Oracle of Delphi
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Craig HillRound 26 NRL Match Reviews
September 4th 2006 06:44
Round 26 NRL Reviews
The North Queensland supporters got to party in the rain last Friday night, as the Cowboys outlasted the slippery Eels by 22-8.
The game was dominated by the return of the opposition halfbacks, Johnathan Thurston and Tim Smith, with both players displaying their vast array of attacking kicks. The home crowd lifted the Cowboys in the second half, as departing Cowboys Norton, Sing, Cooper and Hannay soaked up the after match celebrations.
Parramatta led 8-6 at the break, through to great tries to whiz kid Jarryd Hayne. The only try for the Cowboys in the first half came courtesy of a Luke O’Dwyer dropped ball in front of his goalposts, with Matt Bowen pouncing to score an opportunist try.
A spectacular try to Cowboys winger Neil Sweeney saw the home side take the lead early into the second half, after a great 60 metre break by former Eel, Ashley Graham. Further tries to Bowen and Payne sealed the Eels fate, consigning them to a sudden death showdown with the Bulldogs next Saturday night.
North Queensland 22 (Bowen 2, Sweeney, Payne tries; Hannay 3 goals)
defeated
Parramatta Eels 8 (Hayne 2 tries)
at Dairy Farmers Stadium
In yet another bizarre match at Toyota Park last Saturday night, Canberra raced to a huge 26-0 lead over Cronulla half-time, only for the home side to come within a whisker of winning, finally going down 26-24.
It looked like the Cronulla faithful would be in for yet another demoralising night after Canberra ran riot in the first half, and it seemed that the Sharks would be on the end of a record score after 80 minutes. The Raiders were making breaks at will against the Sharks threadbare defence in the first stanza, with Raiders Tongue, Carney and Schifcofske constantly troubling the home side.
But Canberra seemingly had their minds on next week’s semis, as the Sharks team obviously copped an almighty spray from Coach Stuart Raper at the break, responding with four converted tries of their own to get within two points at full time.
Canberra Raiders 26 (Carney 2, Tongue, Woolford tries; Schifcofske 5 goals)
defeated
Cronulla Sharks 24 (Covell 2, Kearney, Pomeroy tries; Covell 4 goals)
at Toyota Park
Minor Premiers Melbourne warmed up for their semi-final charge with a hard fought 30-20 win over the Manly Sea-Eagles on Saturday night.
In a fast flowing attack fest which had no bearing on semi-final positions, the first placed Storm ran in five tries against the third placed Sea-Eagles, ensuring that former Storm halfback Matt Orford would go home unhappy.
With nothing at stake for either side, it was a fantastic display of attacking rugby league by both skilful pacey backlines, as both teams fine tuned their attacking games ahead of this weekends semi-finals.
Melbourne Storm 30 (Crocker, Geyer, Inglis, C. Smith, Turner tries; C.Smith 4, Geyer goals)
defeated
Manly Sea-Eagles 20 (Bell, Matai, Robertson, Stewart tries; Orford 2 goals)
at Olympic Park
Not even an emotional return to the SCG could snag an upset win for departing Roosters Coach Ricky Stuart, as the Dragons flexed their premiership credentials with a 36-16 win.
Chasing the clubs 1000th win, whilst aiming to send Stuart out on a winning note, the Roosters were fiery from the outset. The Dragons however had other ideas, as they continue their low key premiership charge, running in seven tries against the desperate Roosters outfit.
St George-Illawarra Dragons 36 (Greenshields 2, Morris 2, Cooper, Naiqama, Poore tries; Gorrell 2, Naiqama 2 goals)
defeated
Sydney Roosters 16 (Roberts 2, Cross tries; Fitzgibbon 2 goals)
at The SCG
The only thing troubling Brisbane Coach Wayne Bennett heading into the play offs, is where to play Broncos young gun Karmichael Hunt leading into the end of season matches.
The Broncos never seemed to get out of second gear against the New Zealand Warriors, breezing in seven tries to two against the monstrous kiwi side, running away with the match 36-12. Broncos stand in fullback Justin Hodges was outstanding once again, scoring two tries and was a constant menace for the Warriors defence.
Even more impressive for Coach Bennett was the combination of Broncos halves, Lockyer and Perry. Both scored tries off their halves partner’s passes, drawing praise from Bennett in the post match interviews.
Brisbane Broncos 36 (Hodges 2, Lockyer, Perry, Berrigan, Hunt tries; Parker 4, Lockyer 2 goals)
defeated
NZ Warriors 12 (Byrne, Gatis tries; Hohaia 2 goals)
The Wests Tigers finished their demoralising season on a high last Sunday, smashing the hapless South Sydney Rabbitohs, 52-18.
