| The NRL season had an early start, on Thursday 1st March. Opening the season was a match with plenty of interest; as Wayne Bennett, coaching Newcastle for the first time, was coaching against his previous club, St George-Illawarra at Hunter Stadium. And it would be a thriller, with extra time needed before the Dragons emerged with the points. A horror start for the Dragons saw Ben Hornby’s kick off sail out on the full. The Knights took advantage of their penalty to press for position, and a second penalty within kicking range gave Kurt Gidley a shot at goal; and in just the second minute the Knights were 2-0 ahead. But the Dragons fought back shortly afterwards, spreading the ball out wide, where a pinpoint pass from Matt Cooper sent Brett Morris out wide for a try in the corner. It was a tight angle for the conversion, but Jamie Soward’s kick from the sideline never looked like missing. Intermittent rain during the first half made ball control difficult, and both sides struggled to create opportunities; and the scoreboard would not tick over again until the half hour mark when Jamie Soward put a penalty goal over for the Dragons. But five minutes later, Jarred Mullen wrong-footed the Dragon defenders with a dummy before crashing over to score; but the angle was too tight for Kurt Gidley’s conversion attempt. And so the Dragons held an 8-6 lead to half time. Jamie Soward attempted a field goal as the half time buzzer sounded, but failed to make the distance. The Dragons went on the attack in the early minutes of the second half. The Knights dodged a bullet when an attempted try by Nathan Fien was ruled by the video referee to have been incorrectly grounded. But the video referee was more accommodating to the Dragons the second time he was called into action, as Matt Cooper crashed over the line for a converted try. The Dragons were well placed, but the game was back on at the hour mark, after Timana Tahu dummied before off- loading to James McManus for a try under the posts. Kurt Gidley landed the conversion; and when a penalty goal went over with ten minutes remaining, the game was back on level terms at 14-14. The final minutes of regulation time saw Jamie Soward and Jarred Mullen both attempt drop goals, but both were unsuccessful; and so the game went into golden point. Added time often sees a field goal determine the game, and so it would prove this time. Third time lucky for Jamie Soward, as his drop-kick sailed over the cross-bar to give the Dragons first blood for 2012. St George-Illawarra Dragons 15 def Newcastle Knights 14 in golden point extra time Dragons : Tries – M Cooper, B Morris. Goals – J Soward 3/3. Field Goals – J Soward 1/3. Knights : Tries – J Mullen, J McManus. Goals – K Gidley 3/4. Field Goals – J Mullen 0/1. Referees – M Cecchin, A Klein. Crowd – 29,189 at Hunter Stadium. The heavens opened in Sydney during the week leading to the opening of the season, and there was no let-up on Friday night at Parramatta Stadium. Rain, a slippery ball and a heavy track greeted the Eels and the Broncos. And the sodden fans would go home disappointed, as Parramatta was unable to maintain their half-time lead and went down 18-6. It was a flying start for Parramatta, with new recruit Chris Sandow kicking to the in-goal on the fifth tackle. Gerard Beale was unable to control the ball, knocking it on; and Sandow followed his kick down, dived on the ball, and claimed a try in just the fourth minute. No problems for Luke Burt with the conversion, and the Eels were 6-0 ahead. It had taken just a few minutes for Sandow to score the first try in his new blue and gold colours, after crossing from Souths after last season. But Sandow’s try would be the only score of the first half, an error-riddled period of play in which the slippery ball saw numerous knock-ons and skill errors during the half. |
The errors continued as the second half got under way, but ten minutes into the half finally a coherent set of play
saw scores levelled; as the Broncos threw the ball out wide and Jharal Yow Yeh dived over in the corner. A
sensational conversion by Corey Parker from the sideline levelled the match at 6-6.
On the hour, Jack Reed gathered the ball in the in-goal, made a break and sparked a Bronco play in which they
gained the full 100 metres in the set, with Peter Wallace planting the ball under the posts to put the Broncos in
front. And ten minutes later, despite the attentions of the Eel defenders, Ben Hannant crashed over the line and
somehow managed to ground the ball. With both tries being converted, the Broncos found themselves 18-6 ahead
with the clock ticking down. From there the Broncos were happy to play out time, and start their season with two
valuable points on the road.
Brisbane Broncos 18 def Parramatta Eels 6
Broncos : Tries – P Wallace, J Yow Yeh, B Hannant. Goals – C Parker 3/3.
Eels : Tries – C Sandow. Goals – L Burt 1/1.
Referees – S Hayne, G Morris. Crowd – 11,399 at Parramatta Stadium.
Southern NSW was in flood, and Canberra Stadium was a quagmire as the Raiders hosted Melbourne on Saturday
evening. Less than 8,000 fans braved the slippery conditions, and they would have their hearts broken as a late try
to the Storm got them home 24-19 against the plucky Raiders.
