Sydney Roosters young gun Joseph Suaalii has found himself in hot water over a high hit, with the incident the only sour note in an impressive performance.
Up against the second-placed North Queensland Cowboys, Suaalii scored the opening try of the match and ran for 158m as the Roosters ran out 32-18 winners at the SCG.
After a dominant first half, Suaalii found himself placed on report by referee Ashley Klein following a dangerous high tackle on Cowboys halfback Tom Dearden.
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Dearden attempted to step past a number of would-be tacklers, he ran head first into the swinging left arm of Suaalii.
The incident caught Panthers great Greg Alexander by surprise on Fox League’s telecast, with the 1991 premiership winner exclaiming: “He does nothing half-hearted.”
Suaalii’s hit on Dearden was one of two penalties the 19-year-old was hit with during the match, and despite being placed on report, Suaalii was not sin-binned for the incident.
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It was an otherwise impressive performance from the Roosters, with Suaalii one of five try-scorers alongside Matt Lodge (16th minute), Daniel Tupou (36′), Sam Verrills (52′, 67′) and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (64′ ).
After a patchy start to the season, the Roosters have hit their stride at the perfect time, with this win extending the team’s current win streak to five. Trent Robinson’s side currently sits seventh on the ladder with a 12-9 record through 21 matches.
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