Sharkie showtime as Raiders go down 36-24
July 1, 2008
The Cronulla Sharks have weathered a slow start in the ACT to eventually run-down the Canberra Raiders 36-24 tonight at a bitterly cold and wet Canberra Stadium, sending the Sharks into a 3-way tie at the top of the NRL table.
The Raiders flew out of the gates as they generally do on home soil - quickly setting up a 12-0 lead within 15 minutes, but the Sharks rose to life and quickly got back into the contest in the latter stages of the first half with 3 touchdowns in the space of 7 minutes, and took it up a notch in the 2nd half.
The Raiders did look composed at the start of the 2nd period, looking to chip away at the 18-6 halftime deficit, and they went extremely close to getting over the Sharks line through Brett Kelly, but that rock solid Cronulla defence reigned - letting virtually nothing through, and soon after the locals had their hearts broken with a 60 metre movement from the following set.
Issac De Gois shot out of dummy half and linked with Brett Seymour in space, who in turn sent Brett Kimmorley surging up over the half way line and into space.
It looked as though the play would break down as the Raiders defence converged, but the former Test half produced a perfectly weighted kick into the in-goal and David Simmons won the race to open the second half scoring in the 58th minute.
Luke Covell added the extras, extending the Sharks lead to 24-12 and setting the home side a huge mountain to climb with 20 minutes left to play.
The Raiders refused to shirk the task, and hit almost immediately through Ryan Hinchcliffe, with Todd Carney’s conversion cutting the margin to just a converted try.
But the Sharks countered with another piece of magic three minutes later when Covell plucked a Kimmorley cross-kick out the air and touched down despite heavy attention from the Raiders’ Bronx Goodwin.
Kimmorley then engineered another stunning four-pointer with an impressive grubber and regather, before putting it through the hands for Ben Pomeroy to finishing off, with Covell’s sideline conversion capping a stellar 6 from 6 with the boot.
Raiders fullback David Milne added a consolation four-pointer for the Raiders in the 77th minute to round out the scoring.
The visitors put themselves under the hammer from the outset when Ben Pomeroy knocked on with the Sharks first possession of the match, and they eventually cracked despite a spirited defensive effort.
Canberra manufactured three consecutive sets at the Sharks line, and a brilliant floating offload in traffic from Raiders prop Troy Thompson found Carney and the Raiders were over.
The rising Raiders half converted his own four-pointer and the home side had a 6-nil lead.
Carney was instrumental in extending Canberra’s lead five minutes later, but some poor Sharks defence was also to blame.
Canberra again peppered the Sharks line, and Carney delivered a sharp cutout pass to Goodwin on the right wing, who stood up Covell pointlessly to go over in the corner.
Carney then hit a bullet-like conversion from the touchline to put the Raiders 12-nil up inside the opening 15 minutes.
The Raiders talisman was doing the job at both ends, producing a booming 40-20 (that in effect, was more like a 30-10) to give the Raiders more attacking ball.
The youngster then showed that he is human after all, spilling the ball as he attacked the Sharks line to give the visitors some much-needed respite.
It was at this point, that fans at Canberra Stadium witnessed a momentum shift of gargantuan proportions.
A cleverly worked set play finished off by Covell in the 23rd minute gave the Sharks their opening points in the 23rd minute, but there was more to come.
A spilled ball from boom Raiders youngster Justin Carney gifted the visitors a their second try in the space if two minutes courtesy of Issac De Gois, and the Sharks were level in the blink of an eye after Covell’s conversion.
But they weren’t done yet a chargedown from Kade Snowden was regathered by David Simmonds to give the visitors more attacking ball, and prop forward Ben Ross barged over on the half-hour mark.
The Sharks made a shocking start to the second half, with a number of handling errors and needless penalties, but the visitors toughed it out in defence, and momentum started to swing back the visitors way as the injury curse that has plagued the Raiders in 2008 struck again.
Injuries coming out of the Monday Night game were; Joe Picker (corked thigh) and Alan Tongue (ribs) and Glenn Turner for the duration of the contest.