The Storm received the ball from the kick-off, got a penalty, and spread the ball for Billy Slater to find the line and
open the scoring in just the second minute. And five minutes later, the Storm were in again, as Cooper Cronk ran
rings around the Raider defenders to score. With Cameron Smith converting both tries, the Storm had a 12-0 lead.
But the Raiders got back in the contest in the 14th minute, with back to back penalties handing them field position,
and a long-range speculative pass found Shaun Fensom; who had to juggle a difficult ball but managed to hold on to
it before planting it for the Raiders’ first try.
The Storm took advantage of a penalty to add two more points to their score. But the Raiders were on a roll, and
on the half hour mark a defensive knock-on by the Storm saw the ball spill free for Josh McCrone to pounce and
score. Jarrod Croker converted the try; and the Storm’s lead was reduced to 14-12, a scoreline that would remain
intact for the remainder of the half.
The weather was even worse as the second half got under way. Knock-ons and fumbles were common as it was
hard to get a grip on the ball. But the Storm regained their touch 12 minutes into the half, with Anthony Quinn
making a break before off-loading to Justin O’Neill for a try out wide. But with the wind, and slippery conditions, Cam
Smith was unable to convert.
Five minutes later, Glenn Buttriss from a scrum win found room to move and ran all the way to the line to score; and
when Jarrod Croker converted, scores were level.
With ten minutes to go, Cooper Cronk attempted to regain the lead, but his field goal attempt was unsuccessful.
But at the other end, three minutes later, Josh Dugan popped a drop goal over, and the Raiders held the lead for
the first time.
But with four minutes to go, the Storm regained the lead as Billy Slater flew high to pull down a bomb and score in
the corner. Cam Smith added the extras. And, although it wasn’t convincing, the Storm had done enough to take
the first up points.
Melbourne Storm 24 def Canberra Raiders 19
Storm : Tries – B Slater 2, C Cronk, J O’Neill. Goals – C Smith 4/5. Field Goals – C Cronk 0/1.
Raiders : Tries – G Buttriss, S Fensom, J McCrone. Goals – J Croker 3/3. Field Goals – J Dugan 1/1.
Referees – G Badger, B Suttor. Crowd – 7,862 at Canberra Stadium.
Incoming Penrith CEO, former coach Phil Gould, put the call out to the people of Western Sydney to come and
support the Panthers in their opening round game against the Bulldogs on Saturday evening; a chance for an early
blow in the sporting battle of the west in the year the GWS Giants enter the AFL. But the weather intervened, and
in dismal weather only 9,585 braved the conditions at Centrebet Stadium. And they would witness the Bulldogs
coming from behind to defeat the Panthers 22-14.
In the miserable conditions, the ball travelled from end to end early. But on 14 minutes, with the Panthers in attack,
Josh Morris attempted an intercept, only to knock on. And Travis Burns was on the spot to scoop up the crumbs
and evade the Bulldog defenders to score the opening try. Michael Gordon added the extras, and the Bulldogs were
6-0 ahead.
Four minutes later, the Panthers doubled their lead, after Michael Jennings grubbered the ball forward on the last
tackle and chased the ball to score under the posts. And shortly afterwards, Luke Walsh was held up just a few
centimetres short of the line, and a third try was narrowly missed.
The Panthers had been on top, and the Bulldogs had troubled to complete a set through the first half hour. But
with eight minutes to go before half time, Josh Reynolds weaved his way around the Panther defenders to score;
Steve Turner adding the extras to see the margin cut to 12-6.
Seven minutes after half time, scores were level, after James Graham wrong-footed the Penrith defenders with a
dummy before off-loading to Ben Barba for a try under the posts. But shortly before the hour mark, Penrith were
back in front after a penalty was awarded and the Panthers opted to take the two points on offer.
With ten minutes to go, the Bulldogs went close to taking the lead, when former Panther Frank Pritchard crashed
through David Simmons to put the ball down over the line; Simmons going down with concussion and having to be
stretchered from the field. But the video referee disallowed the try, with the referee adding to Pritchard’s woes by
putting him on report.
But three minutes later, the Bulldogs did take the lead, and Pritchard was again in the thick of the action, as he
offloaded to Josh Morris for a try in the corner. The angle was too tight for Steve Turner to land the conversion,
but with just seven minutes remaining in the game it was enough for the Bulldogs to lead for the first time. And
with two minutes to go, the Bulldogs were home when Bryson Goodwin pounced on a defensive knock-on to score
the match-winning try.
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 22 def Penrith Panthers 14
Bulldogs : Tries – B Barba, J Morris, B Goodwin, J Reynolds. Goals – S Turner 3/4.
Panthers : Tries – T Burns, M Jennings. Goals – M Gordon 2/2, L Walsh 1/1.
Referees – J Robinson, P Haines. Crowd – 9,585 at Centrebet Stadium.
