Roosters hold out depleted Dolphins in high-scoring thriller

The Roosters clawed their way to a win over the Dolphins in front of a sold-out crowd in Perth with a hard-fought 40-34 result. 

The Roosters had a fast start and looked like they would do it easy when Joseph-Aukuso Sua'ali'i went over for a nice looking try that displayed his footwork. They nearly went back-to-back straight away, only for some great defence from Herbie Farnworth to deny James Tedesco who lost the ball just before the line. 

They didn't have to wait long however to score again and were in an attacking mood early, with Sam Walker putting in a kick for himself over the top of Dolphins defenders, chasing it down to score their second for a 12-0 lead with his second successful conversion. 

When it seemed it would be one-way traffic, the Dolphins - who lost Kodi Nikorima and Tavita Pangai Junior before kick-off - stemmed the tide with fill-in hooker Max Plath managing to go over from dummyhalf to post his side's opening try. 

But it was the Sam Walker show with his fancy feet and another kick ahead to himself that put the Roosters further in front 18-6.

The 'home' side didn't drop their heads and continued to hang in and when they got their opportunity, they pounced, with two quick-fire tries to Felise 'Phin Diesel' Kaufusi and Jamayne Isaako locking up the scores 18-18 with the winger's successful conversions. 

A penalty given right in front of their goal posts with just over eight minutes left in the first half for interference in the ruck saw Walker slot another two points for a 20-18 lead. 

The Dolphins however refused to be shaken off and a penalty goal from the competition's leading points-scorer Isaako had the teams leaving the field at sold-out ground locked up at 20-20 at half-time. 

In the second half, the Phins got on the board first, with Jake Averillo doing the hard work before offloading inside for a trailing Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow who ran the rest of the way to score. Isaako added the extras and the Dolphins were in front for the first time 26-20.

The sides were going tit-for-tat and an error in the play the ball in their own half gave the Roosters a chance to hit back and they did, with Daniel Tupou the beneficiary. Again Walker's boot proved true to kick the conversion and draw level again. 

Yet another error in their own 20 with a penalty for obstruction proved costly for the Dolphins with the Roosters then going back-to-back with Sitili Tupouniua, playing out wide in the centres, going over to once again retake the lead. He was in again seven minutes later to push the advantage even further.

As was the case the whole game, the Dolphins would not go away and pushed hard until the final whistle, but the Roosters - who had to battle their own injury concerns in the match with Lindsay Collins, Nat Butcher and Dom Young ruled out - doing enough to hold them at bay. 

Next week, the Dolphins host the Warriors on Sunday at Suncorp Stadium while the Roosters will have a well-timed bye.