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Parramatta were keen to move their opening round game against St George-Illawarra from their 20,000
capacity home ground to ANZ Stadium where they could potentially have drawn a crowd of around
40,000. But contractual issues would deny them the opportunity to switch, and the game would go
ahead at Parramatta Stadium.
It took just 6 minutes for the Dragons to take the lead, when Ben Hornby chased a grubber and got his
hand to the ball just centimetres from the dead ball line. And on 20 minutes the lead blew out to 12-0
after Jeremy Smith managed to evade two tacklers to cross the line and ground the ball. But the Eels
fought back through Eric Grothe, who scored in the corner and after a magnificent conversion kick by
Luke Burt the margin was back to 12-6.
The Dragons led by 6 at the break, and with the better of play in the early stages of the second half,
helped by some poor discipline by the Eels, were able to extend the advantage. Twice penalties were
awarded within kicking range, and rather than take the tap the Dragons elected to send Jamie Soward
to the kicking tee. But with 15 minutes to go, the margin was suddenly back to 4 points after a strong
run by Luke Burt saw him race half the length of the field to score a sensational try. But that was as
close as the Eels would get; and a late penalty goal to Soward gave the Dragons a 6-point win and some
small measure of revenge for last year’s qualifying final shock.
St George-Illawarra Dragons 18 def Parramatta Eels 12
Dragons : Tries – B Hornby, J Smith. Goals – J Soward 5/5.
Eels : Tries – E Grothe, L Burt. Goals – L Burt 2/2.
Referees – T Archer, G Badger. Crowd – 18,293 at Parramatta Stadium.
A run of quickfire scoring by North Queensland was not enough to get the Cowboys over the line
against Brisbane, as the Broncos recorded a 30-24 win at Suncorp Stadium.
The Cowboys, with Willie Mason pulling on the jersey for the first time, came out strongly but despite a
few close calls were unable to cross the Brisbane line. And on 19 minutes it was the Broncos who
opened the scoring, with Israel Folau shaking off the attentions of three tacklers to crash over the line.
And just 3 minutes later, a lightning pass from Antonio Winterstein set up Darren Lockyer in the corner.
Winterstein was again in the thick of the action on 28 minutes, breaking through the Cowboys’
defensive line before offloading to Michael Gillett to set the Broncos up with a 16-0 lead.
Anthony Glenn also crossed the line with just minutes to go in the first half, and at the break the
Broncos led 22-0. A penalty goal early in the second half added to the advantage, and on the hour the
Broncos had a 24 point lead and looked comfortable.
But suddenly, out of nowhere, the Cowboys stormed back into the contest. Broncos’ debutant fullback
Corey Norman knocked on a grubber, the ball spilling to Ty Williams for the easiest of tries. Three
minutes later, Ashley Graham found an opening and scored in the corner. With 12 minutes remaining,
Willie Tonga was on the end of a well-timed chip from Thurston to add another; and with Thurston
converting all 3 tries, suddenly the margin was back to 6 points.
Johnathan Thurston then continued his purple patch, crossing the line to score himself, and after his
successful conversion, scores were level. Just 12 minutes ago the Broncos were sitting pretty 24 points
clear, and suddenly the lead had been taken from them.
But in the final minutes the Broncos regrouped. And 5 minutes from time, Denan Kemp caught the
Cowboys’ defence napping to cross the line and restore the Broncos’ advantage. Brisbane would take
the win they always looked likely to achieve, but what for much of the night looked set to be a
comfortable result turned out instead to be a nervous ending.
Brisbane Broncos 30 def North Queensland Cowboys 24
Broncos : Tries – I Folau, D Lockyer, M Gillett, A Glenn, D Kemp. Goals – C Parker 5/6.
Cowboys : Tries – T Williams, A Graham, W Tonga, J Thurston. Goals – J Thurston 4/4.
Referees – J Maxwell, G Sutton. Crowd – 48,516 at Suncorp Stadium.
capacity home ground to ANZ Stadium where they could potentially have drawn a crowd of around
40,000. But contractual issues would deny them the opportunity to switch, and the game would go
ahead at Parramatta Stadium.
It took just 6 minutes for the Dragons to take the lead, when Ben Hornby chased a grubber and got his
hand to the ball just centimetres from the dead ball line. And on 20 minutes the lead blew out to 12-0
after Jeremy Smith managed to evade two tacklers to cross the line and ground the ball. But the Eels
fought back through Eric Grothe, who scored in the corner and after a magnificent conversion kick by
Luke Burt the margin was back to 12-6.
