Love NRL: Round 3
Week three of the NRL provided tight contests across the board, with the average winning margin standing at just 5.6 points.
The biggest deficit was in the game between Canberra and Gold Coast, which saw the Titans bounce back from their heavy home defeat to Wests the week before.
A second-half Albert Kelly brace sealed the 24-12 comeback for John Cartwright’s side.
The weekend began with the Tigers picking up another impressive victory, this time over South Sydney.
Their 25-16 win came off the back of a brutal forward battle, as Wests’ pack took it to the Burgess brothers.
With Greg Inglis leaving the field injured and then Luke Burgess earning 10 minutes in the sin-bin late on, it was not to be the Rabbitohs’ day.
Young Tigers half Luke Brooks put in another impressive performance, and he guided his team home well in a fiercely contested match.
In Brisbane meanwhile, the Roosters stole a famous win from the grasp of the home side thanks to a late Boyd Cordner score.
The Broncos, looking to maintain their 100% start, were leading 26-24 with less than two minutes on the clock, but New South Wales half-back Mitchell Pearce unlocked the Maroon and Gold defence with a pass to the on-rushing Cordner.
Penrith’s 18-16 win over Canterbury was another gripping encounter, settled by a Kevin Naiqama try from a superb Jamie Soward assist.
The moment of the weekend came in the Cronulla v St George Illawarra match though, as World Cup winger Brett Morris soared above his opposite number for one of the most athletic tries of all-time.
After their 14-12 success, the Dragons are one of two sides to have won all three of their matches so far this season.
The other is Melbourne, who proved too strong for Newcastle in a match overshadowed by a serious injury to Knights forward Alex McKinnon.
In the rest of the round three action, a fired-up NZ Warriors got off the mark with a win away at North Queensland, whilst more late drama, this time at Brookvale Oval, saw Manly claim the points over Parramatta.
Round 3 results:
Wests Tigers 25-16 South Sydney (Mar 21, ANZ Stadium)
Brisbane 26-30 Sydney Roosters (Mar 21, Suncorp Stadium)
Penrith 18-16 Canterbury (Mar 22, Sportingbet Stadium)
Cronulla 12-14 St George Illawarra (Mar 22, Remondis Stadium)
North Queensland 16-20 NZ Warriors (Mar 22, 1300SMILES Stadium)
Manly 22-18 Parramatta (Mar 23, Brookvale Oval)
Canberra 12-24 Gold Coast (Mar 23, GIO Stadium)
Melbourne 28-20 Newcastle (Mar 24, AAMI Park)
Round 4 fixtures:
Sydney Roosters v Manly (Mar 28, Allianz Stadium)
St George Illawarra v Brisbane (Mar 28, WIN Stadium)
NZ Warriors v Wests Tigers (Mar 29, Westpac Stadium)
Canterbury v Melbourne (Mar 29, NIB Stadium)
Parramatta v Penrith (Mar 29, Pirtek Stadium)
South Sydney v Canberra (Mar 30, ANZ Stadium)
Newcastle v Cronulla (Mar 30, Hunter Stadium)
Gold Coast v North Queensland (Mar 31, Cbus Super Stadium)