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| ROUND 18 FIXTURES: (All times shown are Sydney time) Wednesday 6th July State of Origin III - Queensland v New South Wales (8:00pm) Friday 8th July NZ Warriors v Gold Coast (Mt Smart Stadium, 5:30pm) Parramatta v Wests Tigers (Parramatta Stadium, 7:30pm) Saturday 9th July Cronulla v Canberra (5:30pm, Toyota Stadium) Canterbury v Melbourne (7:30pm, Adelaide Oval) Sunday 10th July Sydney Roosters v Penrith (2:00pm, Sydney Football Stadium) Manly v South Sydney (3:00pm, Brookvale Oval) Monday 11th July Newcastle v North Queensland (7:00pm, Ausgrid Stadium) BYE - Brisbane, St George. |
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| It’s been a disappointing season for Parramatta, and the Eels would have another disappointing night when they hosted Brisbane on Friday night; as they fought back to level the scores late against Brisbane before a late Broncos’ try got the visitors home 16-12. It took 27 painful minutes before either side troubled to scorers; a period of unforced errors, knock-ons and uninspiring play. The Eels went closest to scoring during those exchanges, only for Justin Horo to knock on 10 metres from the Brisbane line with no-one in front of him. But on 27 minutes, the Broncos broke the deadlock, with Dene Gagai unmarked out wide to dive over and score under the posts. A sensational conversion by Peter Wallace from the touch line gave the Broncos a 6-0 advantage. Parramatta nearly brought up an instant reply, with Reni Maitua crossing the line, but the video replay showed the ball was knocked on and the try was disallowed. End to end play over the remainder of the half failed to produce another score, and the 6-0 scoreline remained intact to half time. The second half started disastrously for the Eels, with Jakob Loko being stretchered off with a serious-looking knee injury, and just a few minutes later Dene Gagai intercepted and ran 95 metres to score and bring up his double with an electrifying run that saw him weave around the Eel defenders and score under the posts; putting the Broncos 12-0 ahead. On the hour, Luke Burt got the Eels back in the contest, pouncing on a pass from Matt Keating and running through to score under the posts. The pass looked forward, but was given the all-clear by the referees, and with the video referee unable to rule on the forward pass and finding nothing wrong with the grounding of the ball, the try was awarded. Converting his own try, Burt reduced the margin to just six points. And five minutes later, Chris Walker burst through the Bronco tacklers, before finding Burt in support for a converted try. The Broncos had looked the stronger side for much of the evening, but suddenly scores were level, momentum and the crowd heavily favouring the Eels, as the game had been turned on its head. The Eels continued to attack. Luke Burt attempted a drop goal that would have given the Eels the lead, but the kick was unsuccessful. At the other end, Matt Gillett shrugged off the attention of the Eel tacklers, and backed himself in a tight race for the line that saw him plant the ball in the corner. The angle was too tight for Peter Wallace to convert, but Gillett’s try was enough to restore the lead for the Broncos, and they were able to hang on through the desperate final few minutes to take the two points, keeping themselves in the running for the top four while dishing out another dose of harsh disappointment to Parramatta. Brisbane Broncos 16 def Parramatta Eels 12 Broncos : Tries – D Gagai 2, M Gillett. Goals – P Wallace 2/3. Eels : Tries – L Burt 2. Goals – L Burt 2/2. Field Goals – L Burt 0/1. Referees – J Maxwell, P Haines. Crowd – 11,079 at Parramatta Stadium. Penrith were without Origin representatives Petero Civoniceva and Luke Lewis when they hosted the Bulldogs at Penrith Stadium on Saturday night. But their absence was barely noticed as the Panthers put in a dominant home display to record a 20-6 victory. A string of early penalties gave the Bulldogs opportunities to put the Panthers under pressure, but the Bulldogs were unable to turn their early possession into scoreboard pressure. And at 17 minutes, a chip kick by Luke Walsh was chased by Adrian Purtell, who won the race for the ball to score the opening try; and with Travis Burns landing the conversion, the Panthers had a 6-0 lead. |
Ten minutes later, Walsh was again in the thick of the action on the last tackle as he went to the air, putting up
a well-placed bomb. A marking contest in the in-goal was won by Travis Burns, who grabbed the ball and put it
down for another Penrith try.