The Dragons led by 6 at the break, and with the better of play in the early stages of the second half,
helped by some poor discipline by the Eels, were able to extend the advantage. Twice penalties were
awarded within kicking range, and rather than take the tap the Dragons elected to send Jamie Soward
to the kicking tee. But with 15 minutes to go, the margin was suddenly back to 4 points after a strong
run by Luke Burt saw him race half the length of the field to score a sensational try. But that was as
close as the Eels would get; and a late penalty goal to Soward gave the Dragons a 6-point win and some
small measure of revenge for last year’s qualifying final shock.
St George-Illawarra Dragons 18 def Parramatta Eels 12
Dragons : Tries – B Hornby, J Smith. Goals – J Soward 5/5.
Eels : Tries – E Grothe, L Burt. Goals – L Burt 2/2.
Referees – T Archer, G Badger. Crowd – 18,293 at Parramatta Stadium.
A run of quickfire scoring by North Queensland was not enough to get the Cowboys over the line
against Brisbane, as the Broncos recorded a 30-24 win at Suncorp Stadium.
The Cowboys, with Willie Mason pulling on the jersey for the first time, came out strongly but despite a
few close calls were unable to cross the Brisbane line. And on 19 minutes it was the Broncos who
opened the scoring, with Israel Folau shaking off the attentions of three tacklers to crash over the line.
And just 3 minutes later, a lightning pass from Antonio Winterstein set up Darren Lockyer in the corner.
Winterstein was again in the thick of the action on 28 minutes, breaking through the Cowboys’
defensive line before offloading to Michael Gillett to set the Broncos up with a 16-0 lead.
Anthony Glenn also crossed the line with just minutes to go in the first half, and at the break the
Broncos led 22-0. A penalty goal early in the second half added to the advantage, and on the hour the
Broncos had a 24 point lead and looked comfortable.
But suddenly, out of nowhere, the Cowboys stormed back into the contest. Broncos’ debutant fullback
Corey Norman knocked on a grubber, the ball spilling to Ty Williams for the easiest of tries. Three
minutes later, Ashley Graham found an opening and scored in the corner. With 12 minutes remaining,
Willie Tonga was on the end of a well-timed chip from Thurston to add another; and with Thurston
converting all 3 tries, suddenly the margin was back to 6 points.
Johnathan Thurston then continued his purple patch, crossing the line to score himself, and after his
successful conversion, scores were level. Just 12 minutes ago the Broncos were sitting pretty 24 points
clear, and suddenly the lead had been taken from them.
But in the final minutes the Broncos regrouped. And 5 minutes from time, Denan Kemp caught the
Cowboys’ defence napping to cross the line and restore the Broncos’ advantage. Brisbane would take
the win they always looked likely to achieve, but what for much of the night looked set to be a
comfortable result turned out instead to be a nervous ending.
Brisbane Broncos 30 def North Queensland Cowboys 24
Broncos : Tries – I Folau, D Lockyer, M Gillett, A Glenn, D Kemp. Goals – C Parker 5/6.
Cowboys : Tries – T Williams, A Graham, W Tonga, J Thurston. Goals – J Thurston 4/4.
Referees – J Maxwell, G Sutton. Crowd – 48,516 at Suncorp Stadium.
Newcastle, having lost their coach, in financial strife, having been forced to dismiss two key players
during the off-season after drug charges, looked to be a club on the ropes; and early predictions by
many experts suggested the wooden spoon was heading the Knights’ way. But against the odds, the
Knights bounced back, restoring club pride with a win over the highly-fancied Bulldogs at Homebush on
Saturday.
On 7 minutes, the Knights opened the scoring when Cooper Vuna flew high AFL-style to catch a bomb
and play on to score a try in the corner. Akuila Uate added another 9 minutes later, and when Junior
Sau found the line in the 27 minute, the Knights held a shock 16-0 lead, an advantage they would hold
for the remainder of the first half.
Josh Morris got the first Bulldogs’ points shortly after the break, but a strong run from Mark Taufua
resulted in an almost instant reply for the Knights. The Newcastle side had a handy 16-point buffer as
the clock continued to tick down.
And they would need that buffer as the Bulldogs came back strongly in the latter stages of the game.
