NRL wrap round 16
July 1, 2008
Cronulla has wrapped up round 16 with a win in chilly Canberra. As the rain and wind made playing conditions miserable the Sharks were able to come back from 12-0 down to run away with a 36-24 win.
The teams hardest hit by State of Origin absentees had mixed results. Melbourne who were without nine players pushed Parramatta. In the end they could not close the gap and the Eels snuck away with a 24-22 win. The Roosters without six stars defeated Canterbury in an entertaining match 24-14. Brisbane played the Penrith Panthers. Both teams were without nine regular first graders. In the end the teams could not be separated with the score 12-12 after extra time.
The Rabbitohs pulled off the most amazing win. They completed a huge comeback after falling behind 28-4 in the 49th minute. Souths ended up winning the match 29-28 to complete the second biggest comeback in NRL history. It was actually the Cowboys who pulled off the biggest comeback. In 1998 they went from being down 26-0 to win 36-28 against Penrith.
The St George Illawarra Dragons continued their impressive form of late with a six consecutive win after ending the unbeaten home record of the Gold Coast Titans. The Dragons won a close match 26-22.
In a round of close scorelines the most one sided match was the one between Manly and Newcastle. The Sea Eagles winning 28-12.
The last match to mention was the matchup between Wests Tigers and the Warriors. The New Zealand team score a rare away win running out winners 28-26.
If the quality of play is ever lacking over recent rounds you cannot complain about the excitement factor as so many games are being decided by four points or less.
The highlight this week is the State of Origin match on Wednesday July 2. New South Wales will be going all out to avoid their third consecutive series loss.
St George end Gold Coast perfect home record
June 28, 2008
The St George Illawarra Dragons have continued with their recent good form and have done what no other NRL team has done in season 2008. They have defeated the Titans on home turf.
In a close match the Dragons scored a try in the 68th minute to take the match.
The Titans had Ben Jeffery (4th minute), Brett Delaney (34m), Luke O’Dwyer (47m) and Mat Rogers (60m) score tries. Rogers converted two tries.
The Dragons also scored four tries however the accurate goal kicking from Jamie Soward gave St George the advantage. Ben Hornby (30th minute), Brett Morris (38m), Chase Stanley (51m) and Michael Lett (68m) were the try scores.
The win sees the Dragons in fifth spot on the NRL ladder four points from top spot.
Another Friday night thriller in NRL
June 28, 2008
There have been plenty of tight matches in the NRL over recent times. On friday night in the match between Brisbane and Penrith we got more of the same. Well almost.
Instead of the match being decided at the last minute, or in golden point extra time both teams were locked on 12 a piece after 90 minutes. That’s right, teams level after 80 minutes and still level after an additional 5 minutes each way extra time for the first draw of the season.
Both teams came into the match with understrength teams. Brisbane had four players sitting out on State of Origin duty and also a few more out injured. Most notably Darren Lockyer. The Penrith team were without Petero Civoniceva who lines up for Queensland in the State of Origin decider and many other top players who were out injured. When you add them all up each team was without nine regular first graders.
The match did not see many points as it was 6-6 at halftime and then 12-12 at fulltime. Luke Jennings got the first try of the match in the 24th minute. The Broncos scored the next two with Dave Taylor crossing in the 33rd minute and Corey Parker in the 48th minute.
With time winding down Michael Jennings scored a good try for the Panthers in the 73rd minute. 18 year old Lachlan Coote who was making his debut at fullback had the chance to win the match with the conversion. He also had several more opportunities to be the hero in his first ever first grade match in the NRL. A penalty shot just missed after two minutes of extra time and Coote also missed a well struck long range field goal attempt. As time wound down he missed a second field goal however that one was a dud shot.
Brisbane had a chance to steal the match at the end of regular time however Greg Eastwood’s field goal attempt was charged down.
In the end both teams walked away with a point. A good result considering.
In the other match on Friday night the Roosters pulled off a good win without 6 players who were on State of Origin duty. After falling behind 10-0 the Roosters worked their way back into the match before running out 24-14 winners.
