Tigers ‘dodged a bullet’ as Bulldogs fume over controversial ref calls

This is where we will leave the live blog for today.

There are plenty of talking points out of Saturday’s action.

The Knights are up to fourth on the ladder, the Bulldogs are fuming over controversial calls, and the Storm produced their best win of the season.

ABC Sport will be back tomorrow with three more matches to end round 13.

We hope you join us then.

Goodnight.

— reporting by AAP

Fleet-footed Storm fullback Sua Faalogo has helped run the Sydney Roosters ragged to bank a much-needed 18-4 win in Melbourne.

With six players backing up from State of Origin, including James Tedesco and Sam Walker in their Saturday night match at AAMI Park, the Roosters couldn’t hold back their desperate hosts.

While Faalogo missed out on scoring one of Melbourne’s three tries, the 23-year-old clocked up a game-high 301 run metres, including three line breaks, and took over the Storm’s goal-kicking after an injury to Nick Meaney.

He also pulled off a try-saving tackle on Cody Ramsey in the second half, continuing to prove himself a shining light in Melbourne’s lacklustre season.

While the home side, who had three players back on deck after Origin I, did enough to secure their fifth win, it wasn’t pretty at times.

In the first half they completed 24 of 25 sets, but it took until the 25th minute before they were finally able to penetrate the Roosters’ defence.

Returning from the Origin arena via the bench, Storm skipper Harry Grant burrowed over from dummy-half.

Roosters winger Billy Smith got his team on the board 10 minutes later as the visitors worked the ball wide and the teams went into halftime with Melbourne up 6-4.

Forced to make 34 more tackles than the Storm, the workload took its toll on the leg-weary Sydneysiders.

After Melbourne playmaker Cameron Munster shunted the ball free of Walker, Faalogo scooped up the ball five metres from the tryline and dashed downfield.

While he was run down by Ramsey, Storm halfback Jahrome Hughes noted the Roosters defence lagging and put up a kick for Will Warbrick to score an easy try.

Melbourne’s other winger Moses Leo also got his own four-pointer with another long-range effort after taking a Daly Cherry-Evans bomb.

That cemented the Storm’s win over the third-placed Roosters, who have now lost their last two matches.

Sualauvi Faalogo picks up a loose ball.

He chips and chases, he kicks ahead, gathers, and is brought down just short of the line by Sam Walker.

Melbourne winger Will Warbrick then goes from dummy-half, and Sam Walker again is in the tackle. Walker holds on for too long, gives away the penalty, and he is sent to the sin bin.

The Roosters need two converted tries to level this match.

They are attacking the goal-line of the Storm, helped by multiple six-again restarts and a penalty for tackling a player without the ball.

But the attacking does not result in points. The Storm defend their line brilliantly.

Jack Hetherington whacked Connor Watson and forced the ball loose.

Canterbury Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo has spoken to media after his side’s 22-16 loss to Wests Tigers.

The turning point in Saturday’s clash came in the 55th minute with the Tigers leading 16-10, when Josh Curran charged down a kick from Tigers five-eighth Jarome Luai, then ran 30 metres to score what would have been the Bulldogs third try.

The Bunker disallowed the try on review, after it saw Curran making contact with the kicking leg of Luai as the Bulldogs’ forward ran through in the charge down motion.

The Tigers would then march down the field and score on the next set through Jeral Skelton, after centre Sunia Turuva missed clattered into Bulldogs fullback Jacob Kiraz.

Here is some of what Ciraldo told the media after the match:

“No, no I’m not, not all. But we’ll send another email in this week and get something written back,” Ciraldo said when asked if he was happy with the decision that went against Curran.

“The Josh Curran one – maybe the charge down’s gone, I don’t know. His foot did touch him but Josh charged the ball down first and was chasing the kick and then Jarome’s foot hit him.

“If that’s the way it is, I’ll cop that, but Jarome clearly didn’t think it was a penalty ‘cause he turned and chased but again, if foot touches, okay.

“The more disappointing one was to go down the other end, someone’s offside, takes down our fullback, then that’s a try.

“What’s worse? Someone touching your foot, or someone taking out your fullback and they score a try. I don’t know.

“Then there’s the other tries, they look like they were held up but it’s a try. Critter get’s over the line, it’s very similar to that but it’s no try.

“Galvin gets the ball, clearly stripped right in front of the referee, no penalty. Stephen throws a guy on the ground, ball comes out, penalty.

“I don’t know.”

What a game Melbourne fullback Sualauvi Faalogo is having.

He has made three massive line breaks, but now, he has saved a try.

Roosters winger Cody Ramsey was going for the right corner.

Faalogo comes across in cover, lands a solid shot on Ramsey, and knocks him into touch.

There is an aerial contest for the ball between Billy Smith (Roosters) and Will Warbrick (Storm).

Smith was deemed to have knocked the ball forward, but the Roosters asked for the challenge.

That is a good decision from captain James Tedesco, as replays show Will Warbrick touched the footy first and knocked it forward, says the Bunker.

Brilliant from Melbourne Storm winger Moses Leo.

He catches a high bomb, and when he lands on the ground, he has an open paddock to sprint into.

He streaks down the left touchline and goes 85 metres for Melbourne’s third try.