Josh Morris and Steve Turner both recorded doubles, and the home side would have been in a position
to steal an unlikely win had their kicking for conversion been straight. But missing the retired Hazem El
Masri, the Bulldogs turned to Michael Ennis to perform the goalkicking; and Ennis was having a shocker of
a night with the boot. His return of no goals from four attempts saw the Bulldogs’ comeback fall short,
and the Knights hung on for dear life during the final minutes of the game to record a victory that will
boost spirits around the club and provide rookie coach Rick Stone with hope that Newcastle can put
their off-season woes behind them and be a competitive force in 2010.
Newcastle Knights 20 def Canterbury Bulldogs 16
Knights : Tries – C Vuna, A Uate, J Sau, M Taufua. Goals – W Naiqama 2/4.
Bulldogs : Tries – S Turner 2, J Morris 2. Goals – M Ennis 0/4.
Referees – J Robinson, B Sutton. Crowd – 18,110 at ANZ Stadium.
Melbourne weren’t at the top of their game and didn’t look convincing, but the Storm did enough to
get past Cronulla 14-10 at Shark Park on Saturday night.
An early penalty goal put the Sharks 2-0 ahead, but the first half was an arm-wrestle. Both sides were
defending strongly but struggling to complete their attacking sets. But with five minutes to go in the
half, the game changed when Trent Barrett was sent to the sin bin. And the Storm took advantage of
their numerical advantage, with Greg Inglis crossing the line in the corner and after the video referee
took plenty of time to view the replays the try was awarded. Cameron Smith added the extras and the
Storm took a 6-2 lead into the break.
Before the game kicked off, a minute’s silence was held for Cronulla’s Scott Porter, who elected to play
in the game despite the loss of his sister that morning. And shortly after the break, Porter took the
kicking tee and landed a penalty goal from the sideline to the applause of the local fans.
But the Storm were soon asserting control over the game, a running move setting up Luke MacDougall
in the corner. And on the hour, a Storm penalty goal gave them a 14-4 lead.
But the Sharks weren’t finished yet, and with 10 minutes to go Luke Douglas found the line for the
Sharks’ first try. Luke Covell, back on the field, kicked the conversion and the margin was back to 4
points. But, although the Sharks pressed hard in the final minutes, the Storm defence held firm and the
defending champions were able to take out the victory.
Melbourne Storm 14 def Cronulla Sharks 10
Storm : Tries – G Inglis, L MacDougall. Goals – C Smith 3/3.
Sharks : Tries – L Douglas. Goals – L Covell 2/2, S Porter 1/1.
Referees – B Cummins, B Suttor. Goals – 11,820 at Toyota Stadium.
After a strong start, Penrith were forced to hang on as Canberra came back strongly, before the tide
turned again and the Panthers were able to record a 34-16 victory over the Raiders at CUA Stadium on
Saturday night.
The Panthers got off to a flying start, with 4 tries before the half hour mark. Shane Elford pounced on a
well timed kick to open the scoring. Luke Lewis received an offload to add another. A knock on gave
the Panthers field position and Pritchard set up Kingston. And a brilliant solo effort by Lachlan Coote saw
the Panthers 22-0 ahead, it the Panthers were looking comfortable after maintaining their lead until half
time.
But momentum shifted the Raiders’ way after the break. Prop Scott Logan powered over the line to get
the Raiders on the board. David Campese set up Daniel Vidot, and just a few minutes later Joel
Thompson was on the board and the margin was reduced to 6 points.
With 10 minutes to go, and the Raiders again threatening the Penrith line, they were searching hard for
an equaliser. David Campese fired off a pass, but it was intercepted by Adrian Purtell. Purtell, given his
marching orders by the Raiders after last season before being thrown a lifeline by the Panthers, took
delight at running 95m to score against his old club. Lachlan Coote’s second try came minutes later, and
the Panthers were headed for victory.
Penrith Panthers 34 def Canberra Raiders 16
Panthers : Tries – L Coote 2, S Elford, L Lewis, K Kingston, A Purtell. Goals – M Gordon 5/6.
Raiders : Tries – S Logan, D Vidot, J Thompson. Goals – D Campese 2/3.
Referees – S Lyons, A Shortall. Crowd – 11,133 at CUA Stadium.
New Zealand Warriors threatened to pull off an opening round upset when they took on Gold Coast at
Robina in the early Sunday game, but the Titans rallied to pull off a 24-18 victory.
