| HARBOURSPORT |
| NRL |
| ROUND 5 FIXTURES: (All times shown are Sydney time) Friday 9th April St George-Illawarra v Brisbane (7:30pm, WIN Stadium) Gold Coast v Brisbane (7:30pm, Skilled Park) Saturday 10th April South Sydney v Newcastle (5:30pm, Bluetongue Stadium) North Queensland v Wests Tigers (7:30pm, Dairy Farmers Stadium) Canterbury v NZ Warriors (7:30pm, ANZ Stadium) Sunday 11th April Manly v Cronulla (2:00pm, Brookvale Oval) Penrith v Sydney Roosters (3:00pm, CUA Stadium) Monday 12th April Parramatta v Canberra (7:00pm, Parramatta Stadium) |
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With the AFL not scheduling matches on Good Friday, rugby league has the run of Melbourne to itself
and a blockbuster crowd rocked up to Docklands to see the Storm take on St George-Illawarra.
The first half was an arm wrestle. Both sides pushed each other’s line, but the defences held firm and
neither side was able to break the line. Cameron Smith landed a penalty goal on the 18th minute and
another one on the stroke of half time, and the Storm took a 4-0 lead into the break.
Five minutes after the resumption, Dane Nielsen made a break and found the line for the first try of the
game. Four minutes later, Anthony Quinn crashed over to extend the Storm’s advantage. Jason
Nightingale got one back for the Dragons, but on 67 minutes Billy Slater put on an act of individual
brilliance; running the length of the field weaving his way through the Dragon traffic to score.
Amazingly, none of the four tries of the game were converted, the Storm holding a 16-4 advantage. A
late field goal to Cooper Cronk gave the Storm a 13-point buffer and ensured the crowd would go home
happy.
Melbourne Storm 17 def St George-Illawarra Dragons 4
Storm : Tries – D Nielsen, A Quinn, B Slater. Goals – C Smith 2/5. Field Goals – C Cronk 1/1.
Dragons : Tries – J Nightingale. Goals – J Soward 0/1.
Referees – J Maxwell, G Sutton. Crowd – 25,480 at Etihad Stadium.
The traditional Good Friday clash at the SFS saw the Roosters take on the Broncos, and the Roosters
returned to the winning list in style, taking out a comfortable 25-6 victory.
The Roosters took early control, and with three converted tries in the first half went to an 18-0 lead at
the break. Two of the tries and the conversions went to Todd Carney, the former Raider continuing his
rehabilitation into NRL ranks with another best on ground performance at full-back.
The Roosters played impressively, but were helped along by some appalling errors from the Broncos, with
a succession of drop balls and missed tackles underlining how the exodus of quality players over the last
couple of years has seen the Broncos become a shadow of their former selves.
After 30 scoreless minutes in the second half, Andrew McCullough finally broke through to get the
Broncos on the board. But it took just 3 minutes for any hopes of a miracle comeback to be dashed
when Anthony Minichiello found the line to make the game safe for the Roosters. A late field goal to
Todd Carney was the icing on the cake.
Sydney Roosters 25 def Brisbane Broncos 6
Roosters : Tries – T Carney 2, J Aubusson, A Minichiello. Goals – T Carney 4/4. Field Goals – T Carney 1/1.
Broncos : Tries – A McCullough. Goals – P Wallace 1/1.
Referees – T Archer, M Cecchin. Crowd – 17,106 at Sydney Football Stadium.
After so much doom and gloom around Cronulla – the long losing streak stretching back to mid last
season, financial woes, a player exodus – finally the Sharks had some good news when they defeated
Parramatta 11-0 at Toyota Park on Saturday night.
The first half was scoreless, but not through any lack of endeavour by either team. Both made numerous
raids at each other’s line, but a combination of tight defence and a slippery ball in the wet conditions
made scoring difficult. But just 4 minutes after the break, Blake Ferguson found a crack in the Eels’
defence to record the first try of the game.
and a blockbuster crowd rocked up to Docklands to see the Storm take on St George-Illawarra.