One players misfortune is another players opportunity.
Rugby League State of Origin game 3 teams announced
June 25, 2008
Below are the players selected to represent NSW and QLD in the decider
of the 2008 State of Origin Series. The match will be played at ANZ
Stadium, Sydney, on Wednesday, July 2.
Joel Monaghan and Mitchell Pearce will be making their State of Origin
debut. Pearce is the son of former Blues great Wayne Pearce. Several
changes were forced on the Blues due to injury. Mark Gasnier, Greg Bird
and Peter Wallace were unavailable.
New South Wales Blues
| Fullback | Brett Stewart (Sea Eagles) |
| Wing | Jarryd Hayne (Eels) |
| Centre | Joel Monaghan (Raiders) |
| Centre | Matt Cooper (Dragons) |
| Wing | Anthony Quinn (Storm) |
| Five-eighth | Braith Anasta (Roosters) |
| Halfback | Mitchell Pearce (Roosters) |
| Front Row | Willie Mason (Roosters) |
| Hooker | Danny Buderus (C) (Knights) |
| Front Row | Brett White (Storm) |
| Second Row | Craig Fitzgibbon (Roosters) |
| Second Row | Ryan Hoffman (Storm) |
| Lock | Paul Gallen (Sharks) |
| Interchange | |
| Kurt Gidley (Knights) | |
| Ben Cross (Knights) | |
| Anthony Laffranchi (Titans) | |
| Anthony Tupou (Roosters) |
Queensland Maroons
| Fullback | Karmichael Hunt (Broncos) |
| Wing | Darius Boyd (Broncos) |
| Centre | Greg Inglis (Storm) |
| Centre | Brent Tate (Warriors) |
| Wing | Israel Folau (Storm) |
| Five-eighth | Johnathan Thurston (Cowboys) |
| Halfback | Scott Prince (Titans) |
| Front Row | Steven Price (Warriors) |
| Hooker | Cameron Smith (C) (Storm) |
| Front Row | Petero Civoniceva (Panthers) |
| Second Row | Michael Crocker (Storm) |
| Second Row | Ashley Harrison (Titans) |
| Lock | Dallas Johnson (Storm) |
| Interchange | |
| Billy Slater (Storm) | |
| Ben Hannant (Broncos) | |
| Nate Myles (Roosters) | |
| Sam Thaiday (Broncos) |
Who is your pick to win game three? Leave your comments below.
Titans miserable away record continues as Rabbitohs take win
June 23, 2008
Most of the teams with an away record as bad as the Gold Coast Titans are found down at the bottom of the NRL ladder. Thanks to an impressive 7-0 home record the NRL new boys are going ok.
Tonight the misery continued for the Gold Coast as they took on South Sydney at the ANZ Stadium. After looking to have clinched the match with a field goal in the 72nd minute the Gold Coast surrended the lead with a penalty goal to Issac Luke in the 78th minute.
The match was a good contest throughout with the score 12-10 at the halftime break. Midway through the second half the Titans were ahead 22-16 only to see the scores leveled. Scott Prince kicked the field goal to put the Titans up by one before a penalty was awarded against Jordan Atkins for holding down Beau Champion.
The Rabbitohs have now won back to back matches for the first time this season.
In other games on Sunday there were also thrilling finishes. The Roosters snuck home against Newcastle 16-14 and Cronulla defeated Parramatta with a last minute penalty goal which broke a 14 all deadlock. Manly defeated the Warriors 20-14.
Looking at the ladder the Sea Eagles, Storm, Roosters and Sharks lead the way with 22 points. The Titans are fifth with 20 followed by the Dragons and Broncos on 18. The Knights hold down eighth place on the ladder with 16. Four other teams are also on 16 points however the Knights have the better for and against record.
Raiders score try of the year?
June 21, 2008
The Canberra Raiders have been struggling to win away from home in 2008. Tonight they blasted a toothless Canterbury Bulldogs team off the park to win for the second time away from Canberra. In what was one of the worse losses in their history the Bulldogs lost 18-58.