It took just 8 minutes for the Warriors to get on the scoreboard, after a well weighted kick by James
Maloney sat up for Manu Vatuvei to run in and score. On 26 minutes, Kevin Locke chased a kick and
scored to give the Warriors a 12-0 lead.
The ball went back to the centre, where Preston Campbell caught the Warriors’ defence napping with a
short kick-off. With the Titans having possession when they shouldn’t have expected it, inside the
Warriors’ half, they pressed hard and scored during the set when Joseph Tomane found an opening to
run in and score under the posts.
Vatuvei’s second try extended the Warriors’ advantage before Anthony Laffranchi went over in the last
minute before half time to reduce the Titans’ deficit to 6 points.
On the hour, David Mead found the line and after Scott Prince’s conversion scores were level. And with
10 minutes to go, Preston Campbell continued his stellar game with a strong individual effort to give the
Titans the lead. And they were able to maintain the lead after Campbell courageously blocked off Manu
Vatuvei, preventing the Warrior from scoring his third try.
Gold Coast Titans 24 def New Zealand Warriors 18
Titans : Tries – J Tomane, A Laffranchi, D Mead, P Campbell. Goals – S Prince 4/4.
Warriors : Tries – M Vatuvei 2, K Locke. Goals – B Seymour 3/3.
Referees – M Cecchin, C James. Crowd – 16,112 at Skilled Park.
For the fifth year in a row the traditional season opener between Souths and the Roosters was won by
the away team; with the Roosters recording a convincing 36-10 win.
Todd Carney, in his first game for the Roosters and returning to the NRL after being sacked by Canberra
in 2008, was instrumental in the victory; not only with his accuracy in goals with 6 from 7 attempts but
also controlling the play around the ground. An offload from Carney set up Mitchell Pearce in the 12th
minute for the opening try. On 28 minutes, with the Rabbitohs looking for an equaliser, an intercept
from Shaun Kenny-Dowall followed by a 90 metre run saw the Roosters double their advantage. Nathan
Merritt got one back for the Rabbitohs shortly before half time, and the score was 12-6 to the Roosters
at the break.
But the second half was one-way traffic. An offload by Carney set up Sam Perrett, before a chip and
chase by Aiden Guerra resulted in another Roosters’ try. Pearce and Kenny-Dowall, the first half try
scorers, each added another in the second half; and although Merritt scored a late try for the Rabbitohs
this was a comfortable win for the Roosters.
It was a disappointing opening to the season for the Rabbitohs, who had promised much during the pre-
season but were unable to reproduce that form when the pressure was on in the opening round. But
for the Roosters, coached by Brian Smith for the first time, the result gave hope that the woes of their
disastrous 2009 season were behind them and that the Roosters would show some improved form in
2010.
Sydney Roosters 36 def South Sydney Rabbitohs 10
Roosters : Tries – M Pearce 2, S Kenny-Dowall 2, S Perrett, A Guerra. Goals – T Carney 6/7.
Rabbitohs : Tries – N Merritt 2. Goals – I Luke 1/2.
Referees – T De las Heras, A Klein. Crowd – 23,149 at ANZ Stadium.
Wests Tigers welcomed back Lote Tuqiri to rugby league after an 8-year stint playing rugby union, and
the former Queensland Origin winger was one of their best in an open, free-flowing game where the
Tigers would come from behind to defeat Manly 26-22 at the Sydney Football Stadium on Monday night.
It took just three minutes for Tuqiri to have an impact, as with his first touch of the football he would
move forward to score in the corner. And the Tigers had a chance to score another try in the opposite
corner minutes later but the ball was dropped just short of the line. After surviving the early onslaught
with only one try conceded, Manly gradually began to recover field position, and on 25 minutes Michael
Robertson dived on a bomb to score in the corner. Jamie Lyon added the extras and the Sea Eagles had
the lead.
Just four minutes later, Glenn Stewart found a gap to cross the line and score under the posts. George
Rose would use his size to power over the line to add another; and when Lyon added a penalty goal on
the stroke of half time, the Sea Eagles enjoyed a 20-4 lead.
The Tigers were struggling with skill errors, and a run of dropped ball gave the Sea Eagles plenty of
opportunities to add to their advantage after the break. But the Sea Eagles, partly held up by resolute
defence and partly due to their own errors, were unable to capitalise as for 20 scoreless minutes after
the break the Sea Eagles had tried but failed to open the flood gates.