The first half was an arm wrestle. Both sides pushed each other’s line, but the defences held firm and
neither side was able to break the line. Cameron Smith landed a penalty goal on the 18th minute and
another one on the stroke of half time, and the Storm took a 4-0 lead into the break.
Five minutes after the resumption, Dane Nielsen made a break and found the line for the first try of the
game. Four minutes later, Anthony Quinn crashed over to extend the Storm’s advantage. Jason
Nightingale got one back for the Dragons, but on 67 minutes Billy Slater put on an act of individual
brilliance; running the length of the field weaving his way through the Dragon traffic to score.
Amazingly, none of the four tries of the game were converted, the Storm holding a 16-4 advantage. A
late field goal to Cooper Cronk gave the Storm a 13-point buffer and ensured the crowd would go home
happy.
Melbourne Storm 17 def St George-Illawarra Dragons 4
Storm : Tries – D Nielsen, A Quinn, B Slater. Goals – C Smith 2/5. Field Goals – C Cronk 1/1.
Dragons : Tries – J Nightingale. Goals – J Soward 0/1.
Referees – J Maxwell, G Sutton. Crowd – 25,480 at Etihad Stadium.
The traditional Good Friday clash at the SFS saw the Roosters take on the Broncos, and the Roosters
returned to the winning list in style, taking out a comfortable 25-6 victory.
The Roosters took early control, and with three converted tries in the first half went to an 18-0 lead at
the break. Two of the tries and the conversions went to Todd Carney, the former Raider continuing his
rehabilitation into NRL ranks with another best on ground performance at full-back.
The Roosters played impressively, but were helped along by some appalling errors from the Broncos, with
a succession of drop balls and missed tackles underlining how the exodus of quality players over the last
couple of years has seen the Broncos become a shadow of their former selves.
After 30 scoreless minutes in the second half, Andrew McCullough finally broke through to get the
Broncos on the board. But it took just 3 minutes for any hopes of a miracle comeback to be dashed
when Anthony Minichiello found the line to make the game safe for the Roosters. A late field goal to
Todd Carney was the icing on the cake.
Sydney Roosters 25 def Brisbane Broncos 6
Roosters : Tries – T Carney 2, J Aubusson, A Minichiello. Goals – T Carney 4/4. Field Goals – T Carney 1/1.
Broncos : Tries – A McCullough. Goals – P Wallace 1/1.
Referees – T Archer, M Cecchin. Crowd – 17,106 at Sydney Football Stadium.
After so much doom and gloom around Cronulla – the long losing streak stretching back to mid last
season, financial woes, a player exodus – finally the Sharks had some good news when they defeated
Parramatta 11-0 at Toyota Park on Saturday night.
The first half was scoreless, but not through any lack of endeavour by either team. Both made numerous
raids at each other’s line, but a combination of tight defence and a slippery ball in the wet conditions
made scoring difficult. But just 4 minutes after the break, Blake Ferguson found a crack in the Eels’
defence to record the first try of the game.
On the hour, Ferguson was in again after a 50 metre run down the wing to score in the corner. And
moving in to complete the conversion was former Eel Tim Smith, playing his first game in his new colours.
Shortly afterwards, Ferguson was flattened by a high shot from Fuifui Moimoi which saw the big Eel
placed on report. Smith then completed a field goal to take the score to 11-0, with the Sharks then
defending grimly as Parramatta pressed the Cronulla line during the closing minutes. But the defence held
and the Eels were kept scoreless, prompting scenes of jubilation among the Cronulla players and
supporters that the long losing run was finally over.
Cronulla Sharks 11 def Parramatta Eels 0
Sharks : Tries – B Ferguson 2. Goals – T Smith 1/3. Field Goals – T Smith 1/1.
Eels : Tries – Nil. Goals – Nil.
Referees – T De las Heras, A Klein. Crowd – 13,213 at Toyota Stadium.