The Bulldogs went close to getting one try back in the last minute before half time, as Ben Roberts scrambled
across the line with the ball; but the video replay showed Roberts had lost the ball before re-gathering, and the
try was disallowed. And so the Bulldogs were still yet to open their scoring, and the Panthers led 12-0 at half
time.
Shortly after the break, the Panthers were awarded a penalty and opted to take the two points on offer, adding
to their lead. And shortly after the hour, another bomb from Walsh looked set to be taken by Ben Barba, but a
freak bounce saw it go instead into the arms of the chasing Travis Burns for another try, bringing up his double
and establishing a 20-0 lead.
The Bulldogs did get a late try to break their duck, with Trent Hodkinson making a break before offloading to
Jamal Idris, who steamed through the Panther defence to score. But it was too little too late for the Bulldogs,
who were never really in the contest and were thoroughly outplayed by the Panthers. Both teams find
themselves with seven wins and eight losses, locked in an increasingly tight race for the top eight.
Penrith Panthers 20 def Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 6
Panthers : Tries – T Burns 2, A Purtell. Goals – T Burns 4/4.
Bulldogs : Tries – J Idris. Goals – S Turner 1/1.
Referees – J Robinson, B Suttor. Crowd – 15,383 at Centrebet Stadium.
Cronulla have undergone something of a resurgence in recent weeks, and Sunday afternoon saw the Sharks take
out their third win on the trot with a 26-4 win over Souths at Shark Park.
The Sharks started strongly, making more distance from their sets than the Rabbitohs, and after 15 minutes the
Sharks were first on the scoreboard. The Sharks were tackled just before the line, and Luke Douglas at dummy
half dived forward and crashed over to score. Five minutes later, Colin Best crashed over to score against his old
club. Both tries were scored out wide, but Chad Townsend was unable to convert either, and the Sharks were 8-
0 ahead.
Two minutes before half time, the Sharks were in again. This time it was Chad Townsend who was in the thick
of the action, another try from dummy half as Townsend caught the Rabbitoh defence napping to dive forward
and put the ball down under the posts. The video referee was called on to confirm whether Townsend’s dive
had made it over the line, but the try was awarded. Converting his own try, Townsend gave the Sharks a 14-0
lead.
And the Cronulla juggernaut wasn’t finished yet; and as the half-time siren sounded, William Tupou offloaded to
send Matthew Wright into space for a running try, and a 20-0 lead at the break.
The Rabbitohs came out fighting after the break, and did manage to get one try back. It came through a solo
effort from Nathan Merritt, as he ducked a tackle and ran 30 metres down the wing to score in the corner. Chris
Sandow was unable to convert. But, although the Rabbitohs kept working hard, they were unable to conjure up
any more scoring, as the clock continued to tick down.
With 12 minutes to go, a penalty enabled the Sharks to add another two points to their lead. The game was
already out of Souths’ reach by then, the time remaining not enough for the Rabbitohs to snatch the contest.
But the Sharks weren’t letting them back in, and as time ticked down, the jubilant home crowd counted down
to victory.
In the final minute, Matthew Wright put in a solo effort to complete his double, icing on the cake for the Sharks.
The win was their third in a row, probably too late for the Sharks to get themselves back into finals contention,
but a welcome morale boost for a club that had fallen on hard times in recent seasons.
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 26 def South Sydney Rabbitohs 4
Sharks : Tries – M Wright 2, L Douglas, C Best, C Townsend. Goals – C Townsend 3/6.
Rabbitohs : Tries – N Merritt. Goals – C Sandow 0/1.
Referees – S Lyons, C James. Crowd – 18,829 at Toyota Stadium.
