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NRL Finals – Mistakes Prove Costly for Titans

The Gold Coast Titans were hoping to put on a good show in the club’s first ever finals appearance. With a sellout crown behind them at Skilled Park they got off to a good start as Preston Campbell scored after seven minutes. From there they let things slip. Several costly mistakes helped the Broncos on their way to a 40-32 win.

Two tries to Brisbane in the 10th minute (Andrew McCullough) and 16th minutes (Israel Folau)  saw them take the lead. The Titans narrowed the margin after David Mead went over out wide thanks to some quick hands from Chris Walker. Mead went from hero to villain a few minutes later when he dropped a high ball which resulted in Folau scoring his second try.

Now the Broncos bolted out to a 20 point lead before the Titans made a stunning comeback. After tries to Kevin Gordon (49 and 60 minutes), Brad Meyers (54 minutes) and David Mead (72 minutes) the Titans had got the score to within two points. Another mistake saw the Broncos edge away when Luke Bailey threw an intercept pass which Dave Taylor returned for the crucial try.

It was an exciting game but some sloppy handling and the mistakes mentioned above cost the Titans the match.

NRL – Billy and Storm Blasts Manly

The 2008 NRL premiers face an anxious wait to see if they stay in the 2009 finals race. This comes after they were thumped by a committed Melbourne Storm outfit. Billy Slater lead the way with four tries as Melbourne took the match 40-8.

Melbourne were ahead 16-0 at the half-time break and pushed that lead out to 34-0 before Manly got on the board with a Steve Matai try. Melbourne fans booed the try as they were looking for a 40-0 scoreline to match that of the grand final in 2008. For the players it was not so much about revenge but moving on towards another grand final.

To go with Slater’s four tries Nielsen, Smith and Tolman also scored. For Manly Foran added a try to the earlier one by Matai.

The crowd was perhaps a bit disappointing as only 21,155 turned out for the match at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne.

If teams below Manly can win this weekend the finals campaign for the Sea Eagles could be over.

Rugby League – NRL Finals Week One Preview

After an entertaining NRL home and away season it has now come to finals time. The big movers of the year were the Bulldogs who last year took out the wooden spoon and in 2009 they were second. Moving in the other direction were the Sharks and Roosters. The Sharks fell from third in 2008 to second last, while the Roosters took the wooden spoon.

Looking ahead at the match ups in the first week of the NRL finals we see a replay of last years grand final to be played on Friday night. The Melbourne Storm hosts the Sea Eagles. Manly after a slow start have found some good form over recent times. Melbourne has been steady without being spectacular so this is a hard match to pick a winner. As Melbourne are at home I give them the edge. Melbourne by 8 is my pick.

On Saturday night at 6.30pm the two south Queensland teams face off for bragging rights. The Broncos looked gone a short time ago but have found form in the closing weeks of the season while the Gold Coast Titans have done well to make their first ever finals campaign. The Broncos have experience on their side and I am tipping them to take this match.

Also on Saturday night we see the Bulldogs take on the Newcastle Knights. The Knights just snuck into the finals after defeating Penrith in what was effectively a playoff last week. The Bulldogs almost went from last to first  as they just missed the minor premiership on for and against. In this game I think the Bulldogs will be just too good for the Knights. Bulldogs by 18.

The final match of the opening round of the NRL playoffs sees the Dragons play the Eels. Just last week they met and the Dragons trounced the Eels. With their season on the line I think the Eels can turn that result around and defeat the minor premiers. Eels by 4.

No Stopping Hayne and the Slippery Eels

The Parramatta Eels would have some of the top sides worried about a first round meeting in the NRL playoffs. They continued their dazzling charge to the finals wrapping up their seventh straight win with a emphatic 48-6 win over the Penrith Panthers.

Once again Jarryd Hayne thrilled the vocal home crowd with his superb play. Not to be outdone Daniel Mortimer scored a hat trick of tries and Luke Burt scored 24 points from two tries and eight goals.

The best example of Hayne’s brilliance came with 15 minutes to play. He made a break thanks to some great acceleration and footwork and found himself with players closing in on him. He had Mortimer in support however a Penrith player was between him and Hayne. Just to show his class Hayne floated a pass over the defender perfectly into the arms of Mortimer and away he went.

To see such a pass is rare, especially when running at full speed. Hayne is in a rare patch of form. Can he continue to blitz opposition teams and take the Eels all the way to the NRL grand final? That is the question NRL fans are asking.