Last year’s wooden spooners, Gold Coast, pulled off the first upset of the new season when the Titans travelled
north to Townsville to take on the Cowboys, and returned victorious after an 18-0 win.
After last year’s disappointments, the Titans had spent up heavily on new recruits, none bigger than former Bulldog
Jamal Idris. And in just the fifth minute, Idris was in the thick of the action. On the fifth tackle, Scott Prince had the
ball out wide. Going for the grubber, Prince kicked the ball to the in-goals; and Idris won the race to the ball to dive
over and score his first try in his new colours. The angle was too wide for Prince to convert the try, but the Titans
were out to a 4-0 lead.
An error-riddled half saw the Cowboys struggle to complete sets; it taking nearly 15 minutes before the Cowboys
even got to their first fifth tackle. The Titans struggled to create field position, but weight of possession after some
silly penalties from the Cowboys meant the visitors were never in any danger of conceding any points. But the Titans
had to bide their time to attack; eventually landing a further two points from a penalty goal shortly before half time.
The Cowboy frustration continued in the second half, as again a string of knock-ons and silly mistakes saw them
putting on a dire display which would give their supporters little cause for any optimism at all about the new season.
But the Titans struggled to capitalise, in what had been a poor standard period of play.
But eventually, in the 56th minute, the Titans broke through for the try that had seemed inevitable for so long. It
came thanks to a bomb into the in-goal, with Ash Graham made an appalling mess of his attempt to catch the ball
for a tap-20. The ball spilled free, and Steve Michaels was on the spot to pounce and score. Scott Prince added the
extras, and then added a penalty goal on the hour to put the Titans 14-0 to the good and all but home.
With six minutes to go, Jamal Idris made a break and delivered the knock-out blow; bringing up a double in his
Titans’ debut. The Titans had got their season off to a start to remember, as they held the hapless Cowboys
scoreless to take two valuable first-up competition points.
Gold Coast Titans 18 def North Queensland Cowboys 0
Titans : Tries – J Idris 2, S Michaels. Goals – S Prince 3/5.
Cowboys : Tries – Nil. Goals – Nil.
Referees – S Lyons, A Shortall. Crowd – 16,311 at Dairy Farmers Stadium.
Auckland was buzzing on Sunday afternoon for the Grand Final replay, and a capacity crowd packed out Eden Park as
the Warriors hosted defending champions Manly. It had been a turbulent off-season, with both clubs losing the
coaches that got them to last year’s Grand Final.
The Manly split had been particularly traumatic, with dual premiership coach Des Hasler leaving the club just days
after last year’s Grand Final to join the Bulldogs; with Geoff Toovey taking the reigns at Brookvale. But despite the
coaching changes, the bulk of the premiership side was intact; and they would inflict more pain on the Warriors as
the Sea Eagles completed a thrilling 26-20 victory.
The Sea Eagles got off to a flying start, throwing the ball out wide where David Williams made a break and ran to
the line to score. Jamie Lyon’s conversion hit the upright and bounced away. And in the 12th minute, Williams was
again in the thick of the action as he somehow managed to keep inside the field of play before launching a chip kick
from out wide, which was gathered by Daly Cherry-Evans for the Sea Eagles’ second try and a 10-0 lead.
The Sea Eagles could do no wrong, and ten minutes later Steve Matai received the ball after a scrum win and
evaded the Warrior tacklers to add another try under the posts. It had been a sensational opening by the defending
champions, silencing the massive home crowd and forcing the Warriors to play catch-up for the remainder of the
afternoon.
Finally at the half hour mark, the Warriors made a coherent attacking raid, with Shaun Johnson catching the Manly
defence napping as he made a 40 metre break before sending Manu Vatuvei over the line for their first try. Four
minutes later, Johnson went himself and added another try, reducing the Manly lead to 16-10 at half time.
Tony Williams added a try for the Sea Eagles within a few minutes of the restart, but the Warriors came up with a
quick reply. Johnson was again influential as he went to the air on the last tackle, and Kevin Locke ran through
brilliantly to gather the bomb and score. James Maloney was unable to convert, and Manly still held a 22-14 lead; but
momentum looked to be running the Warriors’ way as Matt Ballin was given ten minutes in the sin bin.
And with ten minutes to go, the Warriors took advantage of their numerical advantage as Manu Vatuvei crashed
through the Sea Eagle defence to bring up his double. The crowd were in raptures as Maloney landed the
conversion, and suddenly it was back to 22-20. The Warriors still had ten minutes to find the try to take the lead,
seven of them with the Sea Eagles a man short, and a thrilling finish was in prospect.
But the Sea Eagles were let back in when Kevin Locke fumbled the ball not far from his own line, and the ensuing
set saw Glenn Stewart crash over to score. Lyon’s conversion was unsuccessful, and the Sea Eagle lead was far from
secure at only six points. But, try as they might, the Warriors were unable to find the try that would have forced
the game into golden point; and the Sea Eagles held them out to complete a hard-earned win.
