NRL Scores Round 2 2010
March 22, 2010
The Canberra Raiders have just defeated the Brisbane Broncos 22-14 in Canberra to complete the NRL scores for round 2 of the 2010 season.
In other matches starting Friday night the St George Dragons were way too good for the Canterbury Bulldogs winning the game 26-6. In the other match on Friday it was a bit more exciting with the Gold Coast Titans defeating the Rabbitohs 19-18 in the second minute extra time.
On Saturday the Cowboys again fell behind but this time they fought back to win 28-20 over the Penrith Panthers. The Cowboys were down 14-2 at halftime.
Melbourne Storm came back from being 14-12 behind at halftime to win 20-14. The game was only sealed with an 80th minute penalty to Cameron Smith.
New Zealand Warriors collected their first points of the season with a home win over the winless Cronulla Sharks. The final score was 30-16 after the Warriors were up 16-14 at half time.
The Parramatta Eels looked to be heading for their second straight loss when they found themselves down 20-0 just after half time. The Sea Eagles scored three first half tries, with the fourth by Matthew Cross in the 42nd minute. The Eels scored four tries in the 52nd, 61st, 73rd and 76th minute. All were converted by Luke Burt.
In another match that saw a turn-around the Sydney Roosters went from 12-0 down to score seven straight tries to setup a 44-32 win. The Tigers scored tries in the 9th and 13th minutes to setup a lead. Lote Tuqiri was on the end of a long range try to give him two tries from two matches. After that it was all Roosters although four late tries to the Tigers made the score look respectable.
After two rounds we have the Roosters, Dragons, Storm and Titans all sharing top spot with two wins. The Panthers, Warriors, Cowboys, Broncos, Eels, Knights, Wests Tigers and Raiders are on two points. Sea Eagles, Sharks, Bulldogs and Rabbitohs are yet to secure a win.
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NRL Scores Round 1 2010
March 14, 2010
The NRL scores are in for all but one game in round one of the 2010 season. The only game to play is the Monday night match between Wests Tigers and Manly.
On Friday night we saw the first NRL scores come in for the season. Two matches were played and both winning teams took the points with a six point margin. In the first match it was the St George Dragons who defeated the Parramatta Eels 18-12. Both teams scored two tries however the boot of Jamie Soward proved the difference as the Eels gave away points through penalties.
The second game on Friday saw the Broncos give their fans a fright. After taking a 24-0 lead they let the Cowboys level the scores at 24-24. It was a late try by Denan Kemp that sealed the win as the Broncos took the match 30-24.
On Saturday the Newcastle Knights, who many have tipped for the wooden spoon, upset the Bulldogs. The Knights were up 20-4 before a comeback by the Bulldogs. Both teams scored four tries however two Wes Naiqama conversions saw the Knights take the match 20-16.
Penrith got the jump on the Canberra Raiders scoring four first half tries to setup a good lead. The Raiders made the game exciting scoring three tries to close in on Penrith before the Panthers surged again to score two more tries. The final score was 34-16.
The other Saturday night match saw the 2009 premiers Melbourne Storm travel to Shark Park. In a low scoring match the Storm managed a 14-10 win.
On Sunday the Gold Coast Titans had to come from behind to defeat the visiting Warriors. The final score was 24-18. It was a Preston Campbell try in the 70th minute that sealed the win.
The Sydney Roosters went into the 2010 season with the Rabbitohs expected to finish higher on the ladder than the Roosters. You would not have known as the 2009 wooden spooners blew away the Rabbitohs with a six try to two effort. The Roosters under new coach Brian Smith won the match 36-10. Todd Carney returned from a 16-month enforced break from the NRL to take man-of-the-match honours.
As mentioned earlier to complete the NRL scores for round one we await the outcome of the match between the Wests Tigers and the Sea Eagles which is to be played at Sydney Football Stadium at 7.00pm. The main talking point will be the return to the NRL of Lote Tuqiri who makes his debut for the Tigers.
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NRL Season Underway
March 12, 2010
It seems just a short time ago that the Melbourne Storm claimed the 2009 NRL premiership but believe it or not the 2010 season is now underway.
The season opens up with the beaten grand finalist Parramatta playing the 2009 minor premiers St. George. The Eels are favourites for the title in many people’s eyes.
The NRL would be hoping that all the attention is focused on-field after the scandals that made headlines last year.
The other match on the opening night sees the North Queensland Cowboys travel to Brisbane to take on the Broncos. The most interesting part of this game is seeing how Willy Mason shapes up with his new team. He of course was dumped by the Roosters so is out to prove himself.
The Melbourne Storm open their season away to Cronulla. The Sharks are expected to be one of the teams to be at the wrong end of the ladder but Melbourne would not want to take them too easy.
