the goal line by teammate Aaron Naughton, who duly converted. Two minutes later the three father-sons combined for Croft's first AFL goal, with Matthew celebrating in the stands. Croft kicked another goal in the second term as the Bulldogs romped to a 56-point lead at the main break. Lachie McNeil was hurt in a third-term collision and subbed out with a hip injury. Darcy, West, Naughton and Sam Davidson all kicked three goals, while captain Marcus Bontempelli added two among his 31 disposals and 10 clearances in another best-afield performance. The season cannot end quickly enough for the last-placed Eagles. Jamie Cripps' final-term goal meant they avoided their lowest score at Marvel Stadium, by just two points. But it was their lowest score and biggest losing margin this season. "We just couldn't quite stop any of their scoring and we clearly couldn't score - pretty big parts of footy," said Eagles coach Andrew McQualter. Eagles star Liam Baker worked his backside off in defence. Young key forward Jobe Shanahan looks likely, but his finishing let him down and he kicked three behinds. Depending on your outlook, it was either a glorious endorsement of the AFL's father-son rule, or the damning indictment of why the system needs changing. Western Bulldogs star Sam Darcy (dad Luke, 226 games) handballed to Tom Liberatore (dad Tony, 283 games), who passed to debutant Jordan Croft (dad Matthew, 186 games), who took a great mark and kicked his first goal on debut. With Rhylee West (dad Scott, 324 games) also busy in attack, the Bulldogs thrashed wooden spooners West Coast by 94 points on Sunday at Marvel Stadium. The 19.12 (126) to 4.8 (32) win left the Bulldogs eighth on the ladder and sets up a massive clash next Sunday against Fremantle at the same venue. If Gold Coast win at least one of their two games in round 24 as expected, the loser of the Bulldogs-Dockers clash will miss the finals. So the Bulldogs and Fremantle effectively start their finals series next Sunday, with coach Luke Beveridge noting they had to beat GWS this time last year to make the eight. "It (the West Coast win) is a promising day on a number of fronts ... for both clubs, (next Sunday) is a big day," Beveridge said. "It was a mixture tonight - our stoppage strength wasn't really on show, but our offence and defensive elements were pretty good." There is plenty of ongoing commentary about the father-son rule, which the AFL has decided against changing. St Kilda in particular have been vocal in saying it skews the draft too much. Under the rule, the Bulldogs had easy access to Liberatore, Darcy, West and now Croft because their fathers played at least 100 games for the club. "It's a beautiful thing. Family in footy, it's something special," Beveridge said. "It doesn't matter what I say, because people will say 'well, you're going to say that'. "I'm hoping they protect it." Much of the pre-game chat had been around how many goals Darcy would kick, and he looked ready for a day out with the first two of the game in the opening 11 minutes. But Croft then lit up the second term, first taking a great mark. His kick from 50m was marked on the goal line by teammate Aaron Naughton, who duly converted. Two minutes later the three father-sons combined for Croft's first AFL goal, with Matthew celebrating in the stands. Croft kicked another goal in the second term as the Bulldogs romped to a 56-point lead at the main break. 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West Australian
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It was the massacre at Marvel Stadium that everyone predicted. A star-studded Western Bulldogs desperate for a victory to keep their finals hopes alive against an injury-ravaged West Coast nearing the end of a season that is likely to finish with a club-low one win. The Eagles were going to need mercy if they were to be any chance of getting close. The Bulldogs showed none as they tore the wooden spooners to shreds, claiming a 94-point victory. The thumping 19.12 (126) to 4.8 (32) victory on Sunday also sent a message to the Eagles' cross-town rivals Fremantle ahead of their do-or-die clash