Sualauvi Faalogo misses the conversion attempt from near the left touchline.

Storm 16

Roosters 4

Sualauvi Faalogo has kicked a penalty goal from around 20 metres out, on a slight angle.

The Roosters dropped a bomb, then the ball was touched by another in an offside position.

Storm 12

Roosters 4

What a match Sualauvi Faalogo is having.

The Melbourne fullback picks up a loose ball after the Roosters halfback Sam Walker drops the footy while attacking the goal-line.

It looked like Cam Munster hit Walker with a shoulder charge-like hit.

Faalogo sprints into the Roosters’ half, chased down by winger Cody Ramsey.

From the play-the-ball, the ball goes to Jahrome Hughes, and the Melbourne halfback kicks for the corner and Will Warbrick catches and scores.

James Tedesco is pleading with the ref to review the hit from Munster on Walker. But because there was a tackle before the try was scored, it cannot be reviewed.

Storm 10

Roosters 4

Jack Howarth has been awarded a try, but the Bunker is going to take it away.

Howarth grounded the ball short and bounced over the goal-line, but James Tedesco is able to get his arms under the footy and keep it up.

Storm 6

Roosters 4

— reporting by AAP

Reece Walsh has been given the green light by coach Michael Maguire to run the ball “any time he likes” as the dazzling fullback aims to regain his best form.

Walsh will play against St George Illawarra at Lang Park on Sunday aiming to help ignite the Broncos as they target breaking a three-game losing streak.

A recall to the Queensland side is a carrot also dangling in front of him.

Rugby league is a simple game and Walsh has shown in the past, most famously in his incredible 2025 finals performances, he is at his best when he runs the ball and when his defensive resolve and talk is on song.

His first-half try in the grand final and multiple try-saving tackles were elite and just what the great fullbacks do.

Maroons coach Billy Slater was a master fullback on both sides of the ball and is a big admirer of Walsh, who was so pivotal in the 2023 Origin series win by Queensland.

Kalyn Ponga was superb at fullback in the 22-20 loss to NSW in Sydney in the Origin series opener on Wednesday night until he was sent off in the 57th minute.

Ponga, so long as he stays fit and healthy, is likely to be fullback for Game II in Melbourne, but Walsh is a chance to be named in the squad if he can string two superb games together for the Broncos against the Dragons and Gold Coast in the next fortnight.

Walsh has averaged just 101 metres in his last three games since returning from a facial fracture, lower than the 148m he managed on average last year.

“He’ll run the ball, and when he runs it’s pretty exciting,” Maguire said when asked if he would like Walsh to up the ante in that regard.

“He can run any time he likes.”

Walsh’s defence has been great this year with his 87.76 per cent tackle efficiency the best of his career.

The effort is there but there have been concerns over whether he is lacking confidence since returning from the fracture.

Maguire said Walsh’s commitment could not be questioned.

“You grow from what you have to go through and it’s just another part of his career that he’s going through,” Maguire said.

“The way I’ve seen him go about his training I’ve been really impressed, actually.

“Reecey knows his game, he knows what his best game looks like, and if he keeps producing that consistently then the opportunities will come off the back of that.”

Maguire said a player’s career was “never a straight line” and Walsh was on the right track.

“You’re going to get challenged at times, the old saying is how you respond, and he’s been excellent the last couple of weeks,” Maguire said.

“He’s ripped into training, he’s been really good around the organisation, and he knows if you play your good footy you get recognised for that and the opportunities may come off the back of that.”

As for a Maroons recall, Maguire said that would be “up to Billy to decide”.

“We have to play well here. That’s the key,” he said.

The Broncos have been boosted by Maroons forward Pat Carrigan and NSW centre Kotoni Staggs both backing up from Origin to play against the Dragons.

The Melbourne Storm dominated that first half.

They were camped on the Roosters’ goal-line, with wave after wave of attack.

But the Roosters’ goal-line defence was sensational. To only give up one try is a minor miracle.

Billy Smith, in his comeback game, has scored in the left corner.

Gifted a penalty for a ball strip by Melbourne’s Harry Grant, the Roosters got a rare chance to attack the Storm’s goal-line.

The Roosters made it count.

A nice shift to the left leads to an overlap, and Smith finishes off in the corner.

Sam Walker misses the conversion attempt from the left touchline.

Storm 6

Roosters 4

An attacking Roosters kick goes dead.

Storm fullback Sualauvi Faalogo sprints to the 20-metre line to complete the restart, and the electric number one makes another big line break.

Melbourne is attacking the goal-line, again, after Sualauvi Faalogo’s break.

Jack Howarth was stopped one metre from the goal-line, and two tackles later, so was Cam Munster.

Somehow, the Roosters keep the Storm out.

ABC Sport sideline eye Ian Cohen has reported that Nick Meaney will not return to the field.

He has injured his calf.

After all of that, the Storm score with a dart from dummy-half from Harry Grant.

It was a sloppy play-the-ball from Josh King, and for a moment, I don’t think Grant knew the ball was there to pick up.

Grant sees the footy on the ground, rushes to pick it up. Grant then picks it up, shapes to pass, then runs through the ruck to score.

Sualauvi Faalogo converts the try.

Storm 6

Roosters 0