The Sydney Roosters have exposed the weaknesses of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, keeping their 2025 NRL Finals hopes alive, while their opponents could now slide out of the top-four.
In a match that lived up to the hype, it was veteran Daniel Tupou and enforcer Naufahu Whyte who emerged as the unlikely match-winners out of all the representative and international players on show, leading the Roosters to a 20-point victory.
Meanwhile, Sam Walker once again pressed his claim as one of the best halfbacks in the NRL alongside Nathan Cleary and Jahrome Hughes, producing two try assists and making it three wins on the trot for the Bondi-based outfit.
After the Bulldogs opened the scoring through Enari Tuala within the opening ten minutes, it was the Tupou-Whyte show for the next 50 minutes, with the duo crossing the line twice, exposing their opponents' weaknesses in the process.
The primary target when near the line, Walker found the veteran winger on multiple occasions and was unstoppable whilst taking flight in mid-air. With the Blue and White's offering no challenge every time, it made it too easy for Tupou.
Finishing the match with three tries and over 120 running metres, he could have had even more tries if he hadn't been held up or decided to offload the ball to his teammates instead.
While Tupou was a continuous threat in the air, it was front-rower Naufahu Whyte who led the forward pack in the middle of the field, running all over his opponents.
Seen as the long-term heir to Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, the New Zealand international continued his outstanding 2025 campaign with arguably his best performance this season against the likes of Max King, Jacob Preston and Viliame Kikau.
Unstoppable near the try-line, Whyte finished the match with two tries, nearly 120 running metres and five tackle busts as he put forward his claim to be named in the 2025 Dally M Team of the Year.
The Bulldogs tried to get back into the contest in the final 20 minutes after an interception from Matt Burton saw them double their score.
However, it was too little, too late, and they will now sweat on the availability of duo Josh Curran and Samuel Hughes, who were placed on report and have already been charged once this season.
Taking on the Parramatta Eels and South Sydney Rabbitohs in two of their next three matches to round out the season, the Roosters are likely to finish with a spot in the 2025 NRL Finals as they now sit level with the Broncos, Dolphins and Sharks.
Meanwhile, it is back to the drawing board for Cameron Ciraldo and the Bulldogs, who have suffered upsets in two of their last three matches and are entering September out of form.
Groomed to take home the minor premiership for the majority of the season, the Blue and White's could now fall out of the top-four with their next three matches against the Penrith Panthers, Melbourne Storm and Cronulla Sharks to round out the season.
Making too many simple errors, they were exposed on the wing on multiple occasions as they had no answer for Daniel Tupou's aerial ability and will look to address this as they face Thomas Jenkins, Xavier Coates and Ronaldo Mulitalo in the next three weeks.
At the same time, metre-eaters Jacob Kiraz, Stephen Crichton and Viliame Kikau failed to cement their mark on the match and will look to get more touches on the ball next week.