Overall it should be an exciting season. Hopefully my teams the Roosters and the Raiders can make the top eight or even go all the way.
Who is your tip to win the NRL premiership in 2010?
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Wendell Sailor Hangs Up the Boots
November 12, 2009
Despite words from his wife saying to play for one more season Wendell Sailor has decided to end his NRL career. The dual international who famously was banned from Rugby Union for a two year period after testing positive for cocaine use says he is happy to go now. Sailor wants to step aside to allow the youngsters a go.
Sailor played 222 first grade matches for the Brisbane Broncos and St George Illawarra Dragons. Sailor also played19 Tests for Australia in Rugby League, 37 Tests playing for the Wallabies in Rugby Union.
Sailor said he was grateful to the St George team who offered him a chance at “redemption” after coming back from his drug ban.
Big Wendell will be remembered as a charismatic player who always entertained. He will continue to be involved in Rugby League through media work and also as an Ambassador for the St George team. He has plenty to offer young up and coming kids as he has seen it all and he looks forward to being able to make a positive impact in the future.
In a way Sailor’s worth on the motivational speaking tour has increased as he has gone through the highs of being a sporting superstar and the lows of a drug bust.
No doubt we will see plenty of Wendell in the future.
Melbourne storm home to NRL title
October 4, 2009
The Parramatta Eels were hoping to complete a remarkable comeback as they took on a Melbourne Storm team that was playing in their fourth straight NRL grand final. The Eels at one stage in the season were looking likely to challenge for the wooden spoon. They then won 10 of their next 11 matches and found themselves in the grand final.
The grand final started well for the Storm as Ryan Hoffman ran onto a Brett Finch pass out wide and crashed through a weak tackle from Parramatta’s no. 7 Jeff Robson before diving over for the first try inside of five minutes. The try came from nothing as the ball was played near the 20m line and a two man decoy run did not really fool the Parramatta team. It was a stong run at Robson by Hoffman 15 metres out that saw him brush aside the halfback leaving a clear run to the line. The conversion from out wide made it 6-0.
Over the next few minutes team just traded the ball several times before the crowd had a moment to get excited. Hayne took the ball down the left side of the field and chipped ahead. Luke Burt tried to chase down the ball however Billy Slater saw the ball harmlessly roll over the dead ball line.
Up until the 23rd minute nothing much happened. The ball went back and forth until out of nowhere Melbourne again scored. Just like the first try it was poor defence that lead to the try. Brett Finch switched play to the right with a long pass to Cooper Cronk, he then burst through two Parramatta defenders just outside the Parramatta 30m line. He then sprinted towards the tryline, as the defence closed in he passed inside to a hard running Adam Blair who crossed out wide to make it 10-0.
That is how the first half ended. Melbourne were on top but still with work ahead of them to win the 2009 premiership. Parramatta were not that dangerous in the first half.
In the second half the Parramatta Eels came out hungry to score first. That is exactly what they did. In the 43rd minute Feleti Mateo made an excellent break down the left side to see the Eels attacking from within the Melbourne Storm 10m line. After Robson went to within 2 metres of the line on the fifth tackle the Eels spread the ball out wide to the right and after a bouncing Hayne pass was collected by Eric Grothe with 8 metres in front of him and four Melbourn players to beat he did just that as he cut inside to slam the ball over the tryline. Parramatta were back in the game, especially after the conversion made it 10-6.
Parramatta now had momentum on their side. The crowd was getting right into it and the Eels were looking likely to score again.
From the kickoff Parramatta just ran four plays and then kicked. Melbourne took the ball back to the Parra 30 metre line after making 55 metres. Then came yet another blunder by the Eels. Cronk put up a well placed bomb that came down 5 metres from the tryline. The Parramatta players circled the ball but noone committed themselves to taking it. Greg Inglis came through and said thanks fellas and caught the ball unchallenged. He was now two metres out with just Hayne to beat. He did so easily to rush over and score under the posts.
It got worse for Parramatta in the 56th minute when Cronk passed short to a hard running Blair who crashed through a Daniel Mortimer tackle 20 metres out from the tryline. With Hayne coming across he found support in Billy Slater. From that distance there was no stopping him and Slater scored to make it 22-6.
The match could easily have seen the Storm charge away from the Eels but to the credit of the team from Parramatta they mounted a fightback.
In the 69th minute on the last tackle a Robson kick out to the right saw Joel Reddy jump high to grab the ball and slam it down for the Eels’ second try in the match. The conversion made it 22-12.