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 26 def New Zealand Warriors 20
Sea Eagles : Tries – G Stewart, S Matai, T Williams, D Williams, D Cherry-Evans. Goals – J Lyon 3/5.
Warriors : Tries – M Vatuvei 2, K Locke, S Johnson. Goals – J Maloney 2/4.
Referees – T Archer, B Cummins. Crowd – 37,502 at Eden Park.
A full house packed Leichhardt Oval like sardines for the Wests Tigers v Cronulla match on Sunday afternoon. The
sun had finally emerged after days of heavy rain, but it was a humid and sticky day for the players; and an epic
match that would end in controversy during additional time.
After their first set of the game, the Tigers kicked the ball forward but Nathan Gardner was unable to clean up the
kick, as Beau Ryan charged through and in just the second minute the Tigers were already on the scoreboard. Benji
Marshall added the extras, and the Tigers held a 6-0 lead.
It had been a rusty start for the Sharks, with the poor defending that enabled that early Tigers try, and the kick-off
to restart play sailed out on the full. Some dropped ball early didn’t help the Sharks’ cause, and they were looking in
trouble. But eventually they found their rhythm; and in the 17th minute a creative pass by Tupou enabled Isaac de
Gois to run to the line for Cronulla’s first try. But Todd Carney, with the kicking tee for the first time in his new
Sharks colours after being sacked by the Roosters over the off-season, had a first conversion attempt to forget as it
sailed well wide of the uprights.
But five minutes later, a yawning gap opened up in the Cronulla defensive line, and Benji Marshall was left
unchallenged to stroll through the line and over to score the softest of tries and put the Tigers 12-4 ahead. The
scoreboard wouldn’t move again for the remainder of the half, as the game moved into a defensive stalemate and
scoring chances for either side were few and far between.
Early in the second half, the Tigers threw the ball out wide, and Matt Utai attempted a try in the corner, but the
video replay showed Utai’s foot going into touch; and the try was disallowed. And shortly afterwards, the Sharks
were on the attack; with Carney drawing the Tiger defenders before throwing the ball to an unattended Colin Best
for a try out wide.
Todd Carney was unable to convert the try, but on the hour he spotted an opening and ran through to score
under the posts. The former Raider and Rooster had struggled to have any influence during the first half, but had
looked stronger in the second half and was getting plenty of the ball. And when he landed the conversion, Cronulla
had the lead for the first time.
The Sharks were on a roll, and the Tigers were under pressure. With ten minutes to go, the Sharks took advantage
of a penalty to add two more points to their score, and leading 16-12 with the clock running down, were hopeful of
pulling off a win.
But with just two minutes to go, the Tigers had the ball out wide and it went to Beau Ryan. Kicking the ball
forward, Ryan chased down his own kick and ran rings around the Sharks’ defenders to put the ball down to level
the scores. Benji Marshall’s attempt to convert was beyond him, and so the game went into overtime.
Todd Carney attempted to put the field goal over, but the kick was charged down; and controversy raged as the
Shark forwards were ruled to be offside. The penalty enabled the Tigers to kick for the line and get themselves in
field position, and Benji Marshall had no trouble in putting the drop goal over to win the game for the Tigers.
Jubilation for the home side, and cruel disappointment for the Sharks.
Wests Tigers 17 def Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 16 in golden point extra time
Tigers : Tries – B Ryan 2, B Marshall. Goals – B Marshall 2/3. Field Goals – B Marshall 1/1.
Sharks : Tries – T Carney, C Best, I De Gois. Goals – T Carney 2/4. Field Goals – T Carney 0/1.
Referees – J Maxwell, C James. Crowd – 19,762 at Leichhardt Oval.
The traditional season opener between Souths and the Roosters at ANZ Stadium on Monday night saw the Roosters
pulling off a miracle comeback, scoring twice in the last three minutes to pull off a 24-20 victory.
Mitchell Pearce knocked on with the line in front of him in just the second minute, but the Roosters continued to
attack; and Lama Tasi found the line just four minutes later for the opening try. Former Parramatta player Daniel
Mortimer added the extras, and it was a flying start for the Roosters.
But the Rabbitohs settled down and worked their way back, and in the 13th minute a penalty ten metres from the
Roosters’ line gave them attacking position. A quick tap and an offload to Michael Crocker, and the Rabbitohs were
on the scoreboard with the score tied up at 6-6.
A high flying take by Chris McQueen led to the Rabbitohs’ second try in the corner. Adam Reynolds was unable to
convert. But the ball was turned over after the kick-off, and Adrian Guerra crashed over for the Roosters for a quick
reply; and Mortimer’s conversion saw the Roosters back in front.
