After a representative round break the NRL kicked back into gear with all 16 teams in action. The Brisbane Broncos and Melbourne Storm continued their top of the table form, whereas fellow frontrunners the Dragons finally dropped points to the resurgent Rabbitohs.
Check out all of the games in our recap of the NRL Round 9 Results below:
Brisbane Broncos (8) v Penrith Panthers (5)
A clutch last minute try to replacement forward Corey Oates was enough for the Broncos to sneak past the Panthers at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night, and with it, briefly snatch the overall competition lead (before later being joined by Melbourne and St George).
The tight low scoring encounter was settled when Ben Hunt chose not to take another field goal attempt (after missing one a relatively simple one moments earlier) and instead flung the ball lo the right edge to set up Oates. The desperate throw of the dice got the Broncos out of jail after Matt Moylan had put the Panthers ahead in the 74th minute with an expertly taken field goal.
Matt Moylan was Penrith’s only point scorer – all form the boot as his team failed to cross the try line. The fact that they were still in the game despite conceding a try to Jordan Kahu on the stroke of half time, said wonders for their pesky defence.
Brisbane’s win is another example of winning ugly, something they have become accustomed to this season. They struggled to contain second phase play, but will be thrilled with the efforts of returning stars Darius Boyd and Justin Hodges.
Sydney Roosters (36) v Wests Tigers (4)
The Roosters returned to near their best with a dominant performance over a sloppy West Tigers team, and in the process saw several of their stars steam back into Origin contention. Daniel Tupou was the obviously benefactor of the dusting. He dotted down for three tries and on the back of a solid performance for City last week is likely to be straight back into the reckoning. The others were halves colleagues Mitchell Pearce and James Maloney. Pearce was already looking good for a return to Prigin thanks to ill-discipline and inconsistent form from the Bulldogs’ pair, but Maloney also strengthened his chances with a composed effort of his own.
Boyd Cordner and Michael Jennings were also excellent, which would have please NSW coach Laurie Daley immeasurably. It also showed just how important the rep weekend was to the Roosters – their players returned refreshed but in-form.
Plenty of attention will go on the missed tackles from Luke Brooks and Mitch Moses, however the Tigers big men did little to lessen the pressure on their littles and all too often left them isolated. Not many Tigers highlights other than the form of James Tedesco who was one of the better Tigers players, and how good is Siua Taukeiaho looking.
Canberra Raiders (56) v Gold Coast Titans (16)
Ricky Stuart’s creative recruitment drives continues to pay dividends for the Raiders. Stuart’s money-bal like signings (the likes of Waqa, Williams, Nu’uausala, Hodgson and Soliola) delivered win number five and catapulted them up to fifth on the competition ladder.
Leading the charge was the origin bound five eighth Blake Austin who was instrumental in everything good about the Raiders game. Two line breaks, two tries and over a hundred running metres summed up the ex-Tigers players night and easily earn him man of the match honours in the 56-16 win.
The Titans, missing their aggressive talisman Greg Bird struggled to get into the game, and barring Ryan James lost out in too many individual battles to build on last week’s in against the Warriors. James went face to face with several of the Raiders big men including Nu’uausala in a sideshow that at one stage threatened to upstage the main event.
The scoresheets proved an interesting anomaly. The Raiders had eight different try scorers whereas the Titans three tries all came from wing Anthony Don.
Cronulla Sharks (16) v New Zealand Warriors (20)
The best and worst of Shaun Johnson was on display in Saturday nights tight matchup between the Warriors and Sharks at Remondis Stadium. After an indifferent first 70 minutes featuring disappointing final tackle kicking options and poor goal kicking from the Kiwi’s number 7, Johnson sparked his side to a late lead by setting up Solomone Kata with a quick break and clever kick. From the resulting short kickoff Johnson knocked on, undoing all of the good work and allowing Andrew Fafita the chance to score a hulking solo try, before finally sealing a victory with his own solo spectacular (credit to Ryan Hoffman too for his crucial chargedown to put the Warriors in a scoring position).
The Round’s second low scoring affair provided as much drama as the Brisbane/Tigers game and had commentator Andrew Voss declaring it a 15 on the “incredible-metre”. Admittedly, that was during the frantic final few moments, however the earlier action contained plenty of good watching attritional footy. Testament to the arm wrestle nature of the match was the high tackle count from the likes of Ennis (44), Fifita (37), Mannering (47) and Thompson (40).