in seven days. And scarily, at times it felt as if the Bulldogs didn't get out of third gear but they kept the Eagles to their lowest score of the season. It was a family affair for the home side, who had four sons of champion players turn out and have an immense impact. Debutant Jordan Croft combined with Sam Darcy, Aaron Naughton and Sam Davidson to be part of a monster forward line that combined for 11 goals in a devastating performance against an undersized and undermanned Eagles defence. Fresh off re-signing, enigmatic midfielder Tom Liberatore proved dominant at the clearances with nine to go with 22 disposals and eight tackles And crafty forward Rhylee West booted three goals as well as having a hand in several others. And then there were the other usual suspects. Captain Marcus Bontempelli (31 disposals, two goals and 10 clearances) burnt off West Coast players like he was a Year 12 playing against the lower grade kids at school. Bailey Dale rebounded off half-back with ferocity and frequency, racking up 34 disposals in another typical performance of the likely soon to be two-time All-Australian. For the Eagles, there was just too much of a class difference across the board for them to be competitive. Stand-in skipper Liam Baker (24 disposals) threw his body with reckless intent at half-back, while ruckman Matt Flynn (40 hit-outs and 11 disposals) got the better of Tim English (20 disposals and 32 hit-outs) in the air but was beaten around the ground by his counterpart. Ryan Maric racked up 26 touches out of defence but turned it over frequently either through poor decision making or poor execution. Even when the Eagles did manage to get some territory dominance, their injury depleted forward line was unable to find a way to hit the scoreboard. First-year forward Jobe Shanahan was the No.1 target, but Bulldogs defender James O'Donnell worked him under the ball well to ensure he couldn't use his strong marking ability to have a major impact. The Eagles looked as if they'd come to play once again, having taken it up to minor premiers Adelaide seven days ago. After giving up the first three inside 50s, the sleeping Bulldogs awoke in a big way and began to slice up the Eagles through slick ball movement. It started with a pair of goals from Darcy, who loomed ominous over the match before the first bounce before Davidson and Naughton piled on the pain in a seven-minute burst. While they dominated the contest, the Bulldogs were wasteful in front of goal to let the Eagles off the hook, leading by only 28 points at the first break. West Coast finally broke through for their first goal of the game in the fourth minute of the second term when Flynn marked strongly and converted the set shot. The Bulldogs responded emphatically with three goals in four minutes as the tall targets forward of centre continued to cause havoc. West Coast managed to get some territory dominance for nearly 10 minutes but kicked only the one goal and there was a feeling that once the Bulldogs regained ascendency it was going to get ugly. This turned out to be correct as the Bulldogs put the foot on the throat with four more goals before the main break to ensure there would be no upset as there was two years earlier. West Coast tried to apply pressure in the third term, but the Dogs weren't panicked and almost played with their food rather than feasting on the Eagles with relentless scoreboard pressure. The Eagles stemmed the flow in the final term but the Bulldogs never really pushed too hard to blow them out of the water, seemingly preserving their relentless intent for a date with the Dockers next week. WESTERN BULLDOGS 4.5 11.7 15.7 19.12 (126) WEST COAST 0.1 2.5 3.8 4.8 (32) Goals – WESTERN BULLDOGS: S Davidson 3 S Darcy 3 A Naughton 3 R West 3 M Bontempelli 2 J Croft 2 E Richards 2 J Freijah. WEST COAST: J Cripps M Flynn N Long M Owies. Best – WESTERN BULLDOGS: M Bontempelli B Dale E Richards T Liberatore T English S Davidson. WEST COAST: L Baker T McCarthy M Flynn R Maric C Chesser. Injuries – WESTERN BULLDOGS: L McNeil (leg). Umpires: N Brown J Howard C Dore A Heffernan. Crowd: 21,207 at Marvel Stadium.