As half time approached, a penalty was awarded to the Rabbitohs within goal-scoring range; and Reynolds added the
two points to level the game at 12-12 at the break.
A solo effort by five-eighth John Sutton shortly after half time gave the Rabbitohs the lead back, and a penalty goal
a few minutes later extended the lead to eight points. The game tightened, and the ball moved from end to end
with neither side looking like scoring, as the clock counted down. Nearly half an hour of play with the scoreboard not
moving, and just three minutes left on the clock; it looked like the Rabbitohs had done enough to take the points.
Only three minutes were left on the clock when Jarrod Waerea-Hargreaves finally found an opening and dived over
to score. The conversion saw the deficit for the Roosters cut to two points, with barely enough time for a final set
of six after receiving the ball. But the Roosters made a break, Boyd Cordner kicked the ball forward and Anthony
Minichiello chased the ball down for what looked a miracle try in the corner. The fate of the game hung on the
video referee’s call, and he took his time before reaching a verdict. But the result was the try was awarded, and the
Roosters had pulled off a miracle comeback victory.
Sydney Roosters 24 def South Sydney Rabbitohs 20
Roosters : Tries – A Minichiello, J Waerea-Hargreaves, A Guerra, L Tasi. Goals – D Mortimer 4/4.
Rabbitohs : Tries – J Sutton, M Crocker, C McQueen. Goals – A Reynolds 4/5.
Referees – A Devcich, G Sutton. Crowd – 18,278 at ANZ Stadium.
saw scores levelled; as the Broncos threw the ball out wide and Jharal Yow Yeh dived over in the corner. A
sensational conversion by Corey Parker from the sideline levelled the match at 6-6.
On the hour, Jack Reed gathered the ball in the in-goal, made a break and sparked a Bronco play in which they
gained the full 100 metres in the set, with Peter Wallace planting the ball under the posts to put the Broncos in
front. And ten minutes later, despite the attentions of the Eel defenders, Ben Hannant crashed over the line and
somehow managed to ground the ball. With both tries being converted, the Broncos found themselves 18-6 ahead
with the clock ticking down. From there the Broncos were happy to play out time, and start their season with two
valuable points on the road.
Brisbane Broncos 18 def Parramatta Eels 6
Broncos : Tries – P Wallace, J Yow Yeh, B Hannant. Goals – C Parker 3/3.
Eels : Tries – C Sandow. Goals – L Burt 1/1.
Referees – S Hayne, G Morris. Crowd – 11,399 at Parramatta Stadium.
Southern NSW was in flood, and Canberra Stadium was a quagmire as the Raiders hosted Melbourne on Saturday
evening. Less than 8,000 fans braved the slippery conditions, and they would have their hearts broken as a late try
to the Storm got them home 24-19 against the plucky Raiders.
The Storm received the ball from the kick-off, got a penalty, and spread the ball for Billy Slater to find the line and
open the scoring in just the second minute. And five minutes later, the Storm were in again, as Cooper Cronk ran
rings around the Raider defenders to score. With Cameron Smith converting both tries, the Storm had a 12-0 lead.
But the Raiders got back in the contest in the 14th minute, with back to back penalties handing them field position,
and a long-range speculative pass found Shaun Fensom; who had to juggle a difficult ball but managed to hold on to
it before planting it for the Raiders’ first try.
The Storm took advantage of a penalty to add two more points to their score. But the Raiders were on a roll, and
on the half hour mark a defensive knock-on by the Storm saw the ball spill free for Josh McCrone to pounce and
score. Jarrod Croker converted the try; and the Storm’s lead was reduced to 14-12, a scoreline that would remain
intact for the remainder of the half.
The weather was even worse as the second half got under way. Knock-ons and fumbles were common as it was
hard to get a grip on the ball. But the Storm regained their touch 12 minutes into the half, with Anthony Quinn
making a break before off-loading to Justin O’Neill for a try out wide. But with the wind, and slippery conditions, Cam
Smith was unable to convert.
Five minutes later, Glenn Buttriss from a scrum win found room to move and ran all the way to the line to score; and
when Jarrod Croker converted, scores were level.
With ten minutes to go, Cooper Cronk attempted to regain the lead, but his field goal attempt was unsuccessful.
But at the other end, three minutes later, Josh Dugan popped a drop goal over, and the Raiders held the lead for
the first time.
But with four minutes to go, the Storm regained the lead as Billy Slater flew high to pull down a bomb and score in
the corner. Cam Smith added the extras. And, although it wasn’t convincing, the Storm had done enough to take
the first up points.
Melbourne Storm 24 def Canberra Raiders 19
Storm : Tries – B Slater 2, C Cronk, J O’Neill. Goals – C Smith 4/5. Field Goals – C Cronk 0/1.
Raiders : Tries – G Buttriss, S Fensom, J McCrone. Goals – J Croker 3/3. Field Goals – J Dugan 1/1.