And then the tide turned, and suddenly without warning the Tigers stormed back into the contest.
Blake Ayshford found the line, and just two minutes later Liam Fulton found an opening to score. A
Manly penalty goal gave the Sea Eagles some breathing space, but the Tigers were throwing the ball
around and frequently finding holes in the tiring Manly defence. A run by Tuqiri created field position
that Chris Lawrence was able to capitalise on to score. And with 5 minutes to go, Gareth Evans found
another gap on the left hand side of the defensive line to score and give the Tigers a lead that 15
minutes previously looked unlikely.
The Tigers would take the two points, sending a message that the 2010 side was one that means
business. It was a disappointing loss for the Sea Eagles, blowing a game that had looked theirs for the
taking, and with fullback Brett Stewart going off with a leg injury late in the game and three players on
report, the Sea Eagles run the risk of being depleted in their upcoming fixtures.
Click here to see Harboursport's photo gallery from this match.
Wests Tigers 26 def Manly Sea Eagles 22
Tigers : Tries – L Tuqiri, B Ayshford, L Fulton, C Lawrence, G Ellis. Goals – B Marshall 3/5.
Manly : Tries – M Robertson, G Stewart, G Rose. Goals – J Lyon 5/5.
Referees – G Badger, J Maxwell. Crowd – 18,421 at Sydney Football Stadium.
during the off-season after drug charges, looked to be a club on the ropes; and early predictions by
many experts suggested the wooden spoon was heading the Knights’ way. But against the odds, the
Knights bounced back, restoring club pride with a win over the highly-fancied Bulldogs at Homebush on
Saturday.
On 7 minutes, the Knights opened the scoring when Cooper Vuna flew high AFL-style to catch a bomb
and play on to score a try in the corner. Akuila Uate added another 9 minutes later, and when Junior
Sau found the line in the 27 minute, the Knights held a shock 16-0 lead, an advantage they would hold
for the remainder of the first half.
Josh Morris got the first Bulldogs’ points shortly after the break, but a strong run from Mark Taufua
resulted in an almost instant reply for the Knights. The Newcastle side had a handy 16-point buffer as
the clock continued to tick down.
And they would need that buffer as the Bulldogs came back strongly in the latter stages of the game.
Josh Morris and Steve Turner both recorded doubles, and the home side would have been in a position
to steal an unlikely win had their kicking for conversion been straight. But missing the retired Hazem El
Masri, the Bulldogs turned to Michael Ennis to perform the goalkicking; and Ennis was having a shocker of
a night with the boot. His return of no goals from four attempts saw the Bulldogs’ comeback fall short,
and the Knights hung on for dear life during the final minutes of the game to record a victory that will
boost spirits around the club and provide rookie coach Rick Stone with hope that Newcastle can put
their off-season woes behind them and be a competitive force in 2010.
Newcastle Knights 20 def Canterbury Bulldogs 16
Knights : Tries – C Vuna, A Uate, J Sau, M Taufua. Goals – W Naiqama 2/4.
Bulldogs : Tries – S Turner 2, J Morris 2. Goals – M Ennis 0/4.
Referees – J Robinson, B Sutton. Crowd – 18,110 at ANZ Stadium.
Melbourne weren’t at the top of their game and didn’t look convincing, but the Storm did enough to
get past Cronulla 14-10 at Shark Park on Saturday night.
An early penalty goal put the Sharks 2-0 ahead, but the first half was an arm-wrestle. Both sides were
defending strongly but struggling to complete their attacking sets. But with five minutes to go in the
half, the game changed when Trent Barrett was sent to the sin bin. And the Storm took advantage of
their numerical advantage, with Greg Inglis crossing the line in the corner and after the video referee
took plenty of time to view the replays the try was awarded. Cameron Smith added the extras and the
Storm took a 6-2 lead into the break.
Before the game kicked off, a minute’s silence was held for Cronulla’s Scott Porter, who elected to play
in the game despite the loss of his sister that morning. And shortly after the break, Porter took the
kicking tee and landed a penalty goal from the sideline to the applause of the local fans.
But the Storm were soon asserting control over the game, a running move setting up Luke MacDougall
in the corner. And on the hour, a Storm penalty goal gave them a 14-4 lead.
