Roosters 24 Bulldogs 14

WALKING into the Sydney Football Stadium last night was like walking into a U2 concert and being told Bono had laryngitis.

Or turning up to a Chisel gig in the early 1980s and finding Barnsey so slaughtered you couldn't understand him. Or perchance a night with Whitney Houston, only to be informed the diva was in her trailer and refusing to come out. But for the 9271 brave souls who fronted last night's Roosters-Bulldogs match - surely they were counting legs, not people - they were merely robbed of genuine star quality with no less than six Origin stars missing from the game.

Instead, they were treated to an erratic, end-to-end affair that the Roosters put to bed with eight minutes to go when stand-in five-eighth Setaimata Sa raced 90 metres, fending and brushing off Bulldogs lock Reni Maitua, to bury the match-winner and take them to the top of the ladder.

In the stands, the club's NSW representatives - Willie Mason, Braith Anasta, Craig Fitzgibbon, Mitchell Pearce and Anthony Tupou - hollered with the rest of the fans. While super-middleweight world champion Anthony Mundine provided the celebrity status, his close friend Sonny Bill Williams did all he could in his return match from a knee injury.

Williams set up the Bulldogs' first try with a freakish flick pass to winger Hazem El Masri, and, typical of the match, produced a grubber kick in his own in-goal late in the game in an attempt to retain possession.

Despite his efforts, and the Bulldogs holding a 10-0 lead after 29 minutes, the Bulldogs succumbed to a team of several no-names. They had little luck, with the Roosters controversially taking an 18-10 lead with 13 to go when video referee Bill Harrigan controversially allowed a try to fullback Amos Roberts.

Replays suggested Roberts might have lost control of the Steeden as he reached out for the line. But Harrigan believed there was sufficient downward pressure, and he approved the four-pointer on benefit of the doubt. From there, the home side wasn't headed - despite a large chunk of their salary cap serving as cheerleaders.

The NRL's spin doctors will tell you last night's match attracted its own interest because it was without many of the big names. Nobody should buy it. No NRL match should be without its Origin stars. It should have been another memorable replay of the 2004 grand final. Another memorable replay of the round-four match between two arch-rivals. Another memorable replay of Mason versus Williams.

Instead, Mason was sitting in the stands with his NSW teammates. "I'd love to be out there," he told Channel Nine, watching intently.

The NRL is right on one score, though: these matches provide rookies with the opportunity to stand up and be noticed. It didn't seem that way for Bulldogs rookie five-eighth Arana Taumata. His first touch in the big time was a kick that went backwards as he was wheeled around by the collar by a Roosters defender.

Minutes later, Williams - finally returning from a knee injury after a month on the sidelines - reminded us all that he is a 24-carat star. Stalking the right-hand side of the field, he confronted five Roosters defenders, sized up Brent Grose and Mitchell Aubusson, and produced a miracle flick pass to put El Masri over.

The Roosters had every right to think they were back in the match on two occasions shortly after, only to be denied by the video referee. And when Sa galloped towards the try line in the 29th minute, they had every right to think it again.

Instead, he dropped the ball and Dogs fullback Nick Youngquest went on a searing run and linked up with Taumata. If his horror kick with his first touch was haunting him, it didn't show. Faking to Williams, the youngster raced 70 metres to score and push his side out to a 10-0 lead.

With five to go, Sa showed the type of skills you'd expect from Anasta, grubber kicking to the wing for Grose to score and narrow the gap just before the break.

Big names? Who needs big names? ROOSTERS 24 (B Grose S Kenny-Dowall S Perrett A Roberts S Sa tries A Roberts 2 goals) bt BULLDOGS 14 (H El Masri A Taumata T Winitana tries H El Masri goal). Referee: J Maxwell. Crowd: 9271.