Referees – G Badger, B Suttor. Crowd – 7,862 at Canberra Stadium.
Incoming Penrith CEO, former coach Phil Gould, put the call out to the people of Western Sydney to come and
support the Panthers in their opening round game against the Bulldogs on Saturday evening; a chance for an early
blow in the sporting battle of the west in the year the GWS Giants enter the AFL. But the weather intervened, and
in dismal weather only 9,585 braved the conditions at Centrebet Stadium. And they would witness the Bulldogs
coming from behind to defeat the Panthers 22-14.
In the miserable conditions, the ball travelled from end to end early. But on 14 minutes, with the Panthers in attack,
Josh Morris attempted an intercept, only to knock on. And Travis Burns was on the spot to scoop up the crumbs
and evade the Bulldog defenders to score the opening try. Michael Gordon added the extras, and the Bulldogs were
6-0 ahead.
Four minutes later, the Panthers doubled their lead, after Michael Jennings grubbered the ball forward on the last
tackle and chased the ball to score under the posts. And shortly afterwards, Luke Walsh was held up just a few
centimetres short of the line, and a third try was narrowly missed.
The Panthers had been on top, and the Bulldogs had troubled to complete a set through the first half hour. But
with eight minutes to go before half time, Josh Reynolds weaved his way around the Panther defenders to score;
Steve Turner adding the extras to see the margin cut to 12-6.
Seven minutes after half time, scores were level, after James Graham wrong-footed the Penrith defenders with a
dummy before off-loading to Ben Barba for a try under the posts. But shortly before the hour mark, Penrith were
back in front after a penalty was awarded and the Panthers opted to take the two points on offer.
With ten minutes to go, the Bulldogs went close to taking the lead, when former Panther Frank Pritchard crashed
through David Simmons to put the ball down over the line; Simmons going down with concussion and having to be
stretchered from the field. But the video referee disallowed the try, with the referee adding to Pritchard’s woes by
putting him on report.
But three minutes later, the Bulldogs did take the lead, and Pritchard was again in the thick of the action, as he
offloaded to Josh Morris for a try in the corner. The angle was too tight for Steve Turner to land the conversion,
but with just seven minutes remaining in the game it was enough for the Bulldogs to lead for the first time. And
with two minutes to go, the Bulldogs were home when Bryson Goodwin pounced on a defensive knock-on to score
the match-winning try.
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 22 def Penrith Panthers 14
Bulldogs : Tries – B Barba, J Morris, B Goodwin, J Reynolds. Goals – S Turner 3/4.
Panthers : Tries – T Burns, M Jennings. Goals – M Gordon 2/2, L Walsh 1/1.
Referees – J Robinson, P Haines. Crowd – 9,585 at Centrebet Stadium.
Last year’s wooden spooners, Gold Coast, pulled off the first upset of the new season when the Titans travelled
north to Townsville to take on the Cowboys, and returned victorious after an 18-0 win.
After last year’s disappointments, the Titans had spent up heavily on new recruits, none bigger than former Bulldog
Jamal Idris. And in just the fifth minute, Idris was in the thick of the action. On the fifth tackle, Scott Prince had the
ball out wide. Going for the grubber, Prince kicked the ball to the in-goals; and Idris won the race to the ball to dive
over and score his first try in his new colours. The angle was too wide for Prince to convert the try, but the Titans
were out to a 4-0 lead.
An error-riddled half saw the Cowboys struggle to complete sets; it taking nearly 15 minutes before the Cowboys
even got to their first fifth tackle. The Titans struggled to create field position, but weight of possession after some
silly penalties from the Cowboys meant the visitors were never in any danger of conceding any points. But the Titans
had to bide their time to attack; eventually landing a further two points from a penalty goal shortly before half time.
The Cowboy frustration continued in the second half, as again a string of knock-ons and silly mistakes saw them
putting on a dire display which would give their supporters little cause for any optimism at all about the new season.
But the Titans struggled to capitalise, in what had been a poor standard period of play.
But eventually, in the 56th minute, the Titans broke through for the try that had seemed inevitable for so long. It
came thanks to a bomb into the in-goal, with Ash Graham made an appalling mess of his attempt to catch the ball
for a tap-20. The ball spilled free, and Steve Michaels was on the spot to pounce and score. Scott Prince added the
extras, and then added a penalty goal on the hour to put the Titans 14-0 to the good and all but home.
With six minutes to go, Jamal Idris made a break and delivered the knock-out blow; bringing up a double in his
Titans’ debut. The Titans had got their season off to a start to remember, as they held the hapless Cowboys
scoreless to take two valuable first-up competition points.
Gold Coast Titans 18 def North Queensland Cowboys 0
Titans : Tries – J Idris 2, S Michaels. Goals – S Prince 3/5.
Cowboys : Tries – Nil. Goals – Nil.
