

A hat-trick by Anthony Quinn was the driving force behind reigning premiers Melbourne's stunning return to
form at Olympic Park with a 28-8 win over the Broncos on Friday night. The Storm were also well served by
Israel Folau - during the week Folau had signed with the Broncos for next season; and gave the club he
will be joining a flogging with another dominant performance. After a 2-match losing streak that gave hope
to the rest of the competition that the Storm were beatable, the hopes appear extinguished already.
Melbourne 28 d Brisbane 8
Storm : Tries - A Quinn 3, I Folau, R Hoffman. Goals - C Smith 4/5.
Broncos : Tries - R Robinson, D Stagg. Goals - M Ennis 0/2.
Referee - J Maxwell. Crowd - 13,831 at Olympic Park.
A big crowd was on hand at ANZ Stadium when the Bulldogs took on a Roosters side full of ex-Bulldogs.
For big Willie Mason, it was his first game against his old side; and after a hostile reception from the
home fans who once adored him it was Mason who had the last laugh as he scored twice in his new
team's comprehensive 40-12 victory. It took 19 minutes for the first score of the game, but once big Willie
crossed over to open the Roosters' account it was all one-way traffic as the Roosters raced to a 20-0 lead
at the break; and already the contest looked decided. And so it was, as the Roosters cruised home to take
an easy win.
Sydney Roosters 40 d Bulldogs 12
Roosters : Tries - W Mason 2, A Roberts, M Pearce, C Fitzgibbon, S Sa, S Kenny-Dowall. Goals - C
Fitzgibbon 5/6, A Roberts 1/1.
Bulldogs : Tries - B Roberts, C Hughes. Goals - H El Masri 2/2.
Referee - T Archer. Crowd - 36,526 at ANZ Stadium.
A lacklustre southern derby at Homebush was at least redeemed by a close finish, with scores locked at
16-16 after regulation time and sent into golden point. For much of the second half it was looking like a
narrow St George win, but with just 2 minutes left on the clock Bryson Goodwin went over in the corner;
and although Luke Covell missed the conversion he made up for it in the second minute of added time
after Jason Ryles gave away a penalty and Luke Covell made no mistake to add the penalty goal and give
the Sharks their third win of the season.
Cronulla 18 d St George-Illawarra 16 in golden point extra time.
Sharks : Tries - G Bird, B Kearney, B Goodwin. Goals - L Covell 3/4.
Dragons : Tries - J Morris, L Setu, B Hornby. Goals - J Soward 2/3
Referee - S Hampstead. Crowd - 15,318 at ANZ Stadium.
Gold Coast's strong start to their second season continued when the Titans recorded an easy 32-12 win
over Canberra at Robina. But the match will be best remembered for an all-in brawl after Canberra's
Michael Weyman landed a big hit on Titans forward Michael Conn. Weyman was sent off for the hit; and
with the Raiders a man down, the Titans ran through another couple of tries to blow the final margin out.
Gold Coast 32 d Canberra 12
Titans : Tries - L Bailey, L O'Dwyer, A Laffranchi, D Conn, B Jeffery, M Minichiello. Goals - S Prince 4/6.
Raiders : Tries - C Best, A Purtell. Goals - T Carney 2/2.
Referee - B Cummins. Crowd - 17,381 at Skilled Park.
ROUND 5 FIXTURES: (All times shown are Sydney time)
Friday 11th April Melbourne v Manly (Olympic Park, 7:30pm) Parramatta v Gold Coast (Parramatta Stadium, 7:30pm) Saturday 12th April St George-Illawarra v North Queensland (WIN Stadium, 5:30pm) Penrith v Sydney Roosters (CUA Stadium, 7:30pm) Sunday 13th April NZ Warriors v Bulldogs (Mt Smart Stadium, 12:00pm) Canberra v Wests Tigers (Canberra Stadium, 2:00pm) Newcastle v Brisbane (Energy Australia Stadium, 3:00pm) Monday 14th April South Sydney v Cronulla (ANZ Stadium, 7:00pm)
|
After a 3-game losing streak to open the season, North Queensland rediscovered the form of recent
seasons when they reversed their fortunes in style with a comprehensive 38-14 win over Parramatta at
Dairy Farmers Stadium on Saturday night. Johnathan Thurston was in fine form with the boot, kicking 7
from 7 while also being influential in general play. A bad night got even worse for Parramatta when Eels'
halfback Brett Finch was reported and had little other impact on the match.
North Queensland 38 d Parramatta 14
Cowboys : Tries - A Graham, M Henry, J Lillyman, J Smith, A Watts, C Webb. Goals - J Thurston 7/7.
Eels : Tries - B Finch, E Grothe, T Tautai Goals - L Burt 1/3.
Referee - B Sutton. Crowd - 19,231.
After being humiliated by Manly last week, the Warriors came onto Mt Smart Stadium determined to regain
their respectability, and after just 15 minutes they had achieved that; getting off to a flying start and leading
14-0. Despite being away, so far behind and at the wrong end of a lopsided penalty count, the Knights
worked hard after that to try to force their way back into the contest; and with 8 minutes to go they got within
a converted try. But the equaliser was not to come, and the New Zealand side was able to hang on to
record a hard-fought 26-20 win.
New Zealand Warriors 26 d Newcastle 20
Warriors : Tries - R Shortland 2, E Tuimavave, P Ah Van. Goals - M Witt 5/5.
Knights : Tries - W Naiqama 2, C Paterson, J McManus. Goals - K Gidley 2/4.
Referee - T De Las Heras. Crowd - 11,518 at Mt Smart Stadium.
Last season Souths were the glamour club of the competition, coming from nowhere to make the finals
and going down in a brave fight to Manly at Brookvale in the finals. But their return to the venue where they
played their only final since 1989 showed up how far backwards the Rabbitohs have come in 2008. The
Rabbitohs had no spark, no drive, no attack and never looked like scoring a try. Manly were down on their
best form, but at least managed to go over 3 times to provide some highlights; and after an indifferent start
to the year the Sea Eagles have now entered the top 4 while the struggling Rabbitohs languish in last spot.
Manly 20 d South Sydney 2
Sea Eagles : Tries - A Cuthbertson, J Lyon, B Stewart. Goals - M Orford 4/4.
Rabbitohs : Goals - N Merritt 1/1.
Referee - S Hayne. Crowd - 14,426 at Brookvale Oval.
The heavens opened over Campbelltown on Monday night, unleashing a torrential downpour; and Wests
Tigers found their resistance was washed away by a determined performance by Penrith. Against all
expectations, the Panthers dominated play in the first half to take a shock 18-2 lead into the break; and in
the heavy conditions the Tigers had no answers and no chance of forcing their way back into the contest.
The Panthers' fine win, however, was tempered with injuries to Adam Woolnough and Trent Waterhouse,
both of whom left the field in the first half and did not return.
Penrith 30 d Wests Tigers 8
Panthers : Tries - M Blair, M Gordon, M Jennings, L Priddis, B Tighe. Goals - J Sammut 5/6.
Tigers : Tries - B Ryan. Goals - B Hodgson 2/2.
Referee - J Robinson. Crowd - 11,898 at Campbelltown Stadium.