Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson has urged his team to enhance their defensive efforts after conceding 38 points against the Cronulla Sharks in a high-scoring Magic Round defeat.
In a game that saw a total of 68 points scored, the Roosters fell short despite their recent run of high-scoring performances. The Sharks sealed the win with a late Thomas Hazleton try, maintaining their position at the top of the table, while the Roosters, despite their recent good form, remain on the fringe of the top eight.
Robinson expressed disappointment with his team’s defensive performance, highlighting the 33 missed tackles and nine errors committed during the match.
“Scoring 68 points in a game is great for Magic Round, but it wasn’t good enough from our side,” Robinson stated during his post-game press conference.
“Anytime you leak 38 points, you’re not going to win a game. There were positives in some aspects of our play, but we need to improve, especially in getting out of our own end. There were too many errors and missed tackles today, which cost us dearly.
“We should be better than that. You can’t afford to leak 38 points. It was really disappointing. We can’t give the opposition easy opportunities.”
Captain James Tedesco echoed Robinson’s sentiments, acknowledging the impact of errors and the heavy ground conditions on their defensive struggles.
“It was a fast-paced game. The Sharks and ourselves play an attacking style, so it was open and fast, but as Robbo said, we hurt ourselves with errors and ended up doing a lot of defending. The ground conditions were tough, and the fatigue set in towards the end,” Tedesco commented.
