Sydney Roosters co-captain Boyd Cordner has stood by coach Trent Robinson's decision to kick a penalty while trailing early in their Anzac Day loss to St George Illawarra.
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The Roosters had the best part of six sets on the Dragons' line between the 14th and 22nd minute on Wednesday while trailing 6-0, before they ultimately made the decision to take the two points after three consecutive penalties.
The decision to take the shot at goal came from Robinson, and resulted in Dragons players fist pumping and celebrating having survived the attack without conceding a try.
But Cordner said the decision remained the right one.
"Sometimes when you're down on their line and plays aren't going well and you're not executing and getting the tackle breaks or tries it is good to take the two points and reassess," Cordner said.
"I thought our yardage sets were going well for us."
Robinson also defended the call after the Roosters finished the game with 34 tackles in the Dragons' red-zone for just one try.
"I just thought they were getting stuck on the line there and it was a good option to take the two and get back into our yardage sets," Robinson said.
"I thought we were pretty dominant for most of that first half in the end. I thought the teams were going toe to toe there.
"There weren't many opportunities today in that area. It would have been better to execute there. It's a work in progress."
Privately, coaches are beginning to think it's easier to take shots at goal to work back into matches and attempt to stop the constant flow of penalties close to the line, which are often aimed at stifling the attack.
The Dragons fell into the same problem in Auckland last week, where they were awarded 10 first-half penalties but struggled to find momentum amongst the stoppages in their only loss of the year.
Regardless but, Dragons coach Paul McGregor admitted his team grew in confidence out of the decision while second-rower Tariq Sims took it as a win.
"When you're out there just tackling and repeatedly getting smashed on the line and then to turn them away and turn them away and for them to turn around and take the two was a huge win mentally for us," Sims said.
Australian Associated Press