After the win the Eels jumped into 6th spot on the NRL ladder. Manly should complete a win over the Sharks to jump over them while the Knights have a testing match against the Raider in Canberra.

It all comes down to the final round where the Eels will take on the Dragons. This will be a true test for the Eels. Other key matchups see the Wests Tigers v Bulldogs, Sea Eagles v Titans, and the Knights v Panthers.

Exciting times ahead in the NRL

To update the NRL scores for Friday the Brisbane Broncos continued there form reversal with a 16-10 win over the Cowboys.  After looking like they might miss the finals a few weeks back the Broncos now find themselves in fourth on the ladder.

Inglis in the clear after girlfriend changes statement?

According to a story on the smh.com.au site Australian rugby league superstar, Greg Inglis may be cleared of the charge of intentionally causing injury and unlawful assault.

This comes as a result of his girlfriend Sally Robinson submitting a fresh statement regarding the events when the alleged incident took place.

You can read the full article here “Girlfriend puts new slant on Inglis row“

Another Blow for NRL as Inglis Arrested for Alleged Assault

Earlier this season the National Rugby League had to edit their new television ad to remove Manly’s Brett Stewart after he was charged with sexual assault. After that Greg Inglis became the main focus of the campaign. Now to make matters worse it has been reported that Inglis has been arrested over the alleged assault of his girlfriend.

The Herald Sun reported that Inglis’ girlfriend now has a black eye however the police would not confirm the nature of the alleged injuries or when and where the alleged incident took place.

Inglis has secured bail and was ordered to appear in court on Wednesday.

What did you think when you saw this news? Do you think the NRL has an image problem? Love to see your comments.

State of Origin Game 3 goes to NSW

In game two of the State of Origin series it was David Williams who had a shocker as Queensland completed a historic fourth consecutive series win.

Game three was played Wednesday night on the Queensland home ground in Brisbane. Early in the match it was again Williams who handed the ball to Queensland to allow them to score. This time as he tried to slide and collect the ball he fumbled and allowed Dallas Johnson to cross the line. After the video ref reviewed the play several times he gave benefit of the doubt to Queensland.

Unlike other matches the NSW Blues team hit back and then ended the first half in front of their opponents.

A try was scored by Ben Creagh after Watmough delivered a sweet pass to make it 6-6 after 18 minutes. The next was controversial as Williams scored a try and a penalty was awarded to allow NSW to collect eight points.

The try itself was doubtful as the Manly winger appeared to lose the ball as he tried to ground it. The play started with a kick cross-field, Billy Slater could not wrap up the ball. Instead he put it in the hands of Williams who then got the ball to ground. As he did Thurston lashed out with his foot. The play was penalised.

The defence from NSW was a lot more committed and they had the match under control after going to the sheds with an eight point lead.

Queensland hit back just after halftime with a try to Justin Hodges but then mistakes followed from Queensland allowed NSW to score again after Trent Barrett delivered a nice pass to Josh Morris for the Blues to extend their lead.

Queensland were not giving up that easily and they put on a sensational try to Billy Slater. It came after Greg Inglis streaked away down the left sideline. He then put a kick through which Billy Slater chased at full speed before grounding the ball just inside the dead ball line. Once again it took the video ref to review the play before giving it the benefit of the doubt try.

Once again showing more spirit than they had in games one and two, the Blues scored again through Ben Creagh to make it 26-16 after the conversion.

With 11 minutes left to play Inglis put on a big fend against David Williams and looked like he might streak away for a try but Kimmorley had other ideas and he made a great covering tackle around the ankles.

Late in the game Trent Waterhouse was sent from the field after coming in late and hitting Steve Price. There had already been a fight between Price and a Blues player. The end result saw Price leave on a stretcher. Hopefully he is ok.

You might have thought that was the end of the action, but no. As the fight involving Price took place Jarrad Hayne went over for a possible try. Thanks to the fight it was disallowed.

Just minutes later there was more push and shove and we saw Ben Creagh and Sam Thaiday sent to the sin bin.

Finally the end came and NSW avoided the whitewash with a 28-16 win.

Brett Kimmorley justified his recall as he put in a great performance. He last played Origin in 2007. Anthony Watmough also had a great game for NSW.

Rugby League State of Origin Queensland team game 3

Tonight Queensland will be looking to really run New South Wales’ noses into it. Not only have they won four straight series the Maroons want to humiliate NSW and make them scared for next year.

