Richard Michael
DeanoHarmoNRL Scoreboard - Round 18
July 17th 2007 12:56
Category: No Category
There’s always a sense of occasion when Manly takes on Wests – the silvertails v the fibros. But at Brookvale on Friday night it was silvertails all the way as the Sea Eagles romped away with a convincing 34-4 win. In a tight first half it was 6-4 to Manly shortly before half-time, but a try to Michael Monaghan shortly before the break opened the floodgates and after the break it was all one-way traffic. The big win to the Sea Eagles keeps them 3 games clear in 2nd spot; with the battle for the top 2 all but wrapped up.
Referee – S Clark. Crowd – 15,286 at Brookvale Oval.
In the Queensland derby in Townsville, a flying start by the Broncos was enough for them to keep the Cowboys out and consolidate their position in the top 8. After 4 first-half tries the Broncos lead 24-4 at half-time; but the Cowboys lifted in the second half. A double to Ashley Graham and another try to Matt Bowen on the hour made it into a closer contest; but the defence of the Broncos held firm to maintain the winning streak.
Brisbane 24 Tries – K Hunt, S Michaels, C Parker, D Carlaw. Goals – C Parker 4. North Queensland 16 Tries – A Graham 2, M Bowen. Goals – A Graham 2.
Referee – S Hampstead. Crowd – 25,926 at Dairy Farmers Stadium.
After a recent period of good form that saw them move from wooden spoon contention to the top 8, the Bulldogs were expected to not have too much trouble getting past bottom side Penrith on Saturday evening. And at half-time, despite Hazem El Mazri having a rare off day with the boot, all looked to be going to plan with the Bulldogs leading 14-4. But someone forgot to give the Panthers a copy of the script as they came out breathing fire after half-time. Doubles to Geoff Dianela and Nick Youngquest saw Penrith play an inspired second half, with 4 tries in 13 minutes transforming the momentum of the match. It was a result that again underlined the even nature of the competition, that on their day anyone can beat anyone.
Referee – T De Las Heras. Crowd – 12,465 at Telstra Stadium.
It’s amazing how often a struggling team, when they change coaches mid-season, can lift to give the new coach a first-up victory. And it happened again on Saturday night, when the battling Roosters gave new coach Brad Fittler a dream debut. It started early when Joel Monaghan went over in the 12th minute, the first of a hat-trick to Monaghan. In what has been a disastrous season for the Roosters, it was a rare highlight; one that lifted them off the bottom of the ladder and amazingly are only one win behind Cronulla. For the Sharks, a season that promised much early is slipping away, out of the top 8 and slidingly rapidly down the ladder.
Sydney Roosters 23 Tries – J Monaghan 3, C Wing. Goals – C Fitzgibbon 3. Field Goals – B Anasta. Cronulla 12 Tries – D Simmons 2. Goals – G Bird.
Referee – B Cummins. Crowd – 8,421 at Aussie Stadium.
After a disappointing loss last weekend, the New Zealand Warriors returned to form with a convincing 44-16 victory over St George-Illawarra. It was an entertaining performance from the Warriors featuring two length-of-the-field plays; the first coming from a pass from fullback Wade McKinnon to Simon Mannering; and late in the first half McKinnon fielded a bomb in-goals and ran the length of the field to score. Michael Witt was in sensational form with the boot, kicking 8 from 8; and has successfully booted home his last 30 shots at goal, closing in on Hazem El-Mazri’s record of 35 in a row.
New Zealand Warriors 44 Tries – S Mannering 2, W McKinnon, M Crockett, J Ropati, G Gatis, E Tuimavave. Goals – M Witt 8. St George-Illawarra 16 Tries – M Cooper, J Morris, J Soward. Goals – J Soward 2.
Referee – J Maxwell. Crowd – 10,037 at Mt Smart Stadium.
Canberra snapped a losing streak to return to form, and did it in style with an easy 56-10 win over Gold Coast at Bruce Stadium on Sunday. The Titans started the stronger, leading 10-6 after half an hour; but the last 10 minutes of the first half set the tone for the remainder of the game. Weyman, Tongue and Picker all went over within 7 minutes, and the Raiders had regained both the lead and the momentum. The pattern continued after the break, with the Raiders running in another 6 tries. To make a dismal afternoon even worse for the Titans, captain Scott Prince aggravated his injury from last week and is likely to be forced to miss the next few weeks.
Canberra 56 Tries – B Goodwin, W Zillman, P Graham, D Milne, T Carney, J Picker, L Withers, A Tongue, M Weyman, M Dobson. Goals – M Dobson 8. Gold Coast 10 Tries – L O’Dwyer, B Delaney. Goals – B Delaney.
Referee – P Simpkins. Crowd – 9,136 at Canberra Stadium.
Parramatta’s 18-12 victory over Souths at Parramatta Stadium on Sunday afternoon was overshadowed by incidents in the press conferences after the game; with Souths coach Jason Taylor and Parramatta’s Michael Hagan launching an expletive-riddled verbal stoush. It appears that the Eels pulled a swiftie, locking the Rabbitohs out of their pre-arranged warm-up area; and Taylor, who coached the Eels last year, was far from impressed. The match itself was one the Eels always looked to have under control, but a late try to Nathan Merritt cut the margin to just 6 points and a last-minute effort by Manase Manouokafoa to force golden point fell just short when he was held up in-goals.
Parramatta 18 Tries – J Reddy, T Tahu, N Cayless. Goals – K Inu 3. South Sydney 12 Tries – N Merritt, S Rigon. Goals – N Merritt.
Referee – T Archer. Crowd – 15,202 at Parramatta Stadium.
When ladder leaders Melbourne hosted the inconsistent Newcastle on Monday night the Storm were widely expected to win. But few would have anticipated the extent of their demolition job on the Knights, who were held scoreless for the match. From the moment Steve Turner went over after just 5 minutes it was clear the Storm meant business; and they continued their ruthless mood throughout the match to run to a 44-0 victory. Turner, Billy Slater and Anthony Quinn completed doubles, underlining the Storm’s dominance over the competition that sees them 2 games clear on top.
Melbourne 44 Tries – S Turner 2, B Slater 2, A Quinn 2, R Hoffman, M King, C Newton. Goals – C Smith 3, S Turner. Newcastle 0
Referee – S Hayne. Crowd – 10,223 at Olympic Park.
Pics from SportingDaily.net archives
| 32 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