But the Sharks weren’t finished yet, and with 10 minutes to go Luke Douglas found the line for the
Sharks’ first try. Luke Covell, back on the field, kicked the conversion and the margin was back to 4
points. But, although the Sharks pressed hard in the final minutes, the Storm defence held firm and the
defending champions were able to take out the victory.
Melbourne Storm 14 def Cronulla Sharks 10
Storm : Tries – G Inglis, L MacDougall. Goals – C Smith 3/3.
Sharks : Tries – L Douglas. Goals – L Covell 2/2, S Porter 1/1.
Referees – B Cummins, B Suttor. Goals – 11,820 at Toyota Stadium.
After a strong start, Penrith were forced to hang on as Canberra came back strongly, before the tide
turned again and the Panthers were able to record a 34-16 victory over the Raiders at CUA Stadium on
Saturday night.
The Panthers got off to a flying start, with 4 tries before the half hour mark. Shane Elford pounced on a
well timed kick to open the scoring. Luke Lewis received an offload to add another. A knock on gave
the Panthers field position and Pritchard set up Kingston. And a brilliant solo effort by Lachlan Coote saw
the Panthers 22-0 ahead, it the Panthers were looking comfortable after maintaining their lead until half
time.
But momentum shifted the Raiders’ way after the break. Prop Scott Logan powered over the line to get
the Raiders on the board. David Campese set up Daniel Vidot, and just a few minutes later Joel
Thompson was on the board and the margin was reduced to 6 points.
With 10 minutes to go, and the Raiders again threatening the Penrith line, they were searching hard for
an equaliser. David Campese fired off a pass, but it was intercepted by Adrian Purtell. Purtell, given his
marching orders by the Raiders after last season before being thrown a lifeline by the Panthers, took
delight at running 95m to score against his old club. Lachlan Coote’s second try came minutes later, and
the Panthers were headed for victory.
Penrith Panthers 34 def Canberra Raiders 16
Panthers : Tries – L Coote 2, S Elford, L Lewis, K Kingston, A Purtell. Goals – M Gordon 5/6.
Raiders : Tries – S Logan, D Vidot, J Thompson. Goals – D Campese 2/3.
Referees – S Lyons, A Shortall. Crowd – 11,133 at CUA Stadium.
New Zealand Warriors threatened to pull off an opening round upset when they took on Gold Coast at
Robina in the early Sunday game, but the Titans rallied to pull off a 24-18 victory.
It took just 8 minutes for the Warriors to get on the scoreboard, after a well weighted kick by James
Maloney sat up for Manu Vatuvei to run in and score. On 26 minutes, Kevin Locke chased a kick and
scored to give the Warriors a 12-0 lead.
The ball went back to the centre, where Preston Campbell caught the Warriors’ defence napping with a
short kick-off. With the Titans having possession when they shouldn’t have expected it, inside the
Warriors’ half, they pressed hard and scored during the set when Joseph Tomane found an opening to
run in and score under the posts.
Vatuvei’s second try extended the Warriors’ advantage before Anthony Laffranchi went over in the last
minute before half time to reduce the Titans’ deficit to 6 points.
On the hour, David Mead found the line and after Scott Prince’s conversion scores were level. And with
10 minutes to go, Preston Campbell continued his stellar game with a strong individual effort to give the
Titans the lead. And they were able to maintain the lead after Campbell courageously blocked off Manu
Vatuvei, preventing the Warrior from scoring his third try.
Gold Coast Titans 24 def New Zealand Warriors 18
Titans : Tries – J Tomane, A Laffranchi, D Mead, P Campbell. Goals – S Prince 4/4.
Warriors : Tries – M Vatuvei 2, K Locke. Goals – B Seymour 3/3.
Referees – M Cecchin, C James. Crowd – 16,112 at Skilled Park.
For the fifth year in a row the traditional season opener between Souths and the Roosters was won by
the away team; with the Roosters recording a convincing 36-10 win.
Todd Carney, in his first game for the Roosters and returning to the NRL after being sacked by Canberra
in 2008, was instrumental in the victory; not only with his accuracy in goals with 6 from 7 attempts but
also controlling the play around the ground. An offload from Carney set up Mitchell Pearce in the 12th
minute for the opening try. On 28 minutes, with the Rabbitohs looking for an equaliser, an intercept
from Shaun Kenny-Dowall followed by a 90 metre run saw the Roosters double their advantage. Nathan
Merritt got one back for the Rabbitohs shortly before half time, and the score was 12-6 to the Roosters
at the break.
