Cooper Cronk and James Tedesco have shown why the Sydney Roosters are an NRL premiership force after combining to lead their side to a 30-12 win over Canterbury.
The Roosters were leading by 12 midway through the second half on Friday at Allianz Stadium when Cronk put fellow new signing Tedesco through a gap before backing him up to finish off a 60-metre movement.
Bulldogs captain Josh Jackson gave his side a chance after crossing in the 62nd minute, but the Roosters sealed their first win of the season with a penalty goal and Ryan Matterson try.
The Cronk-Tedesco connection was easily the highlight for the 12,229 crowd, with Tedesco also scoring his first try for the club and assisting on a Luke Keary four-pointer.
"That was one of the nice moments," Roosters coach Trent Robinson said.
"Cooper's known for his support through the middle and being right on the spot there. But it was nice to see James move like he did around the play. We just had better combinations."
Winger Blake Ferguson was also in form, carrying the ball for a game-high 204 metres, while Tedesco finished with eight tackle busts and 163 metres.
The win is likely to have come at a cost, with Roosters winger Daniel Tupou tearing a pectoral muscle.
The win leaves rookie Bulldogs coach Dean Pay without a win after a challenging two-week initiation that included a first-round loss to defending premiers Melbourne.
The match began ominously for Pay's men, who had to chase down Tupou following a long-range break from Latrell Mitchell in just the third minute.
But Roosters fans didn't have to wait long to open the scoring, with Keary and Ferguson crossing twice in the space of five minutes.
The Bulldogs had a chance to hit back when Isaac Liu was sin-binned for a professional foul in the 21st minute, resulting in six straight sets on the Roosters' line.
Marcelo Montoya thought he had cut the lead for the Bulldogs in the 25th minute, but the bunker overturned the decision after ruling Matt Frawley caught the ball behind a decoy runner.
Dylan Napa made it a three-try lead at halftime when he ran over Jackson to set up Tedesco.
Roosters forward Mitch Aubusson also came off midway through the second half after a copping friendly fire from skipper Jake Friend that required ten stitches.
Pay said his team remains a work in progress but is growing tired of their performances after allowing the Roosters to dominate field position.
"It's becoming frustrating that's for sure, in the first half their back five rolled out of their end too easily," Pay said.
"We spoke about it, we said we were going to try and nullify that but I just thought we didn't do a good enough job."
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