After the finish of Round 16, the NRL Ladder and Table now sits as follows;
| W | L | B | +/- | Pts | 1 | Sea Eagles | 10 | 4 | 2 | 172 | 24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Roosters | 11 | 4 | 1 | 93 | 24 |
| 3 | Sharks | 11 | 4 | 1 | 45 | 24 |
| 4 | Storm | 9 | 5 | 2 | 109 | 22 |
| 5 | Dragons | 8 | 6 | 2 | 67 | 20 |
| 6 | Titans | 8 | 6 | 2 | 54 | 20 |
| 7 | Broncos | 8 | 6 | 1 | 36 | 19 |
| 8 | Eels | 7 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 18 |
| 9 | Panthers | 6 | 7 | 2 | -9 | 17 |
| 10 | Knights | 6 | 8 | 2 | -11 | 16 |
| 11 | Raiders | 6 | 8 | 2 | -17 | 16 |
| 12 | Tigers | 7 | 8 | 1 | -20 | 16 |
| 13 | Warriors | 6 | 9 | 1 | -127 | 14 |
| 14 | Rabbitohs | 4 | 10 | 2 | -119 | 12 |
| 15 | Bulldogs | 4 | 10 | 2 | -147 | 12 |
| 16 | Cowboys | 3 | 12 | 1 | -126 | 8 |
Warriors upset Wests at Leichhardt 28-26
June 29, 2008
The NZ Warriors have held off a fast finishing Wests Tigers side 28-26 in a huge upset at Leichhardt Oval today. The Tigers missing an ideal chance to advance on the table and the NZ Warriors keeping their distant semi-finals hopes alive.
Tigers full-back Brett Hodgson missed a sideline conversion after the bell which, had it been successful, would have sent the match into golden-point extra time.
The Warriors, missing State of Origin stars Steve Price and Brent Tate, held on for victory in Ruben Wiki’s 300th match after the Tigers scored two tries in the final three-and-a-half minutes in an entertaining clash.
The rare away win boosts the Warriors’ play-off ambitions but harms the Tigers chances of making the finals.
Inspired by Wiki’s landmark game, the Warriors peeled open some feeble Tigers defence in the first half to lead 16-0 after only 29 minutes.
Hooker Ian Henderson scooted over from dummy-half for the first try in the ninth minute - barely being touched as he found plenty of space behind the ruck.
The Kiwis were in again 15 minutes later but this time the final pass from Grant Rovelli looked like it drifted forward before Sonny Fia crashed over in the corner.
Warriors half-back Nathan Fien then brushed off some ordinary goal-line defence five minutes later before Tigers playmaker Benji Marshall provided a touch of magic after collecting the ball in the middle of the paddock 30m out from his line.
With little on, Marshall danced around three defenders before shedding a fourth seven minutes from half-time.
Just as the defence looked to have closed him down, he delivered his trademark flick pass to barnstorming winger Taniela Tuiaki, who sprinted 50m to reduce the deficit to 16-6 at half-time.
The Tigers looked like making further inroads in the early minutes of the second half but Lance Hohaia shut down the long-range movement with a trysaving tackle on Liam Fulton.
The home side only had to wait until the 50th minute with Robbie Farah stretching out for the tryline following another controversial call with the ball appearing to go well forward from Mathew Head to Tuiaki.
Two minutes later, the Warriors looked like self-destructing with Aidan Kirk dropping the ball near his line but Head pushed the pass and the New Zealanders mopped up the mess.
But the Tigers were full of running by now and the 56th minute Chris Lawrence stormed over out wide.
The Warriors rallied eight minutes later with Marshall’s being caught out in defence as Hohaia sprinted clear to end a brilliant 75m movement.
Warrior Sam Rapira then capitalised on a Tigers error by bumping off opposite number Bronson Harrison close to the line and crossing near the posts for a subsequent 28-16 lead in the 69th minute.
Tuiaki breathed life back into the match after being put through a big hole by Marshall as the Tigers moved back within a converted try with three minutes remaining.
After plenty of adventurous play, Tuiaki scored his third try of the match in the corner but Hodgson pressure shot was off target.
The Tigers and Warriors both have the bye next week, each side receiving 2 NRL competition points.
Parramatta Eels hold off gutsy Storm 24-22
June 29, 2008
The Parramatta Eels had to work overtime today to get over the top of a rookie-laden Melbourne Storm; eventually holding out the visitors to win 24-22 at Parramatta Stadium today.
The Eels were forced to come from behind after the Storm, minus nine players due to Origin commitments, stunned the home side with two early tries for a 10-0 lead. While missing plenty of stars, Melbourne used their forward muscle to arm wrestle the Eels midfield and surprise the fancied locals with some opportunist tries.