North Queensland handed Gold Coast their first loss of the season when the Cowboys used the home
ground conditions to their advantage to record a 32-18 win on Saturday night.
Scores were locked at 6-6 after an even first half hour, but the final 10 minutes of the first half saw the
Cowboys get the upper hand. Finding gaps in the Gold Coast line, Luke O’Donnell and Willie Tonga broke
through to score, Tonga’s try being his second for the night. And shortly after the break a 50m run
turned his return into a hat-trick, and the Cowboys were well set for victory.
Johnathan Thurston was again an impressive performer. The key playmaker, he had a hand in most of
the scoring throughout the night, and in the final moments turned on some individual brilliance to force a
turnover and then put on a chip and chase to score. In addition, Thurston had a perfect record with the
kicking tee, landing 6 from 6. For the Titans, Mark Minichiello scored two tries, while Mat Rogers kicked 3
from 3. But it was North Queensland’s night, the Cowboys being easily the superior side and putting the
home crowd into raptures.
North Queensland Cowboys 32 def Gold Coast Titans 18
Cowboys : Tries – W Tonga 3, L O’Donnell, J Thurston. Goals – J Thurston 6/6.
Titans : Tries – M Minichiello 2, S Tagataese. Goals – M Rogers 3/3.
Referees – S Lyons, A Shortall. Crowd – 16,551 at Dairy Farmers Stadium.
It wasn’t pretty to watch, but Manly recorded an important away win when the Sea Eagles won their
second match in succession, defeating the Warriors 14-6 at Mt Smart Stadium on Sunday.
Michael Robertson scored the only try of the first half, running close to the sideline and staying inside the
field of play by only a few centimetres before being airborne when landing the ball in the corner. Jamie
Lyon was unable to land the conversion, and Ben Farrer found himself given 10 in the bin shortly
afterwards. But the Warriors were unable to make anything of their time with a numerical advantage,
and instead the Sea Eagles landed two penalty goals to take an 8-0 lead into the break.
The Warriors got on the board shortly after the break after a run by Jerome Ropati led to a converted
try. But the turning point came with 15 minutes to go, when Steve Matai chased a grubber from Kieran
Foran. After an eternity of replays, the video ref awarded a benefit of the doubt try – and doubtful it
was, with it being very dubious whether Matai had grounded the ball. But after being denied a win by
two Parramatta forward passes not being called a fortnight ago, maybe this was the stroke of luck for
Manly that made up for that result.
Manly Sea Eagles 14 def New Zealand Warriors 6
Sea Eagles : Tries – M Robertson, S Matai. Goals – J Lyon 3/4.
Warriors : Tries – J Ropati. Goals – J Maloney 1/1.
Referees – B Cummins, C James. Crowd – 19,230 at Mt Smart Stadium.
Wests Tigers pulled off another miracle victory when they came from behind to defeat Canberra 35-22 at
Canberra Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The first half was all Canberra. From the moment Dane Tilse crossed over for the opening try, the Raiders
were dominant. Five-eighth Terry Campese was the major destroyer, putting on two runs that wrong-
footed the Tiger defence to set up Shaun Fensom and then a creative offload put Joe Picker over the
line. Even when some sloppy defence enabled the Tigers to score on the stroke of half time to reduce
the deficit to 22-10, few could have forseen the transformation in the game that would come in the
second half.
After the break, it was the opposite five-eighth, the Tigers’ Benji Marshall, who was the key playmaker.
Robbie Farah went over within minutes of the restart but a penalty sent Campese to the kicking tee for
a chance to give the Raiders an 8-point buffer. But his kick was unsuccessful, and a few minutes later
Chris Lawrence was over and after the conversion scores were level. Liam Fulton’s second try with 10
minutes to go gave the Tigers the lead for the first time, and Farah’s field goal gave the Tigers a 7-point
advantage. A late try to Beau Ryan was the icing on the cake, as the Tigers had pulled off a remarkable
victory, their second big comeback win already this season.