The Raiders ran in a try from 95m away from their try line. It came after a Canterbury grubber by Joe Williams was carried back down field in a spectacular movement where Best combined with Campese before Best got the ball back to go over.
The Bulldogs were woeful and missed 52 tackles for the night. This allowed the Raiders to go in for 11 tries to three. Colin Best managed a career best four tries and Joe Picker and David Milne scored doubles.
After the Raiders had gone out to an early 16-0 lead the Bulldogs did manage to turn things around and after 32 minutes it was 20-18 to the Raiders. From here it was as if the Bulldogs sent out the reserve grade team as the Raiders piled on the points to end the match 40 points ahead of their opponents.
Can the Canterbury Bulldogs regroup from here or will they crash out of contention for a finals spot as the weeks go by?
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Two nailbiters in NRL on Friday night
June 21, 2008
Two matches were played in the National Rugby League on Friday night. Both matches were decided by a field goal.
Brisbane Broncos took on the Wests Tigers at home in Brisbane. After a tight first half the Tigers scored out wide just before the halftime break to lead the match 12-8.
The Broncos hit back in the second half with tries in the 49th minute to Denan Kemp and to Nick Kenny in the 52nd minute. The Tigers got the match back on level terms after a converted Liam Fulton try in the 65th minute. The score was now 18-18.
A Karmichael Hunt field goal in the 73 minute broke the deadlock. There was some controversy over the fact that a Broncos player shielded Hunt as he lined up for the field goal.
Coach Wayne Bennett said after the match that his team won ugly. Without some star players the Broncos could not play their usual entertaining brand of league and had to work hard for the victory.
In the other match in Sydney the St George Illawarra Dragons played Penrith Panthers. The Penrith team were fielding some new players due to the injury troubles they are experiencing. The enthusiasm of the debutants seemed to do the trick for the Panthers as the built a 12-0 lead.
Rhys Wesser had opened the scoring for the Panthers in the 8th minute and Luke Lewis strolled over on the 37 minute mark to establish the lead. In further bad news for Penrith, Wesser left the field injured after suffering a stomach strain.
In the second half it was the Dragons who did all the scoring. First Ben Creagh went over after 52 minutes and then in a twinkling of an eye Josh Morris went over after a Jamie Soward chip kick opened up the Panthers.
Jamie Soward was the hero for St George as he slotted over a field goal with 8 minutes left in the match. Penrith were not able to hit back.
St George have now strung together five wins. This is a feat they have not achieved since 2006. Penrith battled bravely for most of the match however their injury toll just has to have some impact and in the end they could not get past St George.
Cronulla win at home over the Warriors
June 15, 2008
The Cronulla Sharks have continued their move up the NRL ladder with a convincing 24-8 win over the Warriors. The Sharks are equal on points with four teams at the top of the ladder however sit in fifth on for and against.
The win for the Sharks came despite a poor completion rate. At halftime the Warriors had the lead at 8-6. This came through a converted Jerome Ropati try in the 32nd minute and a penalty goal. Cronulla had the early lead through a David Simmons try in the 29th minute. After having the better of first half possession the halftime score would have been disappointing for the Warriors.
The Sharks held the Warriors scoreless in the second half as they piled on three converted tries. The tries were scored by David Simmons after 57 minutes, Luke Covell 69 minutes and just before the final whistle by Ben Pomeroy.
Cronulla coach Ricky Stuart after the match said he was disappointed by the small crowd at Shark Park. Just 9023 fans turned up for this match.
Roosters run over the top of injury hit Panthers
June 14, 2008
If you see the 32-12 scoreline from the Roosters-Panthers match you would maybe expect that the Roosters played all over their opponents. The scoreline was not a true indication of how the match played out.
The Penrith team were hit hard by injuries. They had lost Tony Puletua, Michael Jennings and Josh Bateman all before halftime. In a further blow, hooker Luke Priddis also was injured in the 68th minute with what is a suspected anterior cruciate ligament knee injury. This could be a season ending injury for the Panthers veteran.