The Storm took a leaf out of the Sharks book and slowed the Eels damaging ruck speed, keeping under the guard of referee Ben Cummins and perfecting a pre-game tactic of kicking dead in goal on the final tackle to ensure set restarts for the Eels to keep the pace controlled.
Parramatta eventually got going with 3 touchdowns in the space of 12 minutes to throw themselves clear, but there was more than a touch of controversy to their charge with the Eels benefiting from an apparent crackdown on kickers being hit by defenders.
A total of 3 penalties, all dished out after Eels halfback Brett Finch was taken down late, the last of which led to Krisnan Inu’s 64th minute match-sealer to put Parramatta’s finals hopes back on track. The contact with Finch was extremely light and surprised many when penalties were awarded to the Eels. However, the Storm continued to push their luck and kept hitting the kicker and feeling the consequences. Parramatta scoring directly from 2 of the 3 penalties awarded for late contact on Brett Finch.
This issue of penalties for kicker interference along with some bizare calls around the ruck, will keep the pressure squarely on NRL referee Ben Cummins. The whistle blower having a poor run of form in 2008 and somehow managing to keep his first grade spot.
Melbourne threatened a late upset when Cronk, arguably the best player on the field, stepped his way over from close range, but there was no miracle for the visitors who must be thankful the Origin period is just about over. Assisting Cronk was upcoming forward Sika Manu, the big man proving a handful all day and bagging himself 2 tries. Manu was busy and when he wasn’t carting the ball up at full speed, he was in perfect position to bag himself some tries and showing the way to his fellow rookies.
Kris Inu was a villain early for the Eels when his knock on gave the Storm an early opportunity to get on the board, Sika Manu crashing over out wide off a Cooper Cronk flat ball. Inu along with several Eels, looked to relaxed against a keen Storm and it took too long for the locals to ’switch on’ and start creating opportunities. Frustration was a concern for the Eels, with Parramatta having 2 tries disallowed and seemingly had nothing going their way early on. However, the situation changed when the home side began receiving a long run of penalties from Ben Cummins - enough to get themselves on the board and back into the match.
It was still panic stations in the first 15 minutes of the match when rookie winger Joe Tomane raced 90 metres to make it 10-0, a Finch pass clipping Nathan Hindmarsh’s shoulder before the young Melbourne centre showed too much toe for the cover defence.
Parramatta while frustrated early, were eventually rewarded when they stopped running all their traffic mid-field and started working from one side to the other, Taulima Tautai doing exceptionally well to get the ball down in the corner after Joel Reddy had flopped out a Finch kick he had regathered.
Tony Williams crossed to give the home side the lead before the second penalty in Finch’s favour, for dubious contact from Storm debutant Sinbad Kali, put the Eels in position to send Reddy over out wide.
The Storm were unlucky not to close the gap just after halftime as Brett Anderson was taken out as he chased a Cronk kick down the touchline. Williams was binned for ten minutes for what referee Ben Cummins deemed to be a professional foul. Many feeling a ‘penalty try’ or a ‘no call’ was the best option, but Cummins came up with the professional foul call and Storm didn’t receive anything in the way of points from the lesser numbers in their opponents defence line.
Melbourne failed to take advantage of the one-man overlap several times, but when parity was restored they again gave the Eels a fright with Manu getting his second of the afternoon after Sam Joe had tapped back a Cronk bomb.
Brett Finch took out the man of the match honors for the home side, but the Eels will be concerned they couldn’t put a spare parts Storm side away on a day where they could have improved their points difference against competing sides. Opponents are beginning to heavily mark Eels pivot Feleti Mateo and the big man is finding it hard to generate his magic every game as opposing teams study his form. In saying that, the Eels have certainly found a quality replacement for forgotten winger Eric Grothe Jnr; new boy Tony Williams beginning to look at home on the flank and proving a handful for opposition players to stop.
The Storm and their coaching staff would be pleased with their efforts, massively undermanned - the Melbourne club showed they have massive depth and another batch of quality players coming through. The loss today is the 5th for the Storm in 2008 and while they will certainly be in the mix for a Top 4 finish - another minor premiership looks tougher now they have been so heavily hit by State of Origin requirements.
