THE SYDNEY Roosters survived an early Benji Marshall masterclass and a massive change of personnel to score a 28-24 win over Wests Tigers in the Foundation Cup NRL trial at Campbelltown Sports Stadium last night.
The Tigers cruised to an 18-6 lead in the second quarter but were outscored 22-6 on the run into full time.
The Roosters scored five tries to four and exposed some deficiencies in the defence of the Tigers.
Tigers winger Beau Ryan stood out in a losing team.
Roosters coach Brian Smith opted against fielding his listed team for the first quarter, instead sending out close to a reserve grade line-up.
Early in the match, Marshall threatened to take complete control of proceedings. The New Zealander set up the Tigers' first three tries, including one for young fullback James Tedesco inside the first 70 seconds.
Tedesco claimed a pinpoint Marshall bomb and Ryan capitalised on two perfect cut-out passes from the five-eighth.
Marshall was also involved in the build-up to Ryan's third try, passing to Blake Ayshford, who put his winger over.
The Roosters charged back into the game late in the second quarter with tries to Boyd Cordner and Mitchell Pearce to trail by just two at half-time. New recruit Mortimer put in a solid shift at five-eighth and backed up his try with four goals from five attempts.
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