Wests Tigers 35 def Canberra Raiders 22
Tigers : Tries – L Fulton 2, B Marshall, R Farah, C Lawrence, B Ryan. Goals – B Marshall 5/7. Field Goals –
R Farah 1/1.
Raiders : Tries – D Tilse, J Croker, S Fensom, J Picker. Goals – T Campese 3/5.
Referees – S Hayne, B Suttor. Crowd – 17,112 at Canberra Stadium.
Penrith moved into the top 8 after a thrilling come-from-behind 34-30 away win over Newcastle in an
Easter Monday thriller.
Everything looked to be plain sailing for the Knights in the first half as they cruised to a 24-6 lead at the
break. Lachlan Coote scored an early try for the Panthers, but the Knights then ran through four tries in
the final 20 minutes of the half. Three of the tries came after the Panthers were pulled up for forward
passes in their own half, handing the Knights field position from which they were easily able to capitalise.
Akuila Uate helped himself to a hat-trick as the Knights looked to be in control.
But out of nowhere, the Panthers worked their way back into the contest. Three tries in 20 minutes
saw the scores levelled, before a run by Jarred Mullen restored the Knights’ lead.
At 73 minutes, Joseph Paulo crossed the line for the Panthers, but it was a close call whether he had
grounded the ball correctly. After a lengthy video ref deliberation, a benefit of the doubt try was
awarded, to the fury of the local fans. And with just a few seconds to go, Adrian Purtell dived over to
score in the corner and hand the Panthers an unlikely victory.
Penrith Panthers 34 def Newcastle Knights 30
Panthers : Tries – L Coote, M Jennings, S McKendry, L Lewis, J Paulo, A Purtell. Goals – M Gordon 5/6.
Knights : Tries – A Uate 3, C Paterson, J Mullen. Goals – S Dureau 5/5.
Referees – J Robinson, B Sutton. Crowd – 15,894 at Energy Australia Stadium.
With the Easter Show in full swing in the Showgrounds next door, and plenty of Show patrons making
their way to the stadium, a bumper crowd was on hand for the Easter Monday night battle of the ANZ
Stadium co-tenants.
It was a Souths home game, but the Bulldogs’ fans were the first to find their voice when Ben Roberts
found some space to score in the corner in the Bulldogs’ first set of the game. But it didn’t take long for
the Rabbitohs to level the game up, with Beau Champion taking advantage of some sloppy defending to
put the Rabbitohs on the board; and after 5 minutes scores were locked at 6-6. The game had got off
to an explosive, free-flowing start, and more was to come when Chris Sandow turned on some magic to
put the Rabbitohs in front in the 8th minute.
In the 24th minute, Nathan Merritt was over. This was followed by a double to big Sam Burgess, and at
half time the lead had extended to 26-6. The Rabbitohs had turned on their entertaining play, and the
Bulldogs had no answers.
Nathan Merritt got on the board shortly before the hour, and the game was safe. The Bulldogs scored
two late tries to Bryson Goodwin and Ben Barba, but it was too little too late; and Beau Champion’s
second try in the final minute was the icing on the cake.
Click here to see Harboursport's photo gallery from this match.
South Sydney Rabbitohs 38 def Canterbury Bulldogs 16
Rabbitohs : Tries – B Champion 2, S Burgess 2, C Sandow, N Merritt, I Luke. Goals – I Luke 3/5, C Sandow
2/2.
Bulldogs : Tries – B Roberts, B Goodwin, B Barba. Goals – B Goodwin 2/3.
Referees – G Badger, P Haines. Crowd – 30,120 at ANZ Stadium.
moving in to complete the conversion was former Eel Tim Smith, playing his first game in his new colours.
Shortly afterwards, Ferguson was flattened by a high shot from Fuifui Moimoi which saw the big Eel
placed on report. Smith then completed a field goal to take the score to 11-0, with the Sharks then
defending grimly as Parramatta pressed the Cronulla line during the closing minutes. But the defence held
and the Eels were kept scoreless, prompting scenes of jubilation among the Cronulla players and
supporters that the long losing run was finally over.
