Defending champions Manly won their fourth game on the trot, but had to work hard for it, when they recorded a 18-10 win over the Sydney
Roosters at Brookvale Oval on Sunday afternoon.
The tone was set for a hard, physical encounter in the opening seconds, with Jarred Waerea-Hargraves landing a massive hit on Jason King. But
the Sea Eagles hit back a few minutes later in the way that mattered, on the scoreboard; spreading the ball out wide for Michael Oldfield to
score in the corner.
The Roosters wasted little time in hitting back, with Sam Perrett chasing a chip kick by Braith Anasta to score in the corner and level the game
up at 4-4. And at the half hour mark, the visitors took the lead thanks to a charging Daniel Mortimer, racing through quicker than the pursuit of
the Sea Eagle defenders to score under the posts.
The Rooster lead would be short-lived however, with Steve Matai chasing a grubber from Keiran Foran to level the scores at 10-10 at half time;
and two minutes into the second half Manly were in front. Daniel Harrison shrugged off the Manly tacklers to find the line in front of him for a
simple try and a 16-10 lead.
Much of the second half was a war of attrition. Big hits, hard tackles and both sides struggling to find room to move or scoring chances.
Mortimer had a try disallowed on the half hour mark, but there were few other opportunities for the Roosters to peg back the deficit.
With six minutes to go, the Sea Eagles received a penalty, with Jamie Lyon electing to take the two points on offer to make the buffer more
than a converted try. It was a bridge too far for the Roosters, who were unable to score in the second half as the Sea Eagles counted down
to a hard-earned win.
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 18 def Sydney Roosters 10
Sea Eagles : Tries – S Matai, M Oldfield, D Harrison. Goals – J Lyon 3/4.
Roosters : Tries – S Perrett, D Mortimer. Goals – B Anasta 1/2.
Referees – A Klein, J Maxwell. Crowd – 12,633 at Brookvale Oval.
It was a clash of traditional rivals as St George hosted Souths at Kogarah on Sunday afternoon. And it was a game that lived up to
expectations, with the Rabbitohs pulling off a golden point win to further establish their winning momentum.
The Dragons burst out of the blocks and went close to scoring in the third minute, but the video referee ruled that Daniel Vidot was held up
without grounding the ball. But from the 10 metre restart, Jamie Soward chip-kicked the ball to the opposite corner where Jason Nightingale
was bursting through to score the try and give the Dragons an early 6-0 lead.
They were to double their lead after the ball was thrown out wide, for Jamie Soward to grab the ball and streak all the way to the line ahead
of the Rabbitoh chasers before centering to put the ball down under the black dot for an easy conversion. But the Rabbitohs hit back, on the
half hour mark, when Sam Burgess was too strong for the Dragon tacklers to burst through and score.
In the last minute before half time, the game was back on level terms, with a lightning pass by Matt King finding Adam Reynolds who raced 40
metres to score under the posts and see the game tied up at 12-12 at the break.
It took just five minutes after half time for the Dragons to regain the lead, with Matt Cooper crashing over in the corner to restore the six point
margin. But on the hour, a grubber by Adam Reynolds was chased down by Andrew Everingham for a try that would see the scores tied up at
18-all.
A penalty 35 metres out gave the Dragons a chance to regain the lead, as Jamie Soward slowly and deliberately lined up a two-point attempt.
But his penalty goal kick sailed agonisingly wide.
In the final minutes, the game became a field goal shootout, as the Dragons had three unsuccessful attempts to add the drop goal and the
Rabbitohs missed once. But with the scores still tied up after 80 minutes, extra time was called on. And at the end of the first set of additional
time, Adam Reynolds lined up the drop goal and put the kick over, sending the Rabbitoh players and supporters into scenes of euphoria. The
win was the Rabbitohs third on the trot, but the Dragons find themselves at risk of falling behind the pace after their third straight defeat.
South Sydney Rabbitohs 19 def St George-Illawarra Dragons 18 in golden point extra time
Rabbitohs : Tries – S Burgess, A Reynolds, A Everingham. Goals – A Reynolds 3/3. Field Goals – A Reynolds 1/2.
