St George Illawarra coach Paul McGregor has conceded his team's slow start cost the Dragons in their Anzac Day loss to the Roosters.
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After falling behind 14-0 at the break, St George Illawarra mounted a valiant fightback in the second half to narrow the margin to four points with 27 minutes remaining.
The initial 14-point lead proved too great, however, with a late Siosiua Taukeiaho try sealing the Roosters win.
While the Dragons settled into the match in the second half, McGregor conceded the magnitude of playing in front of 38,414 fans at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Anzac Day got the better of some of his players in the opening 40 minutes.
He was proud of the resilience his players showed to fight back in the second half, but lamented a disappointing first period that was dominated by the Roosters.
"Possession-wise, we had 38 per cent," McGregor said post-match. "They're the best team in the world, you can't give the best team in the world that much possession.
"We're motivated going forward by our second half, we spiked the line a few times. At 14-10 and with a line break down on the left edge, if we went in when we went out, it could've been a different story at 16-14.
"I asked the boys to leave it all out there in the second half and they did exactly that. I just want to know why that wasn't there in the first half."
The second-half fightback came on the back of tries to Zac Lomax and Matt Dufty, with Dufty producing a piece of individual brilliance to narrow the margin to four.
After receiving the ball 35 metres out from his own line, the diminutive fullback stepped past Boyd Cordner before standing up fullback James Tedesco and running circles around Cooper Cronk to complete a 65m effort.
Speaking after the game, Dufty admitted much of the run was simply instinct as he did everything he could to beat multiple scrambling Roosters players.
"It was pretty pleasing, especially at the SCG on Anzac Day," Dufty said. "It was something that came out of nothing and I was lucky enough to get over the line.
"It was all instinct, I got the ball and looked infield and there was a little hole, I fell through it and the rest I don't know what was happening, I just found my way to the line.
"It was pretty daunting coming up against Teddy, when you break the line and you've got the NSW and Australian fullback there. I tried to just take him one way and go back and I was lucky enough to get past him."
The match opened up throughout the final 20 minutes, with both teams creating opportunities to break through for a decisive try as the game looked set to reach a thrilling climax.
While the Dragons threatened, it was the Roosters who held their nerve to secure a signature victory as Dufty's match took a turn for the worse.
Fielding a Cooper Cronk grubber in the 77th minute, Dufty spilled the ball after he was hit hard by Roosters skipper Jake Friend.
The Roosters pounced, with Taukeiaho dancing past a tired Jacob Host and James Graham to cross for the match-sealing try.
Coming off the highs of his superb try, Dufty admitted it was disappointing to produce such a costly error with the game on the line.
"It's disappointing, I let everyone down, not just everyone at the club, but the fans too. We fought so hard and to lose it like that is heart-breaking."
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