- Match stopped by the referee to remove the cell phone from the field of play
- The phone was probably dropped by a camp invader who broke into the land
- The 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 game between the Roosters and Bulldogs in Gosford.
During the first half of the match, a player ran onto the muddy Industre Group Stadium field, forcing play to be stopped and security to deal with the incident.
Shortly afterwards, referee Grant Atkins had to stop the match again after finding a phone on the ground, probably dropped by the pitch invader.
‘We have a whistle, there is a telephone. An iPhone in the field, and you can only guess where it came from,” Warren Smith said in a comment.
A player (pictured) stormed onto the field during the first half of the Roosters-Bulldogs game.
Shortly after, the match was stopped again to remove a mobile phone from the field of play.
Michael Ennis added shortly after: “The lady who decided to do a 100 meter race dropped her phone.”
Roosters halfback Sam Walker orchestrated a 26-8 defeat of Canterbury that ensures his team will finish the weekend in the top four for the first time since March.
Fetalaiga Pauga was sent off for an ugly high kick on Bulldogs fullback Connor Tracey in the final eight minutes and the Roosters were reduced to 11 men after Walker committed a professional foul.
But their lead never looked threatened despite late casualties, and the team confirmed victory at a rainy Central Coast Stadium even without their four State of Origin representatives.
“We’re getting better,” Roosters coach Trent Robinson said.
“I feel like we know where we’re going, we’re very clear about our game.” Are we heading in the right direction.”
Despite the strong play of former rugby sevens star Jeral Skelton, the Bulldogs struggled for consistent chances, largely due to their poor ball handling in the wet.
Through the first 75 minutes of Saturday night’s game, Canterbury enjoyed just two tackles to the Roosters’ 20.
The field invader was ejected from the field by Industre Group Stadium security.
The Roosters moved into the top four after their win over the Bulldogs.
“We probably missed an opportunity to move up the standings a little bit, but I’m incredibly proud of how brave they were and how much effort they put in,” Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo said.
“(But) we obviously didn’t meet the conditions as well as they did.”