St George, minus their Origin stars, were given a shock at WIN Stadium on Sunday afternoon as Newcastle came
from behind to complete a memorable 14-10 victory.
In a scrappy start to the game, the Knights kicked off only for Nathan Fien to knock the ball on from the kick-off.
But the Knights failed to capitalise, knocking on themselves in their first set. It set the tone for a poor first half
hour in which both sides made numerous mistakes, gave away silly penalties and never looked like scoring.
It took until the 32nd minute for the deadlock to be broken, the Dragons finally breaking through for the first
score of the game thanks to a penalty goal to Ben Hornby. And they would add to their lead in the final minute
before half time when Jason Nightingale made a break before off-loading to Reece Simmonds for a try in the
corner. But with Jamie Soward absent on Origin duty, it fell to Ben Hornby to take the kicks, and the angle was
too tight for him to land the conversion.
The scrappy play continued in the second half, but shortly before the hour the Knights broke through when
Keith Lulia raced through to score out wide. Wes Naiqama added the extras and scores were level at 6-6. And
four minutes later, Ryan Stigg strolled through some soft defence to add another try and Newcastle took the
lead for the first time.
A penalty goal a few minutes later added two more points, putting their lead to more than a converted try. But
the Dragons found themselves back in the contest with eight minutes later when Simmonds crashed through
three Newcastle defenders to score in the corner and reduce the St George deficit to just four points.
But although the Dragons continued to press, the Knights hung on to take two valuable competition points. It
was a disappointing loss for the Dragons, held back by the absence of so many key players in Origin camp; and
the Knights, less depleted, were in a position to capitalise.
Newcastle Knights 14 def St George-Illawarra Dragons 10
Knights : Tries – K Lulia, R Stigg. Goals – W Naiqama 3/3.
Dragons : Tries – R Simmonds 2. Goals – B Hornby 1/3.
Referees – B Cummins, A Shortall. Crowd – 17,205 at WIN Stadium.
The Sydney Roosters’ season crashed from bad to worse on Monday night when they were belted by Canberra
38-12 at the SFS; the Raiders moving ahead of the Roosters on the ladder and sending last year’s grand finalists
to second last on the ladder.
The Raiders hadn’t beaten the Roosters at the SFS since 1995, but quickly became confident they could break
that drought as the Roosters’ kick-off went out on the full, giving the Raiders an attacking opportunity. And in
the first set of the game, Josh Papalii found an opening and went over to give the Raiders an instant 6-0 lead.
The Roosters looked flat and unorganised, while the Raiders were there to play and put the Roosters under
sustained pressure, and it was no surprise when Joel Thompson found his way through for the Raiders’ second
try.
Sam Perrett pounced on a cleverly-executed cross-field kick by Todd Carney to get a try back for the Roosters,
but the Raiders again went on the attack and Joe Picker exposed the frailty of the Roosters’ defence to crash
over and score. In the final minutes before half-time, Todd Carney found the line against his old club; and the half
time margin was back to six points despite the run of play suggesting it should have been more one-sided than
that.
But the Raiders got well and truly on top in the second half, and the Roosters never looked like scoring. Blake
Ferguson, chipping the ball over Carney’s head and chasing to re-gather, had the line in front of him to add
another try for the Raiders. On the hour, Jarrod Croker went flying out wide and dived over to score in the
corner and put the Raiders 28-12 ahead.
And the try-scoring wasn’t finished yet. An intercept by Josh McCrone sent Shaun Fenson into space for another,
and then Croker brought up his double to complete a rare night of highlights for the Raiders, but send further
despair into the Roosters’ camp.
Canberra Raiders 38 def Sydney Roosters 12
Raiders : Tries – J Croker 2, S Fensom, B Ferguson, J Papalii, J Picker, J Thompson. Goals – J
Croker 5/7.
Roosters : Tries – T Carney, S Perrett. Goals – T Carney 2/2.
