The Brisbane Broncos have come out as 24-20 winners in a nail-biter against the Parramatta Eels- who stormed from 18-4 down to level things up at 20 all with two remaining. A late try from Carl Webb, remeniscent of his State of Origin try, sealed a memorable win for the home side.
Brisbane: Carl Webb, Casey McGuire, and Brad Meyers. Lockyer 6/7
Parramatta: David Vaealeki, Eric Grothe Jr, Michael Witt, and Michael Vella. Witt 2/4
PoM Points: Karmichael Hunt 3, Casey McGuire 2, and Brady Meyers 1.
Canberra have upset reigning premiers, Penrith, at Bruce Stadium today- the boot of Matthew Gafa getting the Raiders home 20-18 in another entertaining clash. Both sides scored a treble of tries, and while Penrith looked the better side in the closing stages, Canberra's tenacity in defence secured the side their first win.
Canberra: Clinton Schifcofske, Phil Graham, and Michael Robertson. Gafa 4/4
Penrith: Amos Roberts and Preston Campbell 2. Girdler 3/5
PoM Points: Amos Roberts 3, Martin Lang 2, and Preston Campbell 1.
Brett Kimmorley has missed a sitter in Cronulla's 13-12 loss to Canterbury, the late miss costing the Sharks a game they could have won after Braith Anasta's late field-goal had evidently wrapped the game up. Kimmorley danced his way to the line to score the try, but missed the crucial conversion to hand Canterbury their first win of the year.
Canterbury: Brent Sherwin and Tony Grimaldi. El Masri 2/3. Anasta 1 fg
Cronulla: Brett Kimmorley and Jason Stevens. Kimmorley 2/3
PoM Points: Tony Grimaldi 3, Brent Sherwin 2, and Matt Utai 1.
Central Coast have stuck with North Queensland for sixty minutes of their clash today, but were unable to match the class of the Cowboys- eventually going down 28-18 thanks to some solid work from the Cowboys' bench.
Central Coast: Nathan Ferguson 2 and Lee Te Maari. McLean 3/3
North Queensland: Paul Bowman, Chris Sheppard, Ty Williams 2, and Daniel Strickland. Hannay 3/6. Sheppard 2 fgs
PoM Points: Daniel Strickland 3, Ty Williams 2, and Nathan Ferguson 1.
Sydney remain at the top of the NRL ladder today, the premiership favourites scoring five tries to three in a messy 24-12 win over the Manly Sea Eagles. The Roosters lead 20-0 at the break, and a fight back from Manly was hindered only by the inability of Andrew Walker to convert his side's tries.
Manly: Paul Stephenson, Scott Donald, and Solomon Haumona. Walker 0/3
Sydney: Chris Walker 2, Craig Wing 2, and Peter Cusack. Fitzgibbon 2/6
PoM Points: Craig Wing 3, Justin Hodges 2, and Anthony Minichiello 1.
Newcastle have started off their 2004 account, the Knights scoring seventeen unanswered second half points to score a 31-28 win over the Melbourne Storm today. The game continued a long tradition of high scoring games between the two sides- with maestro Andrew Johns credited with inspiring the revival after a 28-14 halftime defecit.
Melbourne: Billy Slater, Matt Geyer, Kirk Reynoldson, Cameron Smith, and David Kidwell. Geyer 4/6
Newcastle: Kurt Gidley 2, Andrew Johns 2, and Timana Tahu. Johns 5/8. K. Gidley 1 fg
PoM Points: Andrew Johns 3, Kurt Gidley 2, and Steve Simpson 1.
New Zealand put the sword to St George/Illawarra today, the Warriors having little trouble in accounting for the Dragons 24-10 on the back of five tries to one. New Zealand were at their dominant best, whilst the Dragons looked shaky throughout.
New Zealand: Clinton Toopi, Stacey Jones, Thomas Leullai, Sione Faumunia, and Monty Betham. Martin 2/5
St George/Illawarra: Trent Barrett. Head 3/3
PoM Points: Sione Faumunia 3, Stacey Jones 2, and Mark Tookey 1.
Despite scoring three tries to two, South Sydney's ill discipline has seen them go down 20-18 against the Tigers today- penalty goals allowing Luke Covell to kick his side clear for a much needed win.
South Sydney: Matt Riddle, Owen Craigie, and Shane Walker. Riddle 1/1. Williams 2/5
Wests: Luke Covell and John Wilson. Covell 6/7
PoM Points: Nick Graham 3, Shane Elford 2, and Robert Mears 1.
Table
1. Sydney Roosters- 4 +34
2. North Queensland Cowboys- 4 +20
3. Brisbane Broncos- 4 +14
4. Melbourne Storm- 2 +17
5. New Zealand Warriors- 2 +12
6. Cronulla Sharks- +6
7. Penrith Panthers- 2 +6
8. Parramatta Eels- 2 0
9. Wests Tigers- 2 -2
10. Newcastle Knights- 2 -5
11. St George/Illawarra Dragons- 2 -5
12. Canberra Raiders- 2 -7
13. Canterbury Bulldogs- 2 -9
14. Manly Sea Eagles- 0 -22
15. South Sydney Rabbitohs- 0 -24
16. Central Coast Bears- 0 -30
damn POM points win the match and still don't get any.
HAHA manly and souths at the bottom of the table. man this is close to reality