The two points were crucial for the Warriors season chances, especially after announcing two marque signings in the past few weeks. They needed the momentum and will need to build on this next week when they play the Eels. They could be without Konrad Hurrell and Manu Vatuvei after they were placed on report and injured respectively.
North Queensland Cowboys (23) v Canterbury Bulldogs (16)
Two important pre-origin competition points were up for grabs in Townsville on Saturday night as the Cowboys took on the Bulldogs in a tense yet entertaining Round 9 clash. The Cowboys got the better of the Bulldogs thanks to a hint of x-factor from utility back Michael Morgan and a late Jonathan Thurston field goal.
A 12-0 half time score line suggested the Cowboys would run away with this one at home, however, the Bulldogs intensified their efforts in the second half and piled on 16 unanswered points with tries to Josh Jackson, Corey Thompson and Curtis Rona to steal the lead and send the match to a nervy finale.
Enter Morgan, and the match winner Morgan, not just the handy fullback / halve that has had potential for years without grabbing games by the scruff and settling them. Morgan built on a Gavin Cooper try and put the Cowboys ahead by 6 with 6 to play and deserved the plaudits for his entertaining double.
The win was crucial for the Cowboys who will lose Matt Scott, James Tamou and Thurston to origin. Although they’ll be content with the progress of the likes of John Asiata, Kelepi Tanginoa, Ben Hannant and Ben Spina to see them through the difficult representative period.
As for the Bulldogs, they need more form Hopkinson, they need Josh Reynolds to stay clean (he’s just a pest, he’s not on steroids), and they need to find a way to get Tony Williams energised and involved.
Manly Sea Eagles (30) v Newcastle Knights (10)
Manly finally managed to put together a decent representation of their attacking ability in a comfortable victory over the Knights in front of 10,000 fans at Borrkvale.
Led by the Titans bound Daly Cherry Evans and veteran fullback Brett Stewart, the Sea Eagles mustered win number three of the season and enjoyed an encouraging 90% completion rate.
The Knights on the other hand are in nothing short of turmoil. After winning their first four they have now lost five on the bounce and resorted to genital pinches (Youtube the Willie Mason, Korbin Simms exchange) to try and unsettle their opponents – because certainly their attack couldn’t.
Highlights included, Brett Stewart becoming the 10th player in NRL history to score 150 tries, Blake Leary playing brilliantly in a display that proves his form is not limited to Queensland Cup, and Jamie Lyon enjoyed a perfect day off the kicking tee.
Parramatta Eels (10) v Melbourne Storm (28)
Billy Slater returned form injury to stamp his undoubted class on proceedings as his Melbourne Storm side proved too efficient for the Eels at Pirtek Stadium. Slater had two first half tries – also is first of the year – in a performance full of percentages and professionalism. Not to be read as a criticism, the composed showing was an important win for a side that traditionally struggles during origin.
It was also crucial given the differing mindsets coach Craig Bellamy would have put up with during the week after his troops returned from national duty. For Bromwich, Harris and Procter who experienced being on an Anzac winning side for the first time, Bellamy was keen to take the opportunity to give them some rest, but for Cooper Cronk and Will Chambers he needed to get their confidence back after poor showings in the same test.
Both were achieved and a position at the top of the ladder also secured for another week.
Back to the drawing board for the now 15th placed Eels.
South Sydney Rabbitohs v St George-Illawarra Dragons
Four consecutive loses for the Rabbitohs side was hard to fathom based on their NRL Nines, Club Challenge and early season form. However that’s exactly what looked likely to happen midway through their match against the Dragons at ANZ Stadium on Monday.
The Dragons attack looked sharp thanks to decisive decision making by Benji Marshall and elusive running by the impressive Josh Dugan. The Dragons took advantage of some sloppy defending on both fringes by the reigning premiers to set up tries for Jason Nightingale and Gareth Widdop, and take a 10-6 lead into the break.
The second half was a different story as the Rabbitohs were finally able to build some pressure through repeat sets. From a huge number of tackles inside the Dragons 20m line, they were able to set up young winers Aaron Gray (his second of the game) and Alex Johnston. Resolute defence then saw them hold on to the 16-10 lead despite some enterprising second phase play by the Dragons.
The win halts the Rabbitohs horror run and also inflicts a third defeat of the season on the Dragons. The St-George men will be looking for ways to get more fro their attack as they have scored more than 14 points in a game on only two occasions this year.