The Eels were making good ground on every set and looked likely to score again. In the 71st minute a Mateo offload to Kevin Kingston kept the ball alive, Kingston then found Fuifui Moimoi 23 metres out with plenty of work to do. He wound himself up and ran hard to the left corner of the field. With about four Storm players around him he sent them flying before crashing over with two players trying to hold him up. After a review by the video ref the green light was shown. The score was now 22-16.
Could the Eels pull off the unexpected? The answer was no. The Storm got a penalty which gave them good field position and from that they saw Greg Inglis slot over a field goal to make it a seven point margin. From that they closed out the match to win 23-16.
The Storm now have their third premiership and second over a period where they have reached the last four grand finals. Sadly for the Eels they could not quite complete the fairytale end to the season.
It basically came down to a few key errors from the Eels. Each time the Storm scored a try from running play there had been a line break and the Inglis try was soft.
All credit to the Storm who are now the 2009 NRL premiers. The Clive Churchill medal went to Billy Slater.
Hayne and Keating cleared to play in NRL grand final
September 27, 2009
In what comes as good news for Parramatta Eels fans, Jarryd Hayne has been charged with a grade one dangerous contact charge. This means he will be free to play in next Sunday’s NRL grand final with an early guilty plea.
Matthew Keating also was charged with grade one dangerous contact for his chicken wing tackle on Bulldogs prop Ben Hannant just before halftime. The same applies to him. If he enters an early guily plea he will be ok to play in the grand final.
Hayne slid across the ground knees first as Bryson Goodwin went in for a try early in the match against the Bulldogs on Friday night. The grade one charge has a 100-point base penalty which when applied in conjunction with a dangerous throw penalty from last year sees Hayne on 120 points. 100 points would normally see a one week suspension handed out. By entering an early guilty plea a player gets a 25 per cent discount and that takes Hayne into safe territory.
Now the only concern for Parramatta is how their skipper Nathan Cayless responds to treatment on his injured hamstring.
Should be a great grand final on Sunday, hopefully it won’t be one-sided as last year match.
I must look into the history of the Keating’s running around in the NRL these days, perhaps I am related.
NRL scores – Melbourne Storm into NRL grand final
September 26, 2009
In week one of NRL finals the Melbourne Storm thumped Manly 40-12. That earned them a week off. Now in week three of the finals the Storm have outclassed the Brisbane Broncos on the way to a 40-10 victory. The win takes them into their fourth straight grand final where they will face the Parramatta Eels.
The Storm took just four minutes to get on the score board with Brett Finch throwing a great pass to Will Chambers who then scored the first of seven tries for Melbourne. Greg Inglis scored three, Billy Slater two and Dallas Johnson one as the Storm thumped Brisbane.
Slater perhaps should have scored three and Johnson not at all as Slater appeared to get the ball on the line shortly before Johnson scored his benefit of the doubt try. The problem was there seemed to be no doubt that he dropped the ball before the line.
Slater scored another one of his trademark brilliant tries. He jinked around the defence before speeding into open spaces. As he sensed the defence closing in on him he grubbered ahead and regathered to score out wide. It was the class of Slater and Inglis that set the teams apart.
Brisbane were lost without key organiser Peter Wallace. Darren Lockyer as good as he is could not fill the role of the usual halfback.
Next week the Storm will be looking to show they are a great team rather than chokers. Reaching four grand finals and coming away with just one win would give them the latter tag.
Tomorrow we will find the fate of Jarryd Hayne as his incident where he slid into Goodwin is reviewed. This could be the key to who wins the 2009 NRL grand final.
NRL scores – Parramatta 22-12 Over Bulldogs
September 25, 2009
Last night it felt like a grand final in the NRL. We had the crowd, the drama and the on-field play that was fitting of a grand final. In front of 74,549 committed fans the Eels and Bulldogs turned it on as they fought for a grand final spot.
For both sides 2009 has been a remarkable season. The Bulldogs had come from last in 2008 to go within a match of making the grand final. The Eels were next to last before a scorching run to the finals, which still continues. They have won 10 from their last 11 matches and are now playing in the grand final. Back in June not many would have seen that coming.
The match started a full pace and after just over a minute the Bulldogs lost Luke Patten for a large part of the game. He was on rubber legs after an accidental knee to the head, he did return late in the match. This did not deter the Bulldogs as they were first to score after a Hazem El Masri grubber kick was chased down by Bryson Goodwin in the fourth minute.
After scoring the try Bryson was not feeling the best as he had been collected in the head by Jarryd Hayne’s knees as the Parramatta fullback raced across to attempt to get to the ball. He carelessly slid into Goodwin knees first and was placed on report. After a call from the video ref a possible 8 point try was awarded.
Hayne now awaits an anxious wait to see if he will take part in the grand final. The Eels will also be interested in the outcome of a review of a “chicken wing” tackle by Matthew Keating. He was placed on report for that.
