Fittler, Anasta ... Smith: Sandon joins Roosters greats with Anzac Day masterclasses
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Sandon Smith walked onto Alllianz Stadium as the smallest of all 34 players, but marched off with 22 points and a place in rugby league's Anzac Day history after leading the Roosters to a 46-18 demolition of St George Illawarra.
Staring down last-place on the ladder if they had been beaten, the Tricolours made the most of a mountain of first-half possession, with Smith bagging two runaway tries in the opening 40 minutes.
In front of a 41,021-strong crowd, Smith joined famed Roosters five-eighth performances from Braith Anasta in 2007 (when he gave Dragons opposite Richie Williams a bath after being called out in the press) and Brad Fittler's stepping and swerving Anzac Cup match-winner in 2004.
Smith's double even had shades of Fittler's runaway effort, albeit the 176cm half moved roughly twice as fast as Freddy did in his autumn years. He was in everything and the most deserving of Ashton-Collier Medal as player of the match.
By the time the first half stanza was over, Smith had helped himself to 16 points and a try at either end of the half, selling Clint Gutherson a dummy as he raced 40 metres from broken play just before the break.
Smith was in everything. Almost all of it was good, but there were 10 nervous minutes when he was put on report and sin-binned early in the second half for collecting Lachlan Ilias in the head with a lazy swinging arm.
Trailing 20-6, the Dragons couldn't convert with the extra man.
Instead, it was Roosters rookie forward Blake Steep bagging a 60-metre runaway try, once again dusting Gutherson with a dummy that rookie forwards just shouldn't throw.
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