Cronulla Sharks 11 def Parramatta Eels 0
Sharks : Tries – B Ferguson 2. Goals – T Smith 1/3. Field Goals – T Smith 1/1.
Eels : Tries – Nil. Goals – Nil.
Referees – T De las Heras, A Klein. Crowd – 13,213 at Toyota Stadium.
North Queensland handed Gold Coast their first loss of the season when the Cowboys used the home
ground conditions to their advantage to record a 32-18 win on Saturday night.
Scores were locked at 6-6 after an even first half hour, but the final 10 minutes of the first half saw the
Cowboys get the upper hand. Finding gaps in the Gold Coast line, Luke O’Donnell and Willie Tonga broke
through to score, Tonga’s try being his second for the night. And shortly after the break a 50m run
turned his return into a hat-trick, and the Cowboys were well set for victory.
Johnathan Thurston was again an impressive performer. The key playmaker, he had a hand in most of
the scoring throughout the night, and in the final moments turned on some individual brilliance to force a
turnover and then put on a chip and chase to score. In addition, Thurston had a perfect record with the
kicking tee, landing 6 from 6. For the Titans, Mark Minichiello scored two tries, while Mat Rogers kicked 3
from 3. But it was North Queensland’s night, the Cowboys being easily the superior side and putting the
home crowd into raptures.
North Queensland Cowboys 32 def Gold Coast Titans 18
Cowboys : Tries – W Tonga 3, L O’Donnell, J Thurston. Goals – J Thurston 6/6.
Titans : Tries – M Minichiello 2, S Tagataese. Goals – M Rogers 3/3.
Referees – S Lyons, A Shortall. Crowd – 16,551 at Dairy Farmers Stadium.
It wasn’t pretty to watch, but Manly recorded an important away win when the Sea Eagles won their
second match in succession, defeating the Warriors 14-6 at Mt Smart Stadium on Sunday.
Michael Robertson scored the only try of the first half, running close to the sideline and staying inside the
field of play by only a few centimetres before being airborne when landing the ball in the corner. Jamie
Lyon was unable to land the conversion, and Ben Farrer found himself given 10 in the bin shortly
afterwards. But the Warriors were unable to make anything of their time with a numerical advantage,
and instead the Sea Eagles landed two penalty goals to take an 8-0 lead into the break.
The Warriors got on the board shortly after the break after a run by Jerome Ropati led to a converted
try. But the turning point came with 15 minutes to go, when Steve Matai chased a grubber from Kieran
Foran. After an eternity of replays, the video ref awarded a benefit of the doubt try – and doubtful it
was, with it being very dubious whether Matai had grounded the ball. But after being denied a win by
two Parramatta forward passes not being called a fortnight ago, maybe this was the stroke of luck for
Manly that made up for that result.
Manly Sea Eagles 14 def New Zealand Warriors 6
Sea Eagles : Tries – M Robertson, S Matai. Goals – J Lyon 3/4.
Warriors : Tries – J Ropati. Goals – J Maloney 1/1.
Referees – B Cummins, C James. Crowd – 19,230 at Mt Smart Stadium.
Wests Tigers pulled off another miracle victory when they came from behind to defeat Canberra 35-22 at
Canberra Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The first half was all Canberra. From the moment Dane Tilse crossed over for the opening try, the Raiders
were dominant. Five-eighth Terry Campese was the major destroyer, putting on two runs that wrong-
footed the Tiger defence to set up Shaun Fensom and then a creative offload put Joe Picker over the
line. Even when some sloppy defence enabled the Tigers to score on the stroke of half time to reduce
the deficit to 22-10, few could have forseen the transformation in the game that would come in the
second half.
After the break, it was the opposite five-eighth, the Tigers’ Benji Marshall, who was the key playmaker.