A huge crowd packed into Leichhardt Oval to witness the 2005 premiers run riot in their last game of the season, sending out departing players Prince, Skandalis, Elford and Laffranchi as winners in their last game in Tigers colours. The injury riddled Souths side were never really in the hunt, and will look forward to next season’s new signings to attempt to change their current fortunes.
The writing was on the wall at half-time, when the Tigers raced to a 30-0 lead in an awesome display of attacking football. Souths competed better in the second half, but Tigers hooker Robbie Farah was an instrumental factor for the home sides win.
Wests Tigers 52 (Fitzhenry 2, Heighington 2, Payten, Farah, McDonnell, Skandalis, Elford tries; Prince 8 goals)
defeated
South Sydney Rabbitohs 16 (Peachey, Gordon and Geddes tries; Williams 2, Paea goals)
In a match played in gale force winds, Bulldogs super boot Hazem El Masri proved the difference between the Panthers and Canterbury outfits, as the Belmore side held onto win 30-22.
With both sides running in five tries apiece, El Masri’ perfect goal kicking performance in trying conditions got the visitors home in an enjoyable match. While there was some great tries scored by both teams, only desperate last ditch defence prevented the score line blowing out for both sides.
Bulldogs Coach Steve Folkes will welcome back Willie Mason this Saturday against the Raiders, but has some defensive work to do ahead for his team.
Canterbury Bulldogs 30 (Patten 2, Armit, McIlwain, Utai tries; El Masri 5 goals)
defeated
Penrith Panthers 20 (Aiton, Gordon, T.Puletua, Waterhouse, Wesser tries, Gordon goal)
Team of the Week - Round 26
Fullback - Matt Bowen (Cowboys)
Winger - Jarryd Hayne (Eels)
Centre - Matt Cooper (Dragons)
Centre - Greg Inglis (Storm)
Winger - Daniel Fitzhenry (Tigers)
Five Eight - Darren Lockyer (Broncos)
Halfback - Todd Carney (Raiders)
Prop - Mark O'Meley (Bulldogs)
Hooker - Robbie Farah (Tigers)
Prop - Chris Heighington (Tigers)
Second Row - Nathan Hindmarsh (Eels)
Second Row - Luke O'Donnell (Cowboys)
Lock - Alan Tongue (Raiders)
Join us tomorrow when we hand out the end of season awards for the Broncos, Bulldogs, Raiders, Sharks, Sea-Eagles,
Cheers,
StephenP.
The North Queensland supporters got to party in the rain last Friday night, as the Cowboys outlasted the slippery Eels by 22-8.
The game was dominated by the return of the opposition halfbacks, Johnathan Thurston and Tim Smith, with both players displaying their vast array of attacking kicks. The home crowd lifted the Cowboys in the second half, as departing Cowboys Norton, Sing, Cooper and Hannay soaked up the after match celebrations.
Parramatta led 8-6 at the break, through to great tries to whiz kid Jarryd Hayne. The only try for the Cowboys in the first half came courtesy of a Luke O’Dwyer dropped ball in front of his goalposts, with Matt Bowen pouncing to score an opportunist try.
A spectacular try to Cowboys winger Neil Sweeney saw the home side take the lead early into the second half, after a great 60 metre break by former Eel, Ashley Graham. Further tries to Bowen and Payne sealed the Eels fate, consigning them to a sudden death showdown with the Bulldogs next Saturday night.
North Queensland 22 (Bowen 2, Sweeney, Payne tries; Hannay 3 goals)
defeated
Parramatta Eels 8 (Hayne 2 tries)
at Dairy Farmers Stadium
In yet another bizarre match at Toyota Park last Saturday night, Canberra raced to a huge 26-0 lead over Cronulla half-time, only for the home side to come within a whisker of winning, finally going down 26-24.
It looked like the Cronulla faithful would be in for yet another demoralising night after Canberra ran riot in the first half, and it seemed that the Sharks would be on the end of a record score after 80 minutes. The Raiders were making breaks at will against the Sharks threadbare defence in the first stanza, with Raiders Tongue, Carney and Schifcofske constantly troubling the home side.
But Canberra seemingly had their minds on next week’s semis, as the Sharks team obviously copped an almighty spray from Coach Stuart Raper at the break, responding with four converted tries of their own to get within two points at full time.
Canberra Raiders 26 (Carney 2, Tongue, Woolford tries; Schifcofske 5 goals)
defeated
Cronulla Sharks 24 (Covell 2, Kearney, Pomeroy tries; Covell 4 goals)
at Toyota Park
Minor Premiers Melbourne warmed up for their semi-final charge with a hard fought 30-20 win over the Manly Sea-Eagles on Saturday night.
