NRL Round Up – Round 24

Brisbane suffered an unexpected loss at Newcastle 44-18.

Kurt Gidley, Adam MacDougall, Cooper Vuna and Akuila Uate scored first half tries as the Knights raced to a 24-12 interval lead.

Vuna ran riot after the break to run in three more tries with Isaac De Gois added an eighth score for the Knights.

Brisbane’s only riposte came in the shape of a 61st minute score from Israel Folau.

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South Sydney’s final’s hopes received a crushing blow when they were demolished 54-18 by a resurgent Penrith.

The Panthers started in irresistible form and bagged scores from Sam McKendry, Sandor Earl (2), Travis Burns (2) Michael Gordon and Masada Iosefa to establish an unassailable 40-0 half time lead.

The Panthers struggled to maintain their dominance in the second period and conceded scores to Luke Capewell, Dylan Farrell and former player Rhys Wesser.

But Michael Gordon bagged a second half brace including a last minute try to confirm Penrith’s dominance.

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Manly held on to record a vital 19-16 win over the New Zealand Warriors.

The Sea Eagles had trailed 14-10 at half time despite scoring twice through Steve Matai and Tony Williams.

A second for Williams and successful penalty from Warriors halfback James Maloney locked the score at 16-16 but a Trent Hodkinson field goal and a Jamie Lyon penalty sealed the win.

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Canterbury triumphed narrowly over North Queensland 22-20 in a meaningless game in Townsville.

Tries from the Williams’ pairing Ty (2) and John (1) gave the home side the edge at the break 14-6.

Michael Ennis and Grant Rovelli traded scores before Canterbury turned on the style and registered late tries from Steve Turner and Josh Morris to put the result beyond doubt.

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Melbourne heaped yet more misery on Cronulla, despatching them 24-4 at AAMI Park.

A Cameron Smith try and conversion was all that separated the sides at half time with Melbourne leading 6-0.

Dane Nielsen and Sika Manu scored either side of a Luke Covell try but Ryan Hinchcliffe crossed late on to give the Storm their 13th win over the year.

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Canberra continued their remarkably good record against St George by thrashing the NRL table-toppers 32-16.

Brett Morris’ try gave the Dragons a narrow 4-0 lead at half time after a nervy opening 40 minutes.

But Canberra revved up after the interval and posted four scores through Terry Campese, Adam Mogg, Josh Dugan and Joe Picker during a whirlwind 9-minute period.

Mark Gasnier and Neville Costigan raced over for the Dragons but another Raiders score from Glen Buttriss ensured a comfortable win.

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Wests Tigers survived a nerve-jangling end to their clash with Parramatta to hang on 20-18.

Despite creating a number of chances, the Tigers lead only 10-6 at the break thanks to scores from Chris Lawrence and Beau Ryan.

Ryan crossed again after the break for the Tigers as did powerful youngster Andrew Fifita to open up a healthier 20-6 lead.

But the Eels hit back and grabbed back-to-back tries from Justin Horo and Anthony Mitchell to trail 20-18.

Luke Burt could have sent the game into overtime but unbelievably he missed his penalty attempt and Parra were sunk.

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Gold Coast looking to be hitting form into the finals series if their 23-14 win over Sydney is anything to go by.

The Titans lead 10-6 at the break thanks to tries from Clinton Toopi and Kevin Gordon.

The Roosters hit back after the break with a try from winger Sean Kenny-Dowall but Bodene Thompson’s try and a second to Toopi opened up a healthy advantage.

Scott Prince’s field goal put the Titans out of sight and despite a late try to Anthony Minichiello, it was a case of too little too late for the Roosters.