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Dogs send Freo strong message with trouncing of Eagles
It was the massacre at Marvel Stadium that everyone predicted. A star-studded Western Bulldogs desperate for a victory to keep their finals hopes alive against an injury-ravaged West Coast nearing the end of a season that is likely to finish with a club-low one win. The Eagles were going to need mercy if they were to be any chance of getting close. The Bulldogs showed none as they tore the wooden spooners to shreds, claiming a 94-point victory. The thumping 19.12 (126) to 4.8 (32) victory on Sunday also sent a message to the Eagles' cross-town rivals Fremantle ahead of their do-or-die clash in seven days. And scarily, at times it felt as if the Bulldogs didn't get out of third gear but they kept the Eagles to their lowest score of the season. It was a family affair for the home side, who had four sons of champion players turn out and have an immense impact. Debutant Jordan Croft combined with Sam Darcy, Aaron Naughton and Sam Davidson to be part of a monster forward line that combined for 11 goals in a devastating performance against an undersized and undermanned Eagles defence. Fresh off re-signing, enigmatic midfielder Tom Liberatore proved dominant at the clearances with nine to go with 22 disposals and eight tackles And crafty forward Rhylee West booted three goals as well as having a hand in several others. And then there were the other usual suspects. Captain Marcus Bontempelli (31 disposals, two goals and 10 clearances) burnt off West Coast players like he was a Year 12 playing against the lower grade kids at school. Bailey Dale rebounded off half-back with ferocity and frequency, racking up 34 disposals in another typical performance of the likely soon to be two-time All-Australian. For the Eagles, there was just too much of a class difference across the board for them to be competitive. Liam Baker fights for the footy. Credit: Graham Denholm / Getty Images Stand-in skipper Liam Baker (24 disposals) threw his body with reckless intent at half-back, while ruckman Matt Flynn (40 hit-outs and 11 disposals) got the better of Tim English (20 disposals and 32 hit-outs) in the air but was beaten around the ground by his counterpart. Ryan Maric racked up 26 touches out of defence but turned it over frequently either through poor decision making or poor execution. Even when the Eagles did manage to get some territory dominance, their injury depleted forward line was unable to find a way to hit the scoreboard. First-year forward Jobe Shanahan was the No.1 target, but Bulldogs defender James O'Donnell worked him under the ball well to ensure he couldn't use his strong marking ability to have a major impact. The Eagles looked as if they'd come to play once again, having taken it up to minor premiers Adelaide seven days ago. After giving up the first three inside 50s, the sleeping Bulldogs awoke in a big way and began to slice up the Eagles through slick ball movement. It started with a pair of goals from Darcy, who loomed ominous over the match before the first bounce before Davidson and Naughton piled on the pain in a seven-minute burst. Sam Darcy looks to mark. Credit: Michael Willson / AFL Photos While they dominated the contest, the Bulldogs were wasteful in front of goal to let the Eagles off the hook, leading by only 28 points at the first break. West Coast finally broke through for their first goal of the game in the fourth minute of the second term when Flynn marked strongly and converted the set shot. The Bulldogs responded emphatically with three goals in four minutes as the tall targets forward of centre continued to cause havoc. West Coast managed to get some territory dominance for nearly 10 minutes but kicked only the one goal and there was a feeling that once the Bulldogs regained ascendency it was going to get ugly. This turned out to be correct as the Bulldogs put the foot on the throat with four more goals before the main break to ensure there would be no upset as there was two years earlier. West Coast tried to apply pressure in the third term, but the Dogs weren't panicked and almost played with their food rather than feasting on the Eagles with relentless scoreboard pressure. The Eagles stemmed the flow in the final term but the Bulldogs never really pushed too hard to blow them out of the water, seemingly preserving their relentless intent for a date with the Dockers next week. WESTERN BULLDOGS 4.5 11.7 15.7 19.12 (126) WEST COAST 0.1 2.5 3.8 4.8 (32) Goals – WESTERN BULLDOGS: S Davidson 3 S Darcy 3 A Naughton 3 R West 3 M Bontempelli 2 J Croft 2 E Richards 2 J Freijah. WEST COAST: J Cripps M Flynn N Long M Owies. Best – WESTERN BULLDOGS: M Bontempelli B Dale E Richards T Liberatore T English S Davidson. WEST COAST: L Baker T McCarthy M Flynn R Maric C Chesser. Injuries – WESTERN BULLDOGS: L McNeil (leg). Umpires: N Brown J Howard C Dore A Heffernan. Crowd: 21,207 at Marvel Stadium.