The Queensland team for Rugby League State of Origin game three is:

1. Billy Slater
2. Darius Boyd
3. Greg Inglis
4. Justin Hodges
5. Willie Tonga
6. Darren Lockyer (c)
7. Johnathan Thurston
8. Steve Price
9. Cameron Smith
10. Matt Scott
11. Ashley Harrison
12. Sam Thaiday
13. Dallas Johnson

Interchange
14. Karmichael Hunt
15. David Shillington
16. Neville Costingan
17. Michael Crocker

Nate Myles is of course missing from the team following his suspension for the Central Coast hotel incident. Justin Hodges returns to the side after missing game two due to an injury he picked up in game 1.

Do you think NSW can avoid the series whitewash? See the NSW game 3 team list.

NSW State of Origin Game 3 Squad

After losing the Rugby League State of Origin series for the fourth consecutive time in game two, the NSW selectors were faced with the choice of blooding new talent or saving pride when they sat down to select the team for game three. The team they selected is shown below.

1. Kurt Gidley (c) (Knights) – 1. Jarryd Hayne
2. Jarryd Hayne (Eels) – 2. Brett Morris
3. Michael Jennings (Panthers) – 3. Michael Jennings
4. Jamie Lyon (Sea Eagles) – 4. Matt Cooper
5. David Williams (Sea Eagles) – 5. Joel Monaghan
6. Trent Barrett (Sharks) – 6. Jamie Soward
7. Brett Kimmorley (Bulldogs) – 7. Brett Kimmorley
8. Josh Perry (Sea Eagles) – 8. Brent Kite
9. Michael Ennis (Bulldogs) – 9. Michael Ennis
10. Justin Poore (Dragons) – 10. Justin Poore
11. Ben Creagh (Dragons) – 11. Nathan Hindmarsh
12. Trent Waterhouse (Panthers) – 12. Ben Creagh
13. Anthony Watmough (Sea Eagles) – 13. Anthony Watmough

Interchange
14. Craig Wing (Rabbitohs)
15. Tom Learoyd-Lahrs (Raiders)
16. Glenn Stewart (Sea Eagles)
17. Brett White (Storm)

It is looking like they are trying to avoid a whitewash as they have picked some old hands in Kimmorley and Barrett in the halves.

On the NRL website the fans were asked to vote for their team to take on Queensland in game three. I have included the fans choice team alongside the actual team. The players as selected by the fans when different from the actual selections are in italics.

Do you think the selectors have got it right? Love to see your comments.

Queensland Wins Historic Fourth Straight State of Origin Series

New South Wales played perhaps the worst half seen from the players of that state in ten years yet at halftime they were just 18-10 behind the Queensland team in State of Origin game two. Queensland went into the game with a 1-0 advantage after winning the opening match of the series in Melbourne.

The New South Wales blues basically let in three very soft tries. The first came after Greg Inglis went over from a short run in just the sixth minute. The next try for Queensland saw Israel Folau break through a tackle with ease near the 20 metre line before strolling over, this came following a spilt ball from David Williams.

Queensland scored again after another poor play from New South Wales. The Blues were trying to move the ball out of their defensive 20 metre zone when a pass went to ground. Two players from New South Wales tried to retrieve the ball but failed. In the end Darren Lockyer said thanks as he crossed the line to setup an 18-0 score.

From that moment the Blues could have easily thrown in the towel but thanks to a Jarrad Hayne intercept try they edged their way back into the match. It was Hayne again that saw the Queensland lead brought back to eight just before halftime. He managed to kind of fall sideways over the line from dummyhalf to score. The was some doubt about the try as the player playing the ball was thought to have interfered with the marker.

Minutes before the New South Wales try was scored Queensland had been denied what looked like a fair try to Ashley Harrison. Willie Tonga in going for the line held the ball up near his head, he managed to release the ball and it appeared to come off a Blues player and go forward. Harrison scooped the ball up from just on the try line and fell over. The video ref decided it was no try.

In the second half it was a different Blues team. They played with purpose and managed to get the score to 18-14 after a try to David Williams. The Manly star had a few Queenslanders attempting a tackle when he managed to pop out his arm to plant the ball over the line.

It was looking like the Blues would score a match winning try, but it was not too be. Just to rub salt into the wound Luke O’Donnel spilt the ball right in front of the posts. Cameron Smith swooped on the ball to go over. Billy Slater had setup the play when he batted down a short kick from Thurston, it was from this that O’Donnell made his error.

History has now been made as Queensland wins their fourth consecutive series, a first for State of Origin Rugby League football. A gutsy win by the Queenslanders showing once again the true State of Origin spirit.

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