Friday, 20 April 2018:

Roosters coach TRENT ROBINSON watches on during the Sydney Roosters NRL training session at Kippax Lake in Sydney, Australia.

Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson has fiercely defended his side's 6-0 win over Canterbury, describing it as a game for rugby league "purists".

The Roosters produced arguably their best defensive display in two years on Thursday after turning away 52 plays at their line from a struggling Bulldogs attack.

Robinson admitted he was unhappy with his team's use of the ball - they completed just 65 per cent of their sets - but hit out at suggestions the one-try match was a dour affair.

"Purists will love that game. I loved it. To see a team work as hard as that in defence, that's a footy game. That's a part of footy that you should really enjoy. It was hard work," he said.

"I'm not happy with one side of the ball.

"But to see that early in the season, the fight for a zero like that... I reckon I knew I'd come in here and people would say that it wasn't good enough, but that's what footy's about."

They also had to overcome a first-half sin-binning to Latrell Mitchell for a professional foul, as well as the early exit of co-captain Jake Friend due to concussion.

Not since a 38-0 shutout over Newcastle in April, 2016, have the Roosters held their line intact.

"It's been a while. We've defended well at different times, but it has been a couple of years since we've defended like that," Robinson said.

"But then also to keep it to zero, to not having something go close... (the Bulldogs) went away and put some points on last week. So I thought that showed some skill, technique and obviously some ticker.

"You don't fluke zeroes, but you don't hold onto them unless you go back to the work you've been doing for months to get one."

Robinson admitted there was plenty of improvement in an attack averaging 18.6 points a game so far.

"We've been working hard on some things and sometimes it'd come off but sometimes you can try too hard. You've got to let the work be done in our attack more and then the rewards will come," he said.

AAP