Referees – M Cecchin, H Perenara. Crowd – 9,817 at Sydney Football Stadium.
a well-placed bomb. A marking contest in the in-goal was won by Travis Burns, who grabbed the ball and put it
down for another Penrith try.
The Bulldogs went close to getting one try back in the last minute before half time, as Ben Roberts scrambled
across the line with the ball; but the video replay showed Roberts had lost the ball before re-gathering, and the
try was disallowed. And so the Bulldogs were still yet to open their scoring, and the Panthers led 12-0 at half
time.
Shortly after the break, the Panthers were awarded a penalty and opted to take the two points on offer, adding
to their lead. And shortly after the hour, another bomb from Walsh looked set to be taken by Ben Barba, but a
freak bounce saw it go instead into the arms of the chasing Travis Burns for another try, bringing up his double
and establishing a 20-0 lead.
The Bulldogs did get a late try to break their duck, with Trent Hodkinson making a break before offloading to
Jamal Idris, who steamed through the Panther defence to score. But it was too little too late for the Bulldogs,
who were never really in the contest and were thoroughly outplayed by the Panthers. Both teams find
themselves with seven wins and eight losses, locked in an increasingly tight race for the top eight.
Penrith Panthers 20 def Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 6
Panthers : Tries – T Burns 2, A Purtell. Goals – T Burns 4/4.
Bulldogs : Tries – J Idris. Goals – S Turner 1/1.
Referees – J Robinson, B Suttor. Crowd – 15,383 at Centrebet Stadium.
Cronulla have undergone something of a resurgence in recent weeks, and Sunday afternoon saw the Sharks take
out their third win on the trot with a 26-4 win over Souths at Shark Park.
The Sharks started strongly, making more distance from their sets than the Rabbitohs, and after 15 minutes the
Sharks were first on the scoreboard. The Sharks were tackled just before the line, and Luke Douglas at dummy
half dived forward and crashed over to score. Five minutes later, Colin Best crashed over to score against his old
club. Both tries were scored out wide, but Chad Townsend was unable to convert either, and the Sharks were 8-
0 ahead.
Two minutes before half time, the Sharks were in again. This time it was Chad Townsend who was in the thick
of the action, another try from dummy half as Townsend caught the Rabbitoh defence napping to dive forward
and put the ball down under the posts. The video referee was called on to confirm whether Townsend’s dive
had made it over the line, but the try was awarded. Converting his own try, Townsend gave the Sharks a 14-0
lead.
And the Cronulla juggernaut wasn’t finished yet; and as the half-time siren sounded, William Tupou offloaded to
send Matthew Wright into space for a running try, and a 20-0 lead at the break.
The Rabbitohs came out fighting after the break, and did manage to get one try back. It came through a solo
effort from Nathan Merritt, as he ducked a tackle and ran 30 metres down the wing to score in the corner. Chris
Sandow was unable to convert. But, although the Rabbitohs kept working hard, they were unable to conjure up
any more scoring, as the clock continued to tick down.
With 12 minutes to go, a penalty enabled the Sharks to add another two points to their lead. The game was
already out of Souths’ reach by then, the time remaining not enough for the Rabbitohs to snatch the contest.
But the Sharks weren’t letting them back in, and as time ticked down, the jubilant home crowd counted down
to victory.
In the final minute, Matthew Wright put in a solo effort to complete his double, icing on the cake for the Sharks.
The win was their third in a row, probably too late for the Sharks to get themselves back into finals contention,
but a welcome morale boost for a club that had fallen on hard times in recent seasons.
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 26 def South Sydney Rabbitohs 4
Sharks : Tries – M Wright 2, L Douglas, C Best, C Townsend. Goals – C Townsend 3/6.
Rabbitohs : Tries – N Merritt. Goals – C Sandow 0/1.
Referees – S Lyons, C James. Crowd – 18,829 at Toyota Stadium.
