Adam Bailey
DeanoHarmoNRL Scoreboard - Round 17
July 10th 2007 10:53
Category: No Category
During such an unpredictable season as 2007, even bottom side Penrith fancied their chances of a win when they took on Wests Tigers at Telstra Stadium on Friday night. And their optimism proved well-founded early, with the Panthers racing out of the blocks to run to a 20-6 lead after just 22 minutes; Frank Pritchard having already landed a double. But the fairy-tale ended there as the Tigers worked their way back into the contest. The free-flowing league that had enabled the Panthers to score so quickly proved to be their downfall, as the defence leaked points constantly for the rest of the night. Chris Lawrence ran in a hat-trick, while Robbie Farah booted 5 conversions and a field goal as the Tigers took control.
Referee - B Cummins.
Crowd - 12,395 at Telstra Stadium.
It's never easy for the Broncos around Origin time, and they went into their match against Gold Coast with 4 players backing up and without Brett Tate, Karmichael Hunt and Dane Carlaw. But at 12-6 at half-time, the Broncos were looking solid. The score stayed at 12-6 until the 68th minute, when Luke O'Dwyer ran through to equalise. Just 2 minutes later, Scott Prince put the Titans in front; but a sickening collision with David Taylor saw Prince seeing stars and having to be stretchered off. Taylor's impact wasn't finished yet, as he went over in the 79th minute to set up golden point. And it was Darren Lockyer who was the hero, landing a 40-metre drop goal that rebounded off both uprights before bouncing through to give the Broncos the narrowest of victories.
Referee - S Clark.
Crowd - 48,621 at Suncorp Stadium.
South Sydney took on Melbourne on the Central Coast on Saturday in a match that was a hard-hitting, tightly contested affair. Strong defences were the order of the day, It wasn't until more than half an hour that the first points were scored, when Yileen Gordon went over for the Rabbitohs; and Nathan Merritt would add another before the break. But sadly for Souths, Merritt was unable to land either conversion; and that would ultimately cost the Rabbitohs the game. Melbourne's Cameron Smith was more accurate with the boot, converting both the Storm's second half tries from Matt King and Israel Folou to give the Storm a 12-8 victory.
Melbourne 12 Tries - M King, I Folou. Goals - C Smith. South Sydney 8 Tries - Y Gordon, N Merritt.
Referee - J Maxwell.
Crowd - 14,288 at Central Coast Stadium.
It was too little too late for the New Zealand Warriors when they took on North Queensland in Townsville on Saturday night. After a scoreless first 20 minutes, Ashley Graham opened the Cowboys' account, and a timely second try to Carl Webb moments before the half-time break gave the North Queensland side a 12-0 lead at the break, the Warriors defence being weakened by Patrick Ah Van being sentenced to 10 minutes in the bin. After the break, an injury to Johnathan Thurston changed the complexion of the game - although the Cowboys went in almost straight away through Sione Faumuina they would never threathen again for the rest of the night. Instead it was Ah Van, attempting to redeem himself, who went over for the Warriors, and Manu Vatuvei landed another try with 7 minutes to go to cut the margin to just 6 points. But there was to be no miracle equaliser for the Warriors as the Cowboys progressed to third place.
North Queensland 18 Tries - A Graham, C Webb, S Faumuina. Goals - J Thurston 2, A Graham. New Zealand Warriors 12 Tries - P Ah Van, M Vatuvei. Goals - M Witt 2.
Referee - T Archer.
Crowd - 19,964 at Dairy Farmers Stadium.
Manly snapped a 2-match winning streak, and did it in style with a record-breaking 56-0 triumph over the hapless Roosters at Brookvale on Saturday night. The Sea Eagles got off to a flying start when Steven Bell went over in the third minute, and from there it was never a contest. 16-0 at half-time, and the rot continued in the second half with a point-a-minute demolition. Michael Robertson and Matt Orford each scored hat-tricks, with Orford also contributing 8 goals. But good as Manly were, the Roosters were lamentable; their defence had no idea how to stop the onslaught. Morale has never been lower for the Roosters, and it was no surprise in the aftermath of this game when Roosters coach Chris Anderson fell on his sword; to be replaced next week by Brad Fittler.
Manly 56 Tries - M Robertson 3, M Orford 3, S Bell 2, B Stewart, S Matai. Goals - M Orford 8. Sydney Roosters 0.
Referee - G Badger.
Crowd - 9,992 at Brookvale Oval.
St George's mid-season resurgence continued at WIN Stadium on Sunday afternoon when the Dragons ran to a 58-16 win over Canberra. Todd Carney scored an early try for the Raiders, but the Dragons then got on top with 4 unanswered tries to run to a 22-6 half-time win. Raiders' coach Neil Henry put a rocket through his charges at the break, and the visitors came out breathing fire with Hinchcliffe and Carney going over to put the Raiders back into the contest. But from there the will waned and it was all one-way traffic as the locals got on top again. Six second-half tries made it a blowout, with the Dragons also going ahead of Canberra on the ladder. After such a disastrous start to the season, the Dragons are now only 2 games out of the 8 and maybe still in contention.
St George/Illawarra 58 Tries - R Chase 2, D Hunt, J Soward, B Ellis, J Morris, J Poore, B Scott, M Cooper. Goals - J Soward 9. Canberra 16 Tries - T Carney 2, R Hinchcliffe. Goals - T Carney 2.
Referee - S Hampstead.
Crowd - 7,561 at WIN Stadium.
Without Adam Dykes and Brett Kimmorley, few gave the Sharks a chance of beating the Bulldogs; but in the first half an upset looked on the cards. Luke Covell went over for an early try, and with the Bulldogs on the wrong end of a lopsided first-half penalty count the Sharks capitalised to go into the break leading 12-0. But a Bulldogs' surge was anticipated, and it came with a rush. In 13 minutes, Ryan, Phelps and Millard went over, and even with Hazem El Mazri out of sorts with the boot only landing one conversion, the Bulldogs had built a lead they would hold on to for the remainder of the match to move into the top 8 for the first time this season.
Bulldogs 14 Tries - A Ryan, C Phelps, D Millard. Goals - H El Mazri. Cronulla 12 Tries - L Covell. Goals - L Covell 3.
Referee - S Hayne.
Crowd - 8,441 at Toyota Park.
Even the best teams have bogey sides, teams that no matter how well they play and how badly the opposition plays, they can never beat. For Parramatta, their bogey side is Newcastle; and the spectre of the Knights has hovered over the Eels since the 2001 grand final. Added spice was added to this game with the coaching swap that saw Michael Hagan coaching Parramatta in this game while former Eels mentor Brian Smith was coaching Newcastle. But the Novacastrian curse would strike again at Parramatta Stadium, as the Knights jumped Parramatta to race to an 18-0 half-time lead. By the time the Eels scored the contest was already over, adding to the gloom the miserable wet and slippery conditions had created for the local fans. In an injury-plagued and disaster-prone season, the Knights incredibly find themselves only outside the top 8 on for & against.
Newcastle 34 Tries - G Carmont 2, M Sargent, S Simpson, J McManus, A MacDougall. Goals - K Gidley 5. Parramatta 10 Tries - F Mateo, K Inu. Goals - K Inu.
Referee - P Simpkins.
Crowd - 10,363 at Parramatta Stadium.
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