Robbie Farah went over within minutes of the restart but a penalty sent Campese to the kicking tee for
a chance to give the Raiders an 8-point buffer. But his kick was unsuccessful, and a few minutes later
Chris Lawrence was over and after the conversion scores were level. Liam Fulton’s second try with 10
minutes to go gave the Tigers the lead for the first time, and Farah’s field goal gave the Tigers a 7-point
advantage. A late try to Beau Ryan was the icing on the cake, as the Tigers had pulled off a remarkable
victory, their second big comeback win already this season.
Wests Tigers 35 def Canberra Raiders 22
Tigers : Tries – L Fulton 2, B Marshall, R Farah, C Lawrence, B Ryan. Goals – B Marshall 5/7. Field Goals –
R Farah 1/1.
Raiders : Tries – D Tilse, J Croker, S Fensom, J Picker. Goals – T Campese 3/5.
Referees – S Hayne, B Suttor. Crowd – 17,112 at Canberra Stadium.
Penrith moved into the top 8 after a thrilling come-from-behind 34-30 away win over Newcastle in an
Easter Monday thriller.
Everything looked to be plain sailing for the Knights in the first half as they cruised to a 24-6 lead at the
break. Lachlan Coote scored an early try for the Panthers, but the Knights then ran through four tries in
the final 20 minutes of the half. Three of the tries came after the Panthers were pulled up for forward
passes in their own half, handing the Knights field position from which they were easily able to capitalise.
Akuila Uate helped himself to a hat-trick as the Knights looked to be in control.
But out of nowhere, the Panthers worked their way back into the contest. Three tries in 20 minutes
saw the scores levelled, before a run by Jarred Mullen restored the Knights’ lead.
At 73 minutes, Joseph Paulo crossed the line for the Panthers, but it was a close call whether he had
grounded the ball correctly. After a lengthy video ref deliberation, a benefit of the doubt try was
awarded, to the fury of the local fans. And with just a few seconds to go, Adrian Purtell dived over to
score in the corner and hand the Panthers an unlikely victory.
Penrith Panthers 34 def Newcastle Knights 30
Panthers : Tries – L Coote, M Jennings, S McKendry, L Lewis, J Paulo, A Purtell. Goals – M Gordon 5/6.
Knights : Tries – A Uate 3, C Paterson, J Mullen. Goals – S Dureau 5/5.
Referees – J Robinson, B Sutton. Crowd – 15,894 at Energy Australia Stadium.
With the Easter Show in full swing in the Showgrounds next door, and plenty of Show patrons making
their way to the stadium, a bumper crowd was on hand for the Easter Monday night battle of the ANZ
Stadium co-tenants.
It was a Souths home game, but the Bulldogs’ fans were the first to find their voice when Ben Roberts
found some space to score in the corner in the Bulldogs’ first set of the game. But it didn’t take long for
the Rabbitohs to level the game up, with Beau Champion taking advantage of some sloppy defending to
put the Rabbitohs on the board; and after 5 minutes scores were locked at 6-6. The game had got off
to an explosive, free-flowing start, and more was to come when Chris Sandow turned on some magic to
put the Rabbitohs in front in the 8th minute.
In the 24th minute, Nathan Merritt was over. This was followed by a double to big Sam Burgess, and at
half time the lead had extended to 26-6. The Rabbitohs had turned on their entertaining play, and the
Bulldogs had no answers.
Nathan Merritt got on the board shortly before the hour, and the game was safe. The Bulldogs scored
two late tries to Bryson Goodwin and Ben Barba, but it was too little too late; and Beau Champion’s
second try in the final minute was the icing on the cake.
Click here to see Harboursport's photo gallery from this match.
South Sydney Rabbitohs 38 def Canterbury Bulldogs 16
Rabbitohs : Tries – B Champion 2, S Burgess 2, C Sandow, N Merritt, I Luke. Goals – I Luke 3/5, C Sandow
2/2.
Bulldogs : Tries – B Roberts, B Goodwin, B Barba. Goals – B Goodwin 2/3.
Referees – G Badger, P Haines. Crowd – 30,120 at ANZ Stadium.
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