St George, minus their Origin stars, were given a shock at WIN Stadium on Sunday afternoon as Newcastle came
from behind to complete a memorable 14-10 victory.
In a scrappy start to the game, the Knights kicked off only for Nathan Fien to knock the ball on from the kick-off.
But the Knights failed to capitalise, knocking on themselves in their first set. It set the tone for a poor first half
hour in which both sides made numerous mistakes, gave away silly penalties and never looked like scoring.
It took until the 32nd minute for the deadlock to be broken, the Dragons finally breaking through for the first
score of the game thanks to a penalty goal to Ben Hornby. And they would add to their lead in the final minute
before half time when Jason Nightingale made a break before off-loading to Reece Simmonds for a try in the
corner. But with Jamie Soward absent on Origin duty, it fell to Ben Hornby to take the kicks, and the angle was
too tight for him to land the conversion.
The scrappy play continued in the second half, but shortly before the hour the Knights broke through when
Keith Lulia raced through to score out wide. Wes Naiqama added the extras and scores were level at 6-6. And
four minutes later, Ryan Stigg strolled through some soft defence to add another try and Newcastle took the
lead for the first time.
A penalty goal a few minutes later added two more points, putting their lead to more than a converted try. But
the Dragons found themselves back in the contest with eight minutes later when Simmonds crashed through
three Newcastle defenders to score in the corner and reduce the St George deficit to just four points.
But although the Dragons continued to press, the Knights hung on to take two valuable competition points. It
was a disappointing loss for the Dragons, held back by the absence of so many key players in Origin camp; and
the Knights, less depleted, were in a position to capitalise.
Newcastle Knights 14 def St George-Illawarra Dragons 10
Knights : Tries – K Lulia, R Stigg. Goals – W Naiqama 3/3.
Dragons : Tries – R Simmonds 2. Goals – B Hornby 1/3.
Referees – B Cummins, A Shortall. Crowd – 17,205 at WIN Stadium.
The Sydney Roosters’ season crashed from bad to worse on Monday night when they were belted by Canberra
38-12 at the SFS; the Raiders moving ahead of the Roosters on the ladder and sending last year’s grand finalists
to second last on the ladder.
The Raiders hadn’t beaten the Roosters at the SFS since 1995, but quickly became confident they could break
that drought as the Roosters’ kick-off went out on the full, giving the Raiders an attacking opportunity. And in
the first set of the game, Josh Papalii found an opening and went over to give the Raiders an instant 6-0 lead.
The Roosters looked flat and unorganised, while the Raiders were there to play and put the Roosters under
sustained pressure, and it was no surprise when Joel Thompson found his way through for the Raiders’ second
try.
Sam Perrett pounced on a cleverly-executed cross-field kick by Todd Carney to get a try back for the Roosters,
but the Raiders again went on the attack and Joe Picker exposed the frailty of the Roosters’ defence to crash
over and score. In the final minutes before half-time, Todd Carney found the line against his old club; and the half
time margin was back to six points despite the run of play suggesting it should have been more one-sided than
that.
But the Raiders got well and truly on top in the second half, and the Roosters never looked like scoring. Blake
Ferguson, chipping the ball over Carney’s head and chasing to re-gather, had the line in front of him to add
another try for the Raiders. On the hour, Jarrod Croker went flying out wide and dived over to score in the
corner and put the Raiders 28-12 ahead.
And the try-scoring wasn’t finished yet. An intercept by Josh McCrone sent Shaun Fenson into space for another,
and then Croker brought up his double to complete a rare night of highlights for the Raiders, but send further
despair into the Roosters’ camp.
Canberra Raiders 38 def Sydney Roosters 12
Raiders : Tries – J Croker 2, S Fensom, B Ferguson, J Papalii, J Picker, J Thompson. Goals – J
Croker 5/7.
Roosters : Tries – T Carney, S Perrett. Goals – T Carney 2/2.
Referees – M Cecchin, H Perenara. Crowd – 9,817 at Sydney Football Stadium.
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