NRL round-up: Bulldogs off the mark, Benji the record breaker & Murdoch-Masila crashes over
There were plenty of high-scoring affairs as the NRL celebrated its ANZAC round.
Current league leaders Penrith kicked off the weekend with a 24-6 win at home to Newcastle, their seventh straight victory of 2021.
The Panthers crossed four times through Stephen Crichton, Matt Burton, Dylan Edwards and Samoa international Brian To’o. The Knights remain in the bottom half after suffering a fourth defeat in five matches.
Parramatta kept up pace at the top of the NRL ladder by hammering struggling Brisbane 46-6.
Fijian winger Maiko Sivo crossed for a hat-trick as the Eels ran in four tries in each half.
South Sydney extended their good form by edging a 70-point thriller on the Gold Coast.
Benji Marshall produced a masterful display, crossing twice in the second half on the day that he equalled Adam Blair’s record of 331 NRL games, the joint most of any New Zealand-born player in the NRL.
Reimis Smith and Josh Addo-Carr both scored twice as Melbourne defeated the New Zealand Warriors 42-20.
In response, visiting winger Ken Maumalo bagged a hat-trick, while former Warrington forward Ben Murdoch-Masila crashed over from close range just after half-time.
Sydney ran in six tries to sweep aside St. George Illawarra 34-10.
Daniel Tupou, Sitili Tupouniua, Nat Butcher, Sam Walker, Lindsay Collins and Joey Manu all got in on the act at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
North Queensland recovered from 24-6 down to stun beaten 2019 Grand Finalists Canberra.
A brace for Jordan Rapana and further scores from Emre Guler and England international George Williams seemingly had the Raiders in control, but the Cowboys struck back to level things heading into the final quarter. Valentine Holmes then knocked over an all-important penalty goal to wrap up victory with nine minutes left to play.
Manly piled the pressure on Wests Tigers and boss Michael Maguire with a 40-6 victory at Bankwest Stadium.
Having trailed early on to a Luciano Leilua try, Daly Cherry Evans got the Sea Eagles moving with a three-minute, first half double. They went on to add five more tries and accumulate 40 unanswered points.
Finally, Canterbury picked up their first points of the season with an 18-12 win at Cronulla.
The Bulldogs led 18-0 inside 25 minutes thanks to tries from Will Hopoate, Nick Cotric and Nick Meaney. The hosts responded with a try in each half but couldn’t do enough to force extra time.
NRL round seven results:
Penrith Panthers 24-6 Newcastle Knights
Gold Coast Titans 30-40 South Sydney Rabbitohs
Parramatta Eels 46-6 Brisbane Broncos
Cronulla Sharks 12-18 Canterbury Bulldogs
North Queensland Cowboys 26-24 Canberra Raiders
Wests Tigers 6-40 Manly Sea Eagles