Latrell Mitchell scored a hat-trick and James Tedesco put on a show as the rampant Sydney Roosters beat St George Illawarra Dragons 36-18 and Gold Coast Titans secured their biggest ever NRL win over New Zealand Warriors.
The Roosters thrashed Manly Sea Eagles last weekend and they turned on the style again in coach Trent Robinson's 150th NRL game at Allianz Stadium on Sunday to leapfrog their opponents into third place, despite losing Luke Keary to a knee injury.
Powerhouse centre Mitchell set the ball rolling by fending off three tackles to force his way over in the left corner and Tedesco was on hand to round off a magnificent move just 10 minutes in as the Roosters got off to a flyer.
Cooper Cronk exchanged passes with Tedesco to scamper away for a third try, but Ben Hunt crossed on the stroke of half-time for a four-pointer, which Gareth Widdop converted to make it 16-6 at the break.
The Roosters were playing with a swagger and the alert Mitchell dotted down when the Dragons failed to deal with a high ball from Cronk, and the 21-year-old completed his treble by barging his way through Jason Nightingale before reaching out to finish with his left hand.
Tedesco put on the afterburners to dart away for his second try and Blake Ferguson also crossed, with Mitchell converting for a fourth time to take his tally to 20 points as further St George scores from Hunt and Tariq Sims were in vain.
The Titans ended a three-match losing streak with a 36-12 thumping of the Warriors at Cbus Super Stadium.
Phillip Sami claimed a double, while Brenko Lee celebrated his new contract with an impressive display as the Titans outscored the Warriors 28-0 in the second half, having lost 14 of their previous 15 encounters with the Auckland side.