It was an exciting match that swung from end to end and thanks to a dodgy call on a 40-20 kick by Hayne the Eels had field position to trouble the Bulldogs. His huge kick appeared to bounce out in the dead ball area however the touch judge called it went out just metres before the try line. Parramatta put the pressure on the Bulldogs but came up short.
On the next play for the Eels Michael Ennis gave away a penalty for taking out a player without the ball. From that the Eels scored. Joe Galuvao was on the end of some Hayne magic. Out of nothing he teased the opposition. He paused, took a step back and then took on the line. He managed to squeeze through before laying off a pass to Galuvao who went over under the posts without a hand being laid on him.
Another try to the Bulldogs through Josh Morris saw them go into the halftime break up 12-6. Morris also chased down a kick when he showed greater desire than the Eels players.
The second half saw the Eels defence frustrate the Bulldogs. They were time after time turned back and quite often ended their six tackles with an ineffective kick. Finally that took its toll on the brave Bulldogs team and in the end they could not hold out a surging Eels team. Tries to Luke Burt in the 50th minute and then Tim Mannah in the 55th saw the Eels take the upper hand. The match however was still there for the Bulldogs to claim if they could find something special.
It was not to be as the Eels rallied to find another great try to seal the game. Daniel Mortimer was on the end of a great movement to score a try in the 72nd minute. The Burt conversion took the Eels out to a 22-12 lead.
The Eels fans were starting to celebrate as it looked likely that their team was headed to their first grand final since a losing effort in 2001.
The Eels are there! They now have an interesting week ahead as the two reported incidents are played out. Hayne and Keating could miss the grand final as could the Eels captain Nathan Cayless. He limped off in the first half with a hamstring injury. He has been ruled out by medical staff however he is keen to prove them wrong.
For the Bulldogs it was a good season but one in which they fell just short of a fairytale ending. It also saw the end for El Masri as he now slips into retirement.
Jason Taylor dumped by South Sydney
September 20, 2009
Maybe it was all a setup but Jason Taylor has by all reports been dudded. An article by Phil Gould in the smh says that Taylor was king hit by one of his own players at a private function and after an enquiry he has been booted from the club.
I had earlier heard that he had slapped a player in the face and the player over-reacted. The slapping was more a playful slap from what I had seen earlier.
The response by the player was over the top, perhaps fuelled by alcohol.
Now this incident has given the South Sydney board a way to send Taylor on his way. Gould says they were not man enough to just say we are not happy with your performance and pay him out. It was a convenient way to fire him and save some money.
John Lang will replace Taylor as head coach at South Sydney. Gould says it is a bit suspect that they could announce the replacement so soon after Taylor’s dumping. Should there not have been a process to interview replacements or did they have it all sorted out prior to the announcement?
What do you think of the dumping of Jason Taylor. Was it handled the right way and did he deserve to go?
Broncos Too Tough for Dragons
September 20, 2009
The St George Illawarra Dragons are the first minor premiers to be bundled out of the NRL finals series without a win since the McIntyre system was introduced in 1999. This comes following their second straight defeat in the 2009 NRL finals series. The lost to the Brisbane Broncos 24-10.
The very first play showed Brisbane’s intent as they looked to win their first final in seven attempts at Suncorp Stadium. From the kickoff return St George’s Justin Poore was crunched in a huge tackle by Ashton Sims and Nick Kenny.
It was this attitude in defence that was carried througout the game and left the minor premiers without many scoring options.
Brisbane put up a wall in defence that frustrated the Dragons. This showed when instead of pressing for a try the Dragons took a shot for a penalty goal from long range. The shot missed and shortly after the Broncos stung the Dragons with a try.
Karmichael Hunt scored a double in the first half and a Brett Morris try to St George made it 12-6 at halftime.
The Broncos took control of the match with early tries in the second half, both through kicks from Peter Wallace. Jharal Yow Yeh caught a mini bomb to score and Alex Glenn ran onto a grubber for his try. At 52 minutes the score was out to 24-6. Another Morris try gave a slight chance to the Dragons but the Brisbane effort did not slacken and they closed out the win.
The only dark spot to come from the game is an ankle injury to Broncos halfback Peter Wallace. He is likely to be ruled out of next weekend’s match against Melbourne Storm at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne.
Darren Lockyer was also hobbling around after the match so he is expected to have a light week on the training paddock ahead of the crucial match against Melbourne.
You may remember that last year the Storm knocked Brisbane out of the finals race when they scoring the match winning points on the final play of the day. Brisbane will be looking to get revenge for that.
The other match to decide the 2009 NRL grand finalists will be played between the Bulldogs and Parramatta.