Referees – S Lyons, A Shortall. Crowd – 16,311 at Dairy Farmers Stadium.
Auckland was buzzing on Sunday afternoon for the Grand Final replay, and a capacity crowd packed out Eden Park as
the Warriors hosted defending champions Manly. It had been a turbulent off-season, with both clubs losing the
coaches that got them to last year’s Grand Final.
The Manly split had been particularly traumatic, with dual premiership coach Des Hasler leaving the club just days
after last year’s Grand Final to join the Bulldogs; with Geoff Toovey taking the reigns at Brookvale. But despite the
coaching changes, the bulk of the premiership side was intact; and they would inflict more pain on the Warriors as
the Sea Eagles completed a thrilling 26-20 victory.
The Sea Eagles got off to a flying start, throwing the ball out wide where David Williams made a break and ran to
the line to score. Jamie Lyon’s conversion hit the upright and bounced away. And in the 12th minute, Williams was
again in the thick of the action as he somehow managed to keep inside the field of play before launching a chip kick
from out wide, which was gathered by Daly Cherry-Evans for the Sea Eagles’ second try and a 10-0 lead.
The Sea Eagles could do no wrong, and ten minutes later Steve Matai received the ball after a scrum win and
evaded the Warrior tacklers to add another try under the posts. It had been a sensational opening by the defending
champions, silencing the massive home crowd and forcing the Warriors to play catch-up for the remainder of the
afternoon.
Finally at the half hour mark, the Warriors made a coherent attacking raid, with Shaun Johnson catching the Manly
defence napping as he made a 40 metre break before sending Manu Vatuvei over the line for their first try. Four
minutes later, Johnson went himself and added another try, reducing the Manly lead to 16-10 at half time.
Tony Williams added a try for the Sea Eagles within a few minutes of the restart, but the Warriors came up with a
quick reply. Johnson was again influential as he went to the air on the last tackle, and Kevin Locke ran through
brilliantly to gather the bomb and score. James Maloney was unable to convert, and Manly still held a 22-14 lead; but
momentum looked to be running the Warriors’ way as Matt Ballin was given ten minutes in the sin bin.
And with ten minutes to go, the Warriors took advantage of their numerical advantage as Manu Vatuvei crashed
through the Sea Eagle defence to bring up his double. The crowd were in raptures as Maloney landed the
conversion, and suddenly it was back to 22-20. The Warriors still had ten minutes to find the try to take the lead,
seven of them with the Sea Eagles a man short, and a thrilling finish was in prospect.
But the Sea Eagles were let back in when Kevin Locke fumbled the ball not far from his own line, and the ensuing
set saw Glenn Stewart crash over to score. Lyon’s conversion was unsuccessful, and the Sea Eagle lead was far from
secure at only six points. But, try as they might, the Warriors were unable to find the try that would have forced
the game into golden point; and the Sea Eagles held them out to complete a hard-earned win.
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 26 def New Zealand Warriors 20
Sea Eagles : Tries – G Stewart, S Matai, T Williams, D Williams, D Cherry-Evans. Goals – J Lyon 3/5.
Warriors : Tries – M Vatuvei 2, K Locke, S Johnson. Goals – J Maloney 2/4.
Referees – T Archer, B Cummins. Crowd – 37,502 at Eden Park.
A full house packed Leichhardt Oval like sardines for the Wests Tigers v Cronulla match on Sunday afternoon. The
sun had finally emerged after days of heavy rain, but it was a humid and sticky day for the players; and an epic
match that would end in controversy during additional time.
After their first set of the game, the Tigers kicked the ball forward but Nathan Gardner was unable to clean up the
kick, as Beau Ryan charged through and in just the second minute the Tigers were already on the scoreboard. Benji
Marshall added the extras, and the Tigers held a 6-0 lead.
It had been a rusty start for the Sharks, with the poor defending that enabled that early Tigers try, and the kick-off
to restart play sailed out on the full. Some dropped ball early didn’t help the Sharks’ cause, and they were looking in
trouble. But eventually they found their rhythm; and in the 17th minute a creative pass by Tupou enabled Isaac de
Gois to run to the line for Cronulla’s first try. But Todd Carney, with the kicking tee for the first time in his new
Sharks colours after being sacked by the Roosters over the off-season, had a first conversion attempt to forget as it
sailed well wide of the uprights.
But five minutes later, a yawning gap opened up in the Cronulla defensive line, and Benji Marshall was left
unchallenged to stroll through the line and over to score the softest of tries and put the Tigers 12-4 ahead. The
scoreboard wouldn’t move again for the remainder of the half, as the game moved into a defensive stalemate and
scoring chances for either side were few and far between.
Early in the second half, the Tigers threw the ball out wide, and Matt Utai attempted a try in the corner, but the
video replay showed Utai’s foot going into touch; and the try was disallowed. And shortly afterwards, the Sharks
were on the attack; with Carney drawing the Tiger defenders before throwing the ball to an unattended Colin Best
for a try out wide.
