The U18 Victoria Thunderbolts were defeated 38-16 by the Central Coast Roosters in front of a Melbourne home crowd at Casey Fields on Saturday.
Despite the scores being locked 12-12 at halftime, the Roosters ran away with the game after the main break.
Errors and poor discipline in the second half saw the young Thunderbolts side record its second loss in the opening two rounds of the S.G Ball Cup.
The Roosters hit the scoreboard early but Victoria were quick to respond with a Dean Ieremia try and Pita-Will Purcell conversion.
Victoria’s Brandon Pritchard found the tryline and straight shooting from Pita-Will Purcell put the Thunderbolts in front momentarily.
The Roosters quickly squared the ledger, with a try from Sandon Smith and conversion from Reece Piepers levelling the scores before half time.
It was one-way traffic in the second half, as the visitors scored five unanswered tries.
Victoria’s Derek Iva crossed in the final minutes of the game but the momentum swing arrived too late.
The Thunderbolts will travel to Sydney this Saturday to take on the unbeaten Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs at Belmore Oval at 1.30pm.
Victoria Thunderbolts 16
Tries: Dean Ieremia, Brandon Pritchard, Derek Iva
Conversions: Pita-Will Purcell 2
Central Coast Roosters 38
Tries: Luke Knight, Sandon Smith, Riley Meyn, Adam Riding 3, Levi Kasun
Conversions: Reece Piepers 3, Levi Kasun 2
