Roosters coach Trent Robinson admits his side must arrest their ongoing defensive deficiencies after once again letting in a pile of points as his troops downed the Dolphins 40-34 in Perth on Friday night.
Defence has been a recurring issue for Robinson’s men having conceded 64 points in their last two outings alone, including last week’s 34-30 win over Manly when they shot out to an 18-0 lead after 20 minutes before falling away late in the game to almost have it snatched at the death.
Watch every game of the NRL Telstra Women’s Premiership Season LIVE with no ad-breaks during play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial today >
It was a case of deja vu on Friday night as the Roosters led 12-0 in the early stages before the Dolphins hit back to take a 20-20 scoreline into the break, before running out to a 26-20 lead early in the second half.
And despite his team’s continued defensive issues, Robinson reckons they can fix it up “in a week”.
“Our tackle was probably the worst it’s been this year and a lot of other things were really good,” he said.
“Our composure was good, our execution of our system was really, really good and our tackle was left back in Sydney.
“You can fix that up. It’s been good really for most of the year. I know we can fix that up in a week. I know there’s some other stuff that I really enjoyed tonight.”
Robinson credited his side for staying in the fight and managing their way to a victory in a seesawing affair.
“You have got to celebrate the wins and enjoy them and I really enjoyed the way they managed the game tonight,” Robinson said.
“Obviously we went down a couple of times against a really good attacking team … and I feel like we did really well.
“I thought we actually started well in that second half. Toups (winger Daniel Tupou) had a poor tackle and they shifted it and it’s quite an easy play and our tackle was completely off.
“They scored but then our composure was really good. To be 18-6 up and then 18-all, 20-all then 26-20 down and then go ‘okay, how are we going to play this?’ And credit to the way that they went about their game from then on in.”
Roosters halfback Sam Walker was scintillating with ball in hand, highlighted by two chip and chase tries in some brilliant individual play.
Robinson said the 22-year-old’s awe-inspiring antics were nothing new, with the No. 7 treating his teammates and staff to such heroics every week.
“Most Thursdays at training (Walker’s doing that). It’s pretty common. His eyes are really clear on any mistakes from opposition and their defensive line org (organisation),” he said.
“He’s in a really good space and is really clear on his footy and deserved to be the best player on the field tonight and get those rewards both with the ball and kicking and defensively as well.”
More than 20,000 packed HBF Park in Perth for the match in a wonderful advertisement for rugby league as the NRL look to expand there as early as early as 2027 or 2028.
Robinson backed fellow mentor Wayne Bennett’s declaration that it was time for a Perth team to enter the NRL.
“Perth is a great city and we’ve really enjoyed being over here and being a rugby league team over here and bringing it over here,” Robinson said.
“It was great to see a full stadium tonight especially on a night when both codes are playing – it was really good.
“It’d be great to get a team across to the other side of Australia and really expand east and west. It (Perth) is ready.”