NRL Round Up – Round 1
A golden point field goal from Jamie Soward sealed St George a dramatic late 15-14 victory over Newcastle in coach Wayne Bennett’s first outing.
Brett Morris and Jarrod Mullen traded first half scores but it was Knights skipper Kurt Gidley’s early penalty that proved to be the difference between the two teams at half time with the home side leading 8-6.
Matt Cooper struck for the Dragons after the break but a James McManus try combined with another Gidley penalty levelled the scores at 14-14.
Soward’s second field goal attempt proved decisive however, breaking Newcastle hearts.
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Parramatta crashed to an 18-6 opening round defeat against a clinical Brisbane side at Parramatta Stadium.
Debutant halfback Chris Sandow put the Eels ahead 6-0 at the break after an early mistake from Gerard Beale.
However the Broncos were unstoppable after the break, notching back-to-back tries through Jharal Yow Yeh, Jack Reed and Ben Hannant.
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Penrith fell to a 22-14 home defeat against a strong-finishing Canterbury outfit.
Travis Burns and Michael Jennings crossed for the Panthers before Josh Reynolds replied for the Bulldogs to make the half time score 12-6 in favour of the hosts.
A penalty from Luke Walsh put the Panthers in the lead after Ben Barba had crossed following a neat James Graham pass.
However the Bulldogs finished strongly, allowing Josh Morris and Bryson Goodwin to score a try each and seal the victory.
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Billy Slater crossed twice as Melbourne scored a 24-19 victory over Canberra in soggy conditions.
Cameron Smith’s first half penalty gave the Storm a narrow 14-12 lead at the break after scores from Slater and Cooper Cronk.
Justin O’Neill and Glen Buttriss traded scores before Slater plucked the ball out of the air for the match-winning score in the shadows of full time.
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Jamal Idris crossed for two tries on his Gold Coast debut as they dominated North Queensland to win 18-0.
Idris planted down Scott Prince’s grubber kick to help the Titans establish a narrow 6-0 lead at the break.
Steve Michael’s darted over to extend the Titans lead before Idris powered over for his second try to secure victory.
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Premiers Manly survived a late fightback from the New Zealand Warriors to record an encouraging 26-20 victory.
David Williams and Daly Cherry-Evans crossed during the first half to give the Sea Eagles a 16-10 lead at the interval.
Tony Williams forced his way over to extend Manly’s lead but back to back scores for the Warriors from Kevin Locke and Manu Vatuvei set up a tense finish.
Glenn Stewart took advantage of a fumble from Locke however to secure victory late on for the Sea Eagles.
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Benji Marshall kicked a field goal in golden point extra time to help Wests Tigers seal a dramatic 17-16 victory over Cronulla.
Beau Ryan and Benji Marshall crossed for the Tigers and Isaac De Gois for the Sharks, but it was the hosts who lead at the interval 12-4.
Colin Best and Todd Carney raced over to help the Sharks into the lead but a second from Ryan and combined with Marshall’s late heroics stole the win for the Tigers.
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Veteran fullback Anthony Minichiello’s late try gave the Sydney Roosters a come-from-behind victory over South Sydney.
Aiden Guerra and Lama Tasi crossed for the Roosters and Michael Crocker and Chris McQueen for the Rabbitohs, meaning the teams were deadlocked 12-12 at the interval.
John Sutton crossed for the Rabbitohs after the interval but the Roosters hit back through Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Minichiello to pull off a shock victory.