Todd Carney was unable to convert the try, but on the hour he spotted an opening and ran through to score
under the posts. The former Raider and Rooster had struggled to have any influence during the first half, but had
looked stronger in the second half and was getting plenty of the ball. And when he landed the conversion, Cronulla
had the lead for the first time.
The Sharks were on a roll, and the Tigers were under pressure. With ten minutes to go, the Sharks took advantage
of a penalty to add two more points to their score, and leading 16-12 with the clock running down, were hopeful of
pulling off a win.
But with just two minutes to go, the Tigers had the ball out wide and it went to Beau Ryan. Kicking the ball
forward, Ryan chased down his own kick and ran rings around the Sharks’ defenders to put the ball down to level
the scores. Benji Marshall’s attempt to convert was beyond him, and so the game went into overtime.
Todd Carney attempted to put the field goal over, but the kick was charged down; and controversy raged as the
Shark forwards were ruled to be offside. The penalty enabled the Tigers to kick for the line and get themselves in
field position, and Benji Marshall had no trouble in putting the drop goal over to win the game for the Tigers.
Jubilation for the home side, and cruel disappointment for the Sharks.
Wests Tigers 17 def Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 16 in golden point extra time
Tigers : Tries – B Ryan 2, B Marshall. Goals – B Marshall 2/3. Field Goals – B Marshall 1/1.
Sharks : Tries – T Carney, C Best, I De Gois. Goals – T Carney 2/4. Field Goals – T Carney 0/1.
Referees – J Maxwell, C James. Crowd – 19,762 at Leichhardt Oval.
The traditional season opener between Souths and the Roosters at ANZ Stadium on Monday night saw the Roosters
pulling off a miracle comeback, scoring twice in the last three minutes to pull off a 24-20 victory.
Mitchell Pearce knocked on with the line in front of him in just the second minute, but the Roosters continued to
attack; and Lama Tasi found the line just four minutes later for the opening try. Former Parramatta player Daniel
Mortimer added the extras, and it was a flying start for the Roosters.
But the Rabbitohs settled down and worked their way back, and in the 13th minute a penalty ten metres from the
Roosters’ line gave them attacking position. A quick tap and an offload to Michael Crocker, and the Rabbitohs were
on the scoreboard with the score tied up at 6-6.
A high flying take by Chris McQueen led to the Rabbitohs’ second try in the corner. Adam Reynolds was unable to
convert. But the ball was turned over after the kick-off, and Adrian Guerra crashed over for the Roosters for a quick
reply; and Mortimer’s conversion saw the Roosters back in front.
As half time approached, a penalty was awarded to the Rabbitohs within goal-scoring range; and Reynolds added the
two points to level the game at 12-12 at the break.
A solo effort by five-eighth John Sutton shortly after half time gave the Rabbitohs the lead back, and a penalty goal
a few minutes later extended the lead to eight points. The game tightened, and the ball moved from end to end
with neither side looking like scoring, as the clock counted down. Nearly half an hour of play with the scoreboard not
moving, and just three minutes left on the clock; it looked like the Rabbitohs had done enough to take the points.
Only three minutes were left on the clock when Jarrod Waerea-Hargreaves finally found an opening and dived over
to score. The conversion saw the deficit for the Roosters cut to two points, with barely enough time for a final set
of six after receiving the ball. But the Roosters made a break, Boyd Cordner kicked the ball forward and Anthony
Minichiello chased the ball down for what looked a miracle try in the corner. The fate of the game hung on the
video referee’s call, and he took his time before reaching a verdict. But the result was the try was awarded, and the
Roosters had pulled off a miracle comeback victory.
Sydney Roosters 24 def South Sydney Rabbitohs 20
Roosters : Tries – A Minichiello, J Waerea-Hargreaves, A Guerra, L Tasi. Goals – D Mortimer 4/4.
Rabbitohs : Tries – J Sutton, M Crocker, C McQueen. Goals – A Reynolds 4/5.
Referees – A Devcich, G Sutton. Crowd – 18,278 at ANZ Stadium.
| ROUND 2 FIXTURES: (All times shown are Sydney time) Friday 9th March Manly v Wests Tigers (7:30pm, Bluetongue Stadium) Brisbane v North Queensland (8:30pm, Suncorp Stadium) Saturday 10th March Gold Coast v Canberra (5:30pm, Skilled Park) Canterbury v St George (7:30pm, ANZ Stadium) Sunday 11th March Cronulla v Newcastle (2:00pm, Toyota Stadium) Sydney Roosters v Penrith (3:00pm, Allianz Stadium) Melbourne v South Sydney (7:00pm, AAMI Park) Monday 12th March Parramatta v NZ Warriors (7:00pm, Parramatta Stadium) |
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