When you take all of that into account the Panthers were doing well to go into the sheds at halftime just down by 4. The Panthers had taken the early lead through a Brad Tighe try after just 3 minutes. The Roosters hit back with three of their own before a Luke Rooney try for the Panthers right on halftime made the score 16-12.
Watching the match the Panthers quite often looked dangerous in attack and were reasonably solid in defence. In the second half the Roosters held the Panthers scoreless while at the same time running in three tries.
It is important to note that all three second half tries came from kicks. In the 50th minute Mitchell Pearce put up a towering bomb, from that Roosters skipper Braith Anasta stole the ball from the grasp of Rhys Wesser as they both jumped for the ball, from there it was an easy run to the line for a try.
The next try was quite lucky. A Penrith kick in the Roosters half bounced off several players. In the end it fell into the hands of big Willie Mason who sprinted down field. He realised he was not going to make it on his own, and he slowed waiting for support from the speedy Brent Grose who scored the try.
To round out the scoring it was another kick that lead to a try. This time a Braith Anasta chip kick was re-gathered by Anthony Minichiello, as he was tackled to the ground he passed along the ground. In the end it was in the hands of Shaun Kenny-Dowall who strolled over for the try.
It was a brave effort by the Panthers. After the match Elliot said. “I salute the players for their courage, it was fantastic.” For the Roosters the state of origin stars put in a solid effort. Special praise goes to Craig Fitzgibbon who battled on for the entire match. He was rewarded with man of the match.
Looking at this match you would have to think Braith Anasta is a chance to grab the NSW state of origin number 6 jersey for the decider on July 2.
Queensland dominate game 2 of State of Origin
June 11, 2008
In game one of the State of Origin a few weeks back it was New South Wales that came out firing. Their opponents, Queensland looked flat. When the fulltime whistle was blown NSW had claimed game one with an 18-10 victory.
In game two of the series at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane it was as if the teams had swapped jumpers. Queensland came out full of beans and took it right up to NSW. With a huge crowd cheering them on you would expect nothing less. The Maroons never let the Blues into the match and ran out winners 30-0.
Queensland new boy Darius Boyd had a dream debut with a double in the first half. After just seven minutes a good back line move from near Queensland’s 30 metre line saw Greg Inglis sprinting down field. He hurdled one NSW defender as he effortlessly moved closer to the try line, as the defence closed in on him he passed outside to Darius Boyd who had a clear run to the line.
A Paul Gallen dropped ball about 25 metres out from the Queensland line was gratefully accepted by the Maroons. Queensland made NSW pay for that mistake.
Moments later from almost an identical position as where the first try started Queensland put on the same move as they shifted the ball through hands out wide, again Greg Inglis found himself in the clear and again he passed to Darius Boyd who ran about 20 metres for his second try. Johnathan Thurston had his kicking boots on and converted the try on the way to seven from seven kicking for the night.
Two penalty goals to Thurston before halftime took Queensland into the sheds with a commanding 16-0 advantage.
If New South Wales were to have any chance to rescue the game they needed to score early in the second half. As it turned out Queensland were first to score. First came a penalty to push the score to 18-0. Then a try to Ben Hannant in the 64th minute looked to have sealed the game.
To really rub the New South Wales noses into the dirt Israel Folau chased down a grubber kick to score try number four for the Maroons. Just to show everything was going right for Queensland Thurston slotted the ball over from out wide to make the final score 30-0.
It is amazing what home ground advantage can do in the State of Origin. The Queensland team were way ahead of their opponents on a night that saw them equal the largest winning margin for a Queensland team in State of Origin.
The inclusion of Scott Prince was a winning move. He controlled the play well and gave Queensland good field position from his kicking game. It will be a tough call for selectors if Lockyer is fit for game three. Do they break up the Prince, Thurston combo?
New South Wales will now have to pick themselves up off the floor and come out as they did in game one. History is on their side as Queensland struggles for wins at the Olympic Stadium in Sydney. Based on tonights game you would give them a shot at a threepeat.
Game three will be played on Wednesday 2nd July. Tickets are available from Ticketek.com