But the second half was one-way traffic. An offload by Carney set up Sam Perrett, before a chip and
chase by Aiden Guerra resulted in another Roosters’ try. Pearce and Kenny-Dowall, the first half try
scorers, each added another in the second half; and although Merritt scored a late try for the Rabbitohs
this was a comfortable win for the Roosters.
It was a disappointing opening to the season for the Rabbitohs, who had promised much during the pre-
season but were unable to reproduce that form when the pressure was on in the opening round. But
for the Roosters, coached by Brian Smith for the first time, the result gave hope that the woes of their
disastrous 2009 season were behind them and that the Roosters would show some improved form in
2010.
Sydney Roosters 36 def South Sydney Rabbitohs 10
Roosters : Tries – M Pearce 2, S Kenny-Dowall 2, S Perrett, A Guerra. Goals – T Carney 6/7.
Rabbitohs : Tries – N Merritt 2. Goals – I Luke 1/2.
Referees – T De las Heras, A Klein. Crowd – 23,149 at ANZ Stadium.
Wests Tigers welcomed back Lote Tuqiri to rugby league after an 8-year stint playing rugby union, and
the former Queensland Origin winger was one of their best in an open, free-flowing game where the
Tigers would come from behind to defeat Manly 26-22 at the Sydney Football Stadium on Monday night.
It took just three minutes for Tuqiri to have an impact, as with his first touch of the football he would
move forward to score in the corner. And the Tigers had a chance to score another try in the opposite
corner minutes later but the ball was dropped just short of the line. After surviving the early onslaught
with only one try conceded, Manly gradually began to recover field position, and on 25 minutes Michael
Robertson dived on a bomb to score in the corner. Jamie Lyon added the extras and the Sea Eagles had
the lead.
Just four minutes later, Glenn Stewart found a gap to cross the line and score under the posts. George
Rose would use his size to power over the line to add another; and when Lyon added a penalty goal on
the stroke of half time, the Sea Eagles enjoyed a 20-4 lead.
The Tigers were struggling with skill errors, and a run of dropped ball gave the Sea Eagles plenty of
opportunities to add to their advantage after the break. But the Sea Eagles, partly held up by resolute
defence and partly due to their own errors, were unable to capitalise as for 20 scoreless minutes after
the break the Sea Eagles had tried but failed to open the flood gates.
And then the tide turned, and suddenly without warning the Tigers stormed back into the contest.
Blake Ayshford found the line, and just two minutes later Liam Fulton found an opening to score. A
Manly penalty goal gave the Sea Eagles some breathing space, but the Tigers were throwing the ball
around and frequently finding holes in the tiring Manly defence. A run by Tuqiri created field position
that Chris Lawrence was able to capitalise on to score. And with 5 minutes to go, Gareth Evans found
another gap on the left hand side of the defensive line to score and give the Tigers a lead that 15
minutes previously looked unlikely.
The Tigers would take the two points, sending a message that the 2010 side was one that means
business. It was a disappointing loss for the Sea Eagles, blowing a game that had looked theirs for the
taking, and with fullback Brett Stewart going off with a leg injury late in the game and three players on
report, the Sea Eagles run the risk of being depleted in their upcoming fixtures.
Click here to see Harboursport's photo gallery from this match.
Wests Tigers 26 def Manly Sea Eagles 22
Tigers : Tries – L Tuqiri, B Ayshford, L Fulton, C Lawrence, G Ellis. Goals – B Marshall 3/5.
Manly : Tries – M Robertson, G Stewart, G Rose. Goals – J Lyon 5/5.
Referees – G Badger, J Maxwell. Crowd – 18,421 at Sydney Football Stadium.
| ROUND 2 FIXTURES: (All times shown are Sydney time) Friday 19th March St George-Illawarra v Canterbury (7:30pm, WIN Stadium) South Sydney v Gold Coast (8:30pm, ANZ Stadium) Saturday 20th March NZ Warriors v Cronulla (5:30pm, Mt Smart Stadium) Newcastle v Melbourne (7:30pm, Energy Australia Stadium) North Queensland v Penrith (9:30pm, Dairy Farmers Stadium) Sunday 21st March Parramatta v Manly (2:00pm, Parramatta Stadium) Sydney Roosters v Wests Tigers (3:00pm, Sydney Football Stadium) Monday 22nd March Canberra v Brisbane (7:00pm, Canberra Stadium) |
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