Adam Bailey
DeanoHarmoNRL Scoreboard - Round 14
June 19th 2007 12:48
Category: No Category
Manly opened the weekend in style, tightening their grip on a top-2 position with a comfortable 14-2 win over Souths in wet conditions at Brookvale Oval on Friday night. A penalty goal to Nathan Merritt gave the Rabbitohs the early lead, but it was to be short-lived as inspirational captain Steve Menzies went over in the corner just minutes later. A penalty goal to Jamie Lyon and a converted try to Origin success story Brett Stewart extended the Sea Eagles’ lead to 14-2 at the break; and that’s how it stayed as the weather closed in and the defences tightened.
Referee : S Clark. Crowd : 7,341 at Brookvale Oval.
In what has been a disappointing season for both the Bulldogs and the Broncos, only a small crowd of barely 10,000 turned out to Telstra Stadium on a wet Friday night. After Daryl Millard had gone over for the Bulldogs early, it was the Broncos who dominated field position for the remainder of the first half; with converted tries to Carroll and Hodges giving Brisbane a 12-6 lead at the break. The tale of woe continued after half-time, with a try to Steve Michaels and a penalty to Corey Parker extending the visitors’ lead before a field goal with 12 minutes on the clock to Darren Lockyer put the result beyond doubt. Even with a last-minute consolation try to Sonny Bill Williams, the Bulldogs suffered defeat again; and find themselves languishing on 11th place on the table, still in contention for the finals but unless they can string some wins together their hopes are fading fast.
Referee : P Simpkins. Crowd : 10,121 at Telstra Stadium.
In the twilight match at Cronulla on Saturday night, the New Zealand Warriors ended their 6-game losing streak with a 12-2 victory over the Sharks. In a lacklustre game in front of a sparse crowd, tries to Michael Witt and Manu Vatuvei were among the few highlights. The result ensured the Warriors would stay ahead of the wooden spoon group of teams; while demoting the Sharks from top-4 contenders to only hanging on in the 8 through a superior for & against.
NZ Warriors 12 Tries : M Witt, M Vatuvai. Goals : M Witt 2. Cronulla 2 Goals: L Covell.
Referee : G Badger. Crowd : 4,202 at Toyota Park.
Despite returning home and playing in front of their home supporters, the Cowboys’ mid-season slump continued as for the second week in a row the North Queensland side let a double-figure try tally through the gaping holes in their defence. Instead, it was ladder leaders Melbourne who put on an exhibition for a big Townsville crowd, asserting their dominance from start to finish. Matt King and Greg Inglis spearheaded the charge with 2 goals each, while Cameron Smith’s boot landed 9 goals; but it was a solid team effort from the purple side that had the critics awestruck with their ongoing dominance. The loss in last year’s grand final hurt deeply, but the Storm are doing everything right to gain revenge this season.
Melbourne 58 Tries : M King 2, G Inglis 2, M Geyer, J Smith, C Newton, C Cronk, S Tagataese, S Turner. Goals : C Smith 9. North Queensland 12 Tries : B Bowen, T Williams, M Bowen.
Referee : J Maxwell. Crowd : 20,023 at Dairy Farmers Stadium.
Penrith coach Matthew Elliott was left to rue the one that got away after the Panthers suffered a shock 24-20 loss to the Roosters at CUA Stadium. It didn’t look that way for much of the night, with the Panthers holding the lead until the final minute. But at the death all the Panthers had to do was hold the ball for the last set of 6. Instead they took risks when they didn’t need to, and it all came horribly unstuck in the last play of the night as the locals coughed up possession. The ball fell into the hands of Mitchell Pearce, son of the former Balmain great Wayne, who crossed over with just seconds on the clock to put the Roosters in front. Fitzgibbon converted to seal the result, a fitting conclusion after a more accurate kicking display saw the Roosters’ 4-point win come from having converted 2 more tries.
Sydney Roosters 24 Tries : S Perrett, S Sa, A Roberts, M Pearce. Goals : C Fitzgibbon 4. Penrith 20 Tries : M Jennings, N Smith, J Moors, J Clinton. Goals : M Gordon 2.
Referee : B Cummins. Crowd : 5,831 at Credit Union Australia Stadium.
Sunday afternoon saw Parramatta host St George/Illawarra, and the home side’s 20-12 victory condemned the Dragons to last place on the premiership ladder. In an error-riddled first half, a penalty from Luke Burt was the only score in what had been an uninspiring contest to that point in time. The match livened up early in the second half when Tom Hewett went over for the Dragons, but it didn’t take long for Burt to set up Jarryd Hayne to get Parramatta over the tryline for a quick reply to restore the lead for the Eels. Two goals in 3 minutes to Eric Grothe and Krisnan Inu snuffed out any Dragon hopes, giving Parramatta a 20-6 lead with just 7 minutes left on the clock; and even with a late consolation try to Jamie Soward, St George were never in the contest.
Parramatta 20 Tries : J Hayne, E Grothe, K Inu. [/I]Goals :[/I] L Burt 4. St George/Illawarra 12 Tries : T Hewett, J Soward. Goals : J Soward 2.
Referee : S Hampstead. Crowd : 12,658 at Parramatta Stadium.
Gold Coast’s giant-killing debut season continued when the Titans recorded a valuable win on the road, coming from behind to defeat Wests Tigers 16-14 at Campbelltown. The kicking boots went missing in the first half, as the Tigers ran in 2 tries to the Gold Coast’s 1 but none of them being converted. In the end, it was former Wallaby Mat Rogers, in his first season back in rugby league, that was the difference between the two sides with a double. His first try, set up by former Tigers’ premiership captain Scott Prince, was a highlight as Prince wrong-footed and dummied to get past several Tigers defenders before finding Rogers in space. After Rogers’ second try the Titans held a 6-point lead, but a late Tigers’ try to Taniela Tuiaki injected new life into the contest. But hopes of forcing the game to golden point were dashed when Dean Collis missed the conversion; and the Titans held on for a crucial 2-point win.
Gold Coast 16 Tries : M Rogers 2, J Lewis. Goals : M Rogers 2. Wests Tigers 14 Tries : P Whatuira, C Lawrence, T Tuiaki. Goals : D Collis.
Referee : T Archer. Crowd : 13,451 at Campbelltown Stadium.
Newcastle captain Danny Buderus celebrated his 200th first grade game for the Knights with a win, but the Knights had to fight their way through against a spirited Canberra side at Energy Australia Stadium on Monday night. A double from Adam “Mad Dog” MacDougall, back in the Newcastle colours after a stint at Souths, set the scene for the Knights to take the lead; and after Tighe and Bailey had gone over the Knights held a 22-6 lead and with just 10 minutes to go looked to be home. But the Raiders fought back, dominating possession in the closing stages, with converted tries to Colin Best and Brad Cross turning what would otherwise have been a comfortable win into another close finish. But the Knights hung on to give the beleagured Newcastle community reason to smile.
Newcastle 22 Tries : A MacDougall 2, B Tighe, C Bailey. Goals : K Gidley 3. Canberra 18 Tries : L Withers, C Best, B Cross. Goals : M Dobson 3.
Referee : S Hayne. Crowd : 11,349 at Energy Australia Stadium.
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