In a fast flowing attack fest which had no bearing on semi-final positions, the first placed Storm ran in five tries against the third placed Sea-Eagles, ensuring that former Storm halfback Matt Orford would go home unhappy.
With nothing at stake for either side, it was a fantastic display of attacking rugby league by both skilful pacey backlines, as both teams fine tuned their attacking games ahead of this weekends semi-finals.
Melbourne Storm 30 (Crocker, Geyer, Inglis, C. Smith, Turner tries; C.Smith 4, Geyer goals)
defeated
Manly Sea-Eagles 20 (Bell, Matai, Robertson, Stewart tries; Orford 2 goals)
at Olympic Park
Not even an emotional return to the SCG could snag an upset win for departing Roosters Coach Ricky Stuart, as the Dragons flexed their premiership credentials with a 36-16 win.
Chasing the clubs 1000th win, whilst aiming to send Stuart out on a winning note, the Roosters were fiery from the outset. The Dragons however had other ideas, as they continue their low key premiership charge, running in seven tries against the desperate Roosters outfit.
St George-Illawarra Dragons 36 (Greenshields 2, Morris 2, Cooper, Naiqama, Poore tries; Gorrell 2, Naiqama 2 goals)
defeated
Sydney Roosters 16 (Roberts 2, Cross tries; Fitzgibbon 2 goals)
at The SCG
The only thing troubling Brisbane Coach Wayne Bennett heading into the play offs, is where to play Broncos young gun Karmichael Hunt leading into the end of season matches.
The Broncos never seemed to get out of second gear against the New Zealand Warriors, breezing in seven tries to two against the monstrous kiwi side, running away with the match 36-12. Broncos stand in fullback Justin Hodges was outstanding once again, scoring two tries and was a constant menace for the Warriors defence.
Even more impressive for Coach Bennett was the combination of Broncos halves, Lockyer and Perry. Both scored tries off their halves partner’s passes, drawing praise from Bennett in the post match interviews.
Brisbane Broncos 36 (Hodges 2, Lockyer, Perry, Berrigan, Hunt tries; Parker 4, Lockyer 2 goals)
defeated
NZ Warriors 12 (Byrne, Gatis tries; Hohaia 2 goals)
The Wests Tigers finished their demoralising season on a high last Sunday, smashing the hapless South Sydney Rabbitohs, 52-18.
A huge crowd packed into Leichhardt Oval to witness the 2005 premiers run riot in their last game of the season, sending out departing players Prince, Skandalis, Elford and Laffranchi as winners in their last game in Tigers colours. The injury riddled Souths side were never really in the hunt, and will look forward to next season’s new signings to attempt to change their current fortunes.
The writing was on the wall at half-time, when the Tigers raced to a 30-0 lead in an awesome display of attacking football. Souths competed better in the second half, but Tigers hooker Robbie Farah was an instrumental factor for the home sides win.
Wests Tigers 52 (Fitzhenry 2, Heighington 2, Payten, Farah, McDonnell, Skandalis, Elford tries; Prince 8 goals)
defeated
South Sydney Rabbitohs 16 (Peachey, Gordon and Geddes tries; Williams 2, Paea goals)
In a match played in gale force winds, Bulldogs super boot Hazem El Masri proved the difference between the Panthers and Canterbury outfits, as the Belmore side held onto win 30-22.
With both sides running in five tries apiece, El Masri’ perfect goal kicking performance in trying conditions got the visitors home in an enjoyable match. While there was some great tries scored by both teams, only desperate last ditch defence prevented the score line blowing out for both sides.
Bulldogs Coach Steve Folkes will welcome back Willie Mason this Saturday against the Raiders, but has some defensive work to do ahead for his team.
Canterbury Bulldogs 30 (Patten 2, Armit, McIlwain, Utai tries; El Masri 5 goals)
defeated
Penrith Panthers 20 (Aiton, Gordon, T.Puletua, Waterhouse, Wesser tries, Gordon goal)
Team of the Week - Round 26
Fullback - Matt Bowen (Cowboys)
Winger - Jarryd Hayne (Eels)
Centre - Matt Cooper (Dragons)
Centre - Greg Inglis (Storm)
Winger - Daniel Fitzhenry (Tigers)
Five Eight - Darren Lockyer (Broncos)
Halfback - Todd Carney (Raiders)
Prop - Mark O'Meley (Bulldogs)
Hooker - Robbie Farah (Tigers)
Prop - Chris Heighington (Tigers)
Second Row - Nathan Hindmarsh (Eels)
Second Row - Luke O'Donnell (Cowboys)
Lock - Alan Tongue (Raiders)
Join us tomorrow when we hand out the end of season awards for the Broncos, Bulldogs, Raiders, Sharks, Sea-Eagles,
Cheers,
StephenP.
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