Sydney Roosters coach Ricky Stuart praised his side's professionalism after they crushed the North Queensland Cowboys 32-0 in their NRL clash at Dairy Farmers Stadium.

The Roosters ran in five tries in a dominant display and rarely had their line threatened by the Cowboys.

Stuart was delighted with his side's preparations and execution in steamy conditions in Townsville.

"We always thought it was going to be a tough game," Stuart said.

"We wanted to set the trend of the game early. We wanted to be very disciplined and show a very professional display of football and we did that.

"I am very excited about that game. The professionalism we showed getting here and preparing and our commitment was the foundation to the win."

The Roosters were able to dominate the second half after leading at half time 14-0, despite the first period being an arm wrestle.

Sydney's outside backs had a field day with winger Todd Byrne scoring two tries and laying on another while centre Justin Hodges was outstanding.

Byrne scored the opening try in the 13th minute after chasing a 50m kick by skipper Brad Fittler who had made a break from a Hodges pass deep in his own half.

Then Byrne turned supplier when he bumped off a couple of defenders before offloading to Chad Robinson who raced 40 metres to score three minutes before halftime.

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