Dragons : Tries – M Cooper, J Soward, J Nightingale. Goals – J Soward 3/4. Field Goals – J Soward 0/2, B Hornby 0/1.
Referees – S Hayne, B Suttor. Crowd – 14,894 at WIN Jubilee Stadium.
Monday night at ANZ Stadium saw both Canterbury and Cronulla with key players absent on Origin duty. But it was the Bulldogs who covered
their vacancies better, their 26-6 win a reflection of the Bulldogs’ superior depth.
The Bulldogs went on the attack from the start. After twice forcing the Sharks into drop-outs, the Bulldogs broke through in the seventh
minute, with Dene Halatau making a break before linking up with Ben Barba for the little fullback to run the last 20 metres and plant the ball
under the posts. And the attack kept coming, with Tim Lafai bursting through a gaping hole in the Cronulla line just a few minutes later to add
another and open up a 12-0 lead.
The Bulldogs could do no wrong, while the depleted Sharks were struggling to hold them. The 24th minute saw the Bulldogs crash over again,
with Matthew Wright getting on the scoreboard, although it took some close scrutiny from the video referee before the hint of a knock-on
was eliminated. And with half time approaching, Josh Reynolds grubbered forward for Barba to grab the ball and score his second.
Leading 24-0 at half time, the Bulldogs all but had the game wrapped up; and although they were unable to add another try in the second
half, the Sharks never looked like making any serious inroads into the deficit.
Jeremy Smith got one try back for the Sharks, electing to take a quick tap after a penalty and wrong-footing the Bulldog defenders to score.
But for the most part, the Bulldog defence more than had the Sharks covered; and they never really looked like adding another to put the
Bulldogs under pressure.
Bryson Goodwin, having a great day from the kicking tee, added a penalty goal to open up a 20-point lead. And that’s how the game would
finish, as the Bulldogs were happy to play out time for a well-earned two points. The Sharks, without Todd Carney and Paul Gallen, were clearly
affected harder than the Bulldogs by the Origin camp, unable to create any pressure.
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 26 def Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 6
Bulldogs : Tries – B Barba 2, M Wright, T Lafai. Goals – B Goodwin 5/5.
Sharks : Tries – J Smith. Goals – J Williams 1/1.
Referees – G Sutton, G Badger. Crowd – 12,012 at ANZ Stadium.
ROUND 12 FIXTURES: (All times shown are Sydney time)
Wednesday 23rd May State of Origin I - New South Wales v Queensland (8:00pm, Etihad Stadium) Friday 25th May Melbourne v Brisbane (7:30pm, AAMI Park) South Sydney v Canberra (7:30pm, ANZ Stadium) Saturday 26th May Newcastle v Gold Coast (5:30pm, Hunter Stadium) St George v Parramatta (7:30pm, WIN Jubilee Stadium) Sunday 27th May Penrith v Manly (2:00pm, Centrebet Stadium) Wests Tigers v North Queensland (3:00pm, Campbelltown Stadium) Monday 28th May Sydney Roosters v Canterbury (7:00pm, Allianz Stadium) BYE - Cronulla, NZ Warriors.
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A shortened round of matches for round 11, with the Origin players in camp. But the Wests Tigers had little to worry
about as they continued their return to form with their fourth win on the trot, a Friday night 24-22 win over the
New Zealand Warriors at Leichhardt Oval.
The Warriors drew first blood, with Shaun Johnson throwing the ball out wide for Bill Tupou to open the scoring in
the fourth minute; although James Maloney was unable to convert. It was some poor defending by the Tigers, who
weren’t finding things going their way in the first half. Benji Marshall controversially had a try disallowed, while the
penalty count was going the Warriors’ way, much to the ire of the crowd.
In the 24th minute, the Warriors were in again, after Manu Vatuvei pressured Beau Ryan into a knock-on, with the
ball spilling free for Ben Henry to gather and score under the posts. Maloney’s conversion gave the Warriors a 10-0
lead that would remain intact till half time.
