NRL Round Up – Round 8
St George-Illawarra Dragons went top of the NRL table, above Brisbane Broncos on points difference. Third-placed Melbourne Storm got back to winning ways but Canberra Raiders remain bottom after a dismal display against Wests Tigers.
St George-Illawarra Dragons went top of the NRL table with a 30-0 victory over Parramatta Eels on Monday night at the WIN Jubilee Oval.
Jamie Soward and Mark Gasnier organised the Dragons’ play while Matt Cooper and Ben Hornby each grabbed a brace of tries for a 22-0 half-time lead.
Soward sent Beau Scott over for the only try of a defence-dominated second half.
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Brisbane Broncos posted their seventh straight win on Friday with a 20-12 victory over Canterbury Bulldogs at Suncorp Stadium.
Darren Lockyer, in excellent form once again, opened the scoring for the Broncos but Michael Lett’s try brought the Bulldogs back into contention, Brisbane leading 8-6 at the interval.
However, Lett’s mistake allowed Dale Copley to add another Broncos try, quickly followed by Gerard Beale for a 20-6 lead; Ben Barba crossed for Canterbury but Brisbane had done enough.
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Melbourne Storm put last week’s defeat to NZ Warriors behind them with a 42-12 defeat of Newcastle Knights at AAMI Park on Saturday.
Storm led 18-12 at half time thanks to tries from Bryan Norrie, Beau Champion and Anthony Quinn, the Newcastle scorers Matt Hilder and Akuilla Uate.
Melbourne dominated the second half, further tries coming from Matt Duffie, Dane Nielson, Billy Slater and Todd Lowrie.
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Canberra Raiders suffered a seventh straight loss with a 49-12 mauling at the hands of Wests Tigers on Sunday at Canberra Stadium.
The Tigers posted eight tries, two from Wade McKinnon and one each from Simon Dwyer, Liam Fulton, Chris Heighington, Matt Utai, Benji Marshal and Andrew Fifita.
The Raiders – 24-6 down at the half-time interval and still bottom of the NRL table – could only reply through Josh Dugan, who posted a try in each half.
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Gold Coast Titans posted a 24-13 win over Sydney Roosters on Saturday to mark hooker Nathan Friend’s 100th appearance for the club.
William Zillman and Joespeh Leilua traded first-half tries but Zillman’s second after the restart gave the Titans a 12-6 lead.
The Roosters led 13-12 after a try from Frank-Paul Nuuausala and a drop goal from Braith Anasta, but touch downs from Steve Michaels and David Meade gave Gold Coast the win.
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Two tries from Matt Bowen helped North Queensland Cowboys to a narrow 22-20 win over Manly Sea Eagles on Saturday in Townsville.
Bowen, along with Jonathon Thurston and Aaron Payne crossed in the first half to give the Cowboys a 16-4 half-time lead; Michael Robertson was the scorer for Manly.
The Sea Eagles hit back in the second half through Michael Oldfield, William Hopoate and Anthony Watmough, but Thurston sent Bowen over for his second to keep the Cowboys just in front.
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South Sydney Rabbitohs came from behind to beat Cronulla Sharks at ANZ Stadium on Friday; tries from Paul Alton and Wade Graham had given the Sharks a 12-0 half-time lead.
Chris Sandow scored two tries, five goals and a drop goal, leading the Rabbitohs in a second-half fightback in which they scored 31 unanswered points.
Souths’ other tries came from David Taylor, James Roberts and Nathan Merrit.
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Kevin Locke scored two tries, the second an 80-metre solo effort, to help NZ Warriors to a 26-18 win over Penrith Panthers in Auckland on Monday.
Locke’s tries came either side of half time, and further touch downs from Krisnan Inu and Lance Hohaia giving the Warriors an unassailable lead.
This was the Panthers’ third straight defeat and came a few days after the club announced they would be replacing coach Mathew Elliot for next season.