- Match stopped by referee to remove mobile phone from the pitch
- Phone was probably dropped by pitch invader who stormed ground
- Roosters defeated the Canterbury Bulldogs 26-8 in wet conditions
A pitch invader has bizarrely caused an NRL match to be stopped twice in one night in the match between the Roosters and the Bulldogs in Gosford.
During the first half of the match, a streaker ran onto the muddy pitch at Industree Group Stadium forcing play to be halted and security to deal with the incident.
Shortly afterwards, referee Grant Atkins had to stop the match again after he found a phone on the ground, probably dropped by the pitch invader.
‘We have got a whistle, there’s a phone. An iPhone on the field, and you can only guess where that came from,’ Warren Smith said in commentary.
A streaker (pictured) stormed the pitch during the first half of the Roosters-Bulldogs match
Shortly afterwards the match was stopped again to removed a mobile phone from the pitch
Michael Ennis added shortly afterwards: ‘The lady who has decided to do a 100 metre sprint, she has dropped her phone’.
Roosters halfback Sam Walker has orchestrated a 26-8 defeat of Canterbury that ensures his side will finish the weekend in the top four for the first time since March.
Fetalaiga Pauga was sent off for an ugly high shot on Bulldogs fullback Connor Tracey in the last eight minutes and the Roosters were then reduced to 11 men after Walker pulled a professional foul.
But their lead never looked under threat despite the late casualties, the side confirming victory at a rainy Central Coast Stadium even without their four State of Origin representatives.
‘We’re on the improve,’ said Roosters coach Trent Robinson.
‘I feel like we know where we’re headed, we’re really clear on our game. We’re heading in the right direction.’
Despite a breakout game from ex-rugby sevens star Jeral Skelton, the Bulldogs struggled for consistent opportunities, in no small part due to their poor ball-handling in the wet.
Across the first 75 minutes of Saturday night’s game, Canterbury enjoyed only two tackles in the Roosters’ 20.
The pitch invader was removed from the pitch by security at Industree Group Stadium
The Roosters moved into the top four after their win over the Bulldogs
‘We probably missed an opportunity there to climb up the leaderboard a little but I’m incredibly proud of how gritty and how much effort they put in,’ said Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo.
‘(But) we obviously didn’t play the conditions as well as they did.’
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