Next week the Storm are at home to the Raiders and should get back into the winners circle with their front line players back. The Eels have a local derby against neighbours Penrith, at Parramatta Stadium as both teams look to get themselves into the middle of the Top 8.
PARRAMATTA 24 (K Inu, J Reddy, T Tautai, T Williams tries; L Burt 4 goals) bt MELBOURNE 22 (S Manu 2, C Cronk, J Tomane tries; S Turner 2, C Cronk goals) at Parramatta Stadium. Referee: B Cummins. Crowd: 12,597
Bunnies make history, climb over Cowboys 29-28
June 29, 2008
South Sydney have written themselves into the NRL records books after completing the 2nd biggest comeback victory in NRL history with a miraculous 29-28 win over North Queensland at Dairy Farmers Stadium tonight.
Souths looked gone for all money with the lead blowing out to 28-4 in the 49th minute but put on four tries to level the scores in the 75th.
Rookie Chris Sandow then nailed a field goal in the last minute but the drama didn’t end there.
Cowboys fullback Anthony Watts managed to squeeze in a field goal attempt of his own after the siren, only to have it charged down by a Souths defender.
The comeback win was second only in the NRL to the Cowboys’ own effort in 1998 when they beat Penrith 36-28 after being down 26-0 at halftime.
Souths began well thanks to the return of star recruit Craig Wing however the visitors were unable to capitalise on the early attacking opportunities and the Cowboys were ahead 12-4 at halftime thanks to two converted tries.
In a nine minute blitz after halftime the Cowboys moved to 28-4 with Ash Graham scoring a double and centre partner Ben Harris bagging a four-pointer of his own. .
Souths then launched their comeback with three tries in quick succession to Fetuli Talanoa, Jamie Simpson and Wing to bring the lead back to just six points in the 61st minute.
Luke Capewell crossed in the 74th minute and Issac Luke levelled with a sideline conversion before Sandow’s clincher.
South Sydney coach Jason Taylor was pleased with the win but not with how his side came to be 24 points down in the first place.
“It was an amazing comeback and a great performance in the end but the last half an hour of what we did before that wasn’t good enough,” Taylor said.
“We won’t dwell on that here, it was a great victory in the end but we have got to play from the start and we certainly didn’t.
Despite the 24 point deficit Taylor never lost belief that his side could mount a comeback because of their recent penchant for putting on quick points.
“You never give up completely … because what we have done the last few weeks,” he said.
“We are showing that we can score some tries - earlier in the year we definitely would have been gone.”
North Queensland coach Ian Millward said his side, who are last on the ladder after nine straight defeats, were shattered.
“The boys are absolutely devastated, there is not much I can report on,” he said. “If you have been involved in sport you can imagine how they feel.
“They played really well there for long periods and controlled the game and the momentum swung and we had to do a lot of defending in the second half.”
The Cowboys’ player crisis is set to worsen with representative forward Carl Webb taken to hospital for scans on a suspected broken right ankle sustained midway through the first half.
SOUTH SYDNEY 29 (R Asotasi F Talanoa C Wing J Simpson L Capwell tries I Luke 4 goals C Sandow field goal) bt NORTH QUEENSLAND 28 (A Graham 2 R Cashmere J Williams B Harris tries J Williams 4 goals) at Dairy Farmers Stadium. Referee: T De Las Heras. Crowd: 15,631.
Dragons raid Robina, beat Titans 26-22
June 29, 2008
St George handed Gold Coast its first loss on home soil for 2008 with a narrow 26-22 result in front of a disappointed Titans crowd at Skilled park in a highly contested NRL round 16 match-up on Saturday night.
The narrow victory gives the Dragons six wins on the trot and bumps them up to fifth on the competition ladder, while the Titans have now lost two in a row after going down to the Rabbitohs last Monday, much to the disappointment of the crowd of over 26,000 gathered on the Gold Coast.
The Titans are yet to record a win against the Dragons in the club’s short history, and the omissions of Scott Prince, Anthony Laffranchi and Ashley Harrison to Origin duties and Luke Bailey to injury did not make it any easier for the home side.
Titans livewire Preston Campbell refused to make excuses for the loss, and admitted the Dragons had outplayed them on their home soil.
“It was a tough game, we put in a good showing. We had a few blokes out but it’s no excuse obviously,” he told Fox Sports after the game.
“We’ve got players to replace but they are some big shoes to fill. The Dragons are playing well … they’ve got the wood