Adam Bailey
DeanoHarmoNRL Scoreboard - Round 20
July 30th 2007 12:30
Category: No Category
Canberra kept their slim finals hopes alive, and kept Penrith 2 games clear at the bottom of the ladder, when the Raiders completed a 34-30 win on Friday night. A hat-trick from Phil Graham made the ACT side look home and hosed when they led 34-16 with just 7 minutes to go, but a surging Panthers outfit was not to be denied; with 3 tries in the remaining few minutes slashing the deficit. Sadly for the Panthers, Nick Youngquest’s boot failed him when it mattered, with two of those conversions missing which cost the bottom side a chance at forcing golden point.
Referee – P Simpkins. Crowd – 8,240 at Canberra Stadium.
Brad Fittler’s unbeaten reign as Roosters coach continued, with the Eastern Suburbs side snaring the scalp of top side Melbourne 26-16 at the SFS on Friday. An early penalty goal to Fitzgibbon gave the Roosters the lead, and when Anasta set up Tupou and Ashley Harrison ran through the Storm defence the Roosters were up 14-0 and heading for an upset. A double to John Williams made the game safe, and despite a late rally by the Storm adding some respectability, this was the Roosters’ night; one that sees them still in with an outside chance of a finals berth that looked impossible just 3 weeks ago.
Sydney Roosters 26 Tries – J Williams 2, A Tupou, A Harrison. Goals – C Fitzgibbon 3, A Roberts. Melbourne 16 Tries – I Folau, C Cronk, J Aubusson. Goals – C Smith 2.
Just a month ago the New Zealand Warriors were in trouble, now they’re in the top 4 after recording a 52-10 demolition of Newcastle at Mt Smart Stadium on Saturday. It took just 3 minutes for the Warriors to signal their intentions when Wade McKinnon pounced on a grubber to score. From there it was a rout – 30-4 at the break and the second half only marginally closer as the Auckland-based side went on a scoring rampage. Michael Witt was again in outstanding form with the boot, scoring 8 from 9; taking the Warriors up to 4th on the ladder while the Knights are left languishing 2 games out of the 8 with the worst points difference in the comp.
New Zealand Warriors 52 Tries – W McKinnon 2, J Ropati 2, G Rovelli 2, M Vatuvei, S Price, W Koopu. Goals – M Witt 8. Newcastle 10 Tries – J McManus, K Reynoldson. Goals – K Gidley.
Referee – J Maxwell. Crowd – 11,301 at Mt Smart Stadium.
A capacity crowd at WIN Stadium saw the Bulldogs come from behind to snatch a 28-24 win over St George-Illawarra. The Dragons had led 14-0 shortly before half-time, but were unable to hang on against the Bulldogs juggernaut. The key play came with 8 minutes left and the Dragons leading 24-16 when Sonny Bill Williams executed a contentious 1 on 1 strip against Ben Creagh and scored. When Cutler went over in the final minute, the Bulldogs were in front for the first time all night. The result sees the Bulldogs jump to 5th position, while the Dragons are 15th and will be ruing Jamie Soward’s shocking night with the boot, only able to manage 2 from 6.
Bulldogs 28 Tries – H El Mazri 2, T Cutler, S B Williams, N Kouparitsas. Goals – H El Mazri 4. St George/Illawarra 24 Tries – M Cooper 2, K Lulia, J Soward, B Scott. Goals – J Soward 2.
Referee – B Cummins. Crowd – 19,051 at WIN Stadium.
South Sydney kept themselves just a slight points difference out of the top 8 when they completed a 20-14 win over Gold Coast at Homebush on Saturday night. It wasn’t a game that reached any great heights but a close finish kept the crowd cheering till the end. The Titans looked likely to end their losing streak when they took a 14-8 lead; but tries in the last 10 minutes to Nigel Vagana and Dean Widders got the Rabbitohs over the line.
South Sydney 20 Tries – F Talanoa, N Vagana, E Paea, D Widders. Goals – N Merrett 2. Gold Coast 14 Tries – M Rogers, B Delaney, L Bailey. Goals – B Delaney.
Referee – G Badger. Crowd – 13,351 at Telstra Stadium.
The Sharks went into this match with a 5-match losing streak, and hopes of snapping the run of poor form took a nosedive inside the first 10 minutes when Steve Michaels and Corey Parker both ran through some soft defence to score easy tries. From there, the Sharks were never in the contest; and a finals berth that looked theirs for the taking just a month ago looks like an impossible dream. But for the Broncos it continues a remarkable second half of the season that keeps hopes of back-to-back titles alive.
Brisbane 30 Tries – S Michaels, C Frawley, C Parker, G Eastwood, D Carlaw. Goals – C Parker 5. Cronulla 16 Tries – I De Gois 2, A Dykes. Goals – B Seymour 2.
Referee – S Clark. Crowd – 24,563 at Suncorp Stadium.
Parramatta and Manly put on a classic clash on Sunday afternoon at Parramatta Stadium, with the lead and momentum see-sawing throughout the match. Sadly the sellout crowd was marred by the behaviour of a few morons among their number who threw coins at former Eel Jamie Lyon, now playing with the Sea Eagles. But it was Lyon’s new club who left with the money after Lyon went over twice in the last 10 minutes to take victory; a result that leaves the Sea Eagles a whopping 4 games clear of the 3rd-placed Eels, virtually guaranteeing the top 2 is settled.
Manly 32 Tries – J Lyon 2, B Stewart, M Robertson, B Kite, S Menzies. Goals – M Orford 4. Parramatta 24 Tries – J Hayne, K Inu, B Smith, E Grothe. Goals – K Inu 4.
Referee – T Archer. Crowd – 20,113 at Parramatta Stadium.
Leichhardt Oval was packed beyond capacity on Monday night, with kick-off delayed 15 minutes as the crowd was still attempting to find their way into the ground. Once the match got under way, the crowd was in raptures, with the Tigers dominant with a 10 goals to 2 exhibition to run away with a 54-10 victory. The procession started after just 5 minutes, when even with 4 Cowboys hanging off him, Tuiaki was able to carry the ball over the line and score. And the try-fest continued all night; continuing a dismal run for the Cowboys in Sydney but restoring the 2005 premiers’ position in this year’s top 8.
Wests Tigers 54 B Harrison 2, D Fitzhenry 2, T Tuiaki, J Morris, B Hodgson, C Heighington, R Farah, D Halatau. Goals – B Hodgson 2, B Marshall 4, R Farah. North Queensland 10 Tries – J Smith, M Bartlett. Goals – J Thurston.
Referee – S Hayne. Crowd – 17,101 at Leichhardt Oval.
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