Violence mars Roosters' demolition of Dogs
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Crowd violence has overshadowed the Sydney Roosters' 35-0 win over the embattled Canterbury Bulldogs in the National Rugby League (NRL) match at Sydney Football Stadium on Friday night.
Police and the NRL are investigating after half a dozen fights broke out in the stands.
At least two police officers were injured and a group of supporters has been taken into custody.
Bottles were thrown onto the playing arena by Bulldogs fans and the game was briefly stopped.
With allegations of sexual assault and news of a positive drug test by one its players plaguing the Bulldogs, NRL boss David Gallop says the club can ill afford the latest drama.
"That club doesn't need misbehaviour by its fans at the moment and I would hope the club sends that message back to their fans over the next couple of days," he said.
Mr Gallops said misbehaving fans face life bans and the club could be fined.
Bulldogs captain Steve Price has appealed to all fans to behave.
Meanwhile father of two and Roosters supporter Andrew White said he was outraged by the crowd's behaviour.
"We've never seen anything like this in our lives," he said.
"The amount of violence and aggression and hysteria after the game was just unbelievable."
On the field
Off-field distractions clearly took their toll on the Bulldogs, who trailed the Roosters 18-0 at half-time.
The Roosters, on the other hand, made few errors and came ready play.
Anthony Minichiello (16th and 20th) and Chris Walker (3rd and 44th) both crossed the tryline twice for the Roosters.
Minichiello, in particular, was outstanding. He should have crossed for a third try but was denied by some desperate defence from Bulldogs full-back Luke Patten in the 71st minute.
Chris Flannery and Justin Hodges were the other try scorers for the Roosters, while captain Brad Fittler kicked a field goal.
Craig Fitzgibbon booted four goals from four attempts and Walker also made one conversion.
The closest the Bulldogs came to scoring was in the 63rd minute when Sonny-Bill Williams was held up over the line.
It was the Bulldogs' first loss of the season and ended a bad week for the club in which chief executive Steve Mortimer resigned.
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