Six minutes into the second half, and the Tigers were on the scoreboard, thanks to a piece of individual brilliance by
Beau Ryan as he forced a knock-on by Vatuvei and picked up the ball before running 30 metres around the Kiwi
tacklers to score under the posts. And five minutes later, Benji Marshall fired a grubber, with a flying Lote Tuqiri
running through to score; Marshall’s conversion giving the Tigers the lead.
Shortly before the hour, the Warriors were back in front, with Konrad Hurrell out-pressuring the Tiger defenders to
score under the posts. But the lead would be short-lived as a bullocking run by Blake Ayshford was cut short five
metres out, but a last-moment pass found Matt Utai, who crossed the line on his hands and knees but grounded the
ball correctly for a try.
In the final minutes, Tim Moltzen took the ball out wide and evaded the Warrior tacklers to put the result beyond
doubt. Hurrell brought up his double in the final seconds of the game, but it was too late for the Warriors to be a
chance of stealing the game.
Wests Tigers 24 def New Zealand Warriors 22
Tigers : Tries – M Utai, B Ryan, T Moltzen, L Tuqiri. Goals – B Marshall 4/4.
Warriors : Tries – K Hurrell 2, B Tupou, B Henry. Goals – J Maloney 3/4.
Referees – T Archer, J Robinson. Crowd – 16,406 at Leichhardt Oval.
Saturday night in Townsville saw a thriller, with the North Queensland Cowboys having to hang on for dear life before
they could celebrate a 30-28 win over Penrith.
The Panthers were first on the board, with Clint Newton chasing down a grubber from Luke Walsh; but the Cowboys
almost immediately equalised thanks to a dummy from Matt Bowen which caught the Panther defenders out, allowing
Bowen to stroll through for the easiest of tries.
At the 20 minute mark, the Cowboys threw the ball out wide, allowing Ashley Graham to score in the corner; but
with Matt Bowen unable to convert, the Cowboys were 10-6 ahead.
Shortly before the half hour mark, Blake Austin found a yawning gap in the Cowboy defence and ran through it to
score under the posts and give the Panthers a 12-10 advantage, which they would hold for the remainder of the half.
But it took just four minutes into the second period for the Cowboys to regain the lead, with Antonio Winterstein
pouncing on a cross-field kick from Matt Bowen to score. And three minutes later, Gavin Cooper was in the right place
to chase a grubber to add another, putting the home side ten points ahead.
The Panthers weren’t done yet, and when Travis Burns turned on his pace, the Cowboy defenders were unable to
match it with him as he raced through to score under the posts. But the Panthers’ discipline was letting them down,
as they gifted the Cowboys two penalty goals; although Bowen was only able to capitalise on one of them.
The Cowboys would rue the missed penalty goal with 12 minutes to go, as Brad Tighe was on the end of a chain of
passes to score in the corner. A sensational conversion from the sideline by Blake Austin was successful, and scores
were locked at 24-24.
Shortly after, the Panthers had the lead, with Josh Mansour scoring in the corner. But Luke Walsh, who had been
on and off all night with injury worries, failed to convert the try. And the Cowboys took advantage as Bowen kicked
the ball high and Ashton Sims grabbed the ball to score under the posts. Bowen’s conversion gave the Cowboys the
lead with six minutes remaining.
The Panthers still had plenty of attack left in them, and there were some nervous moments for the home team in
the final minutes of the game as the Panthers twice forced the Cowboys into drop-outs. But the North Queensland
defence held firm in the final minutes, retaining a spot in the top in the top four and keeping the struggling Panthers
stranded in second-last spot.
North Queensland Cowboys 30 def Penrith Panthers 28
Cowboys : Tries – M Bowen, A Sims, A Graham, A Winterstein, G Cooper. Goals – M Bowen 5/7.
Panthers : Tries – C Newton, B Tighe, T Burns, L Coote, J Mansour. Goals – B Austin 3/3, L Walsh 1/2.
Referees – S Lyons, C James. Crowd – 11,648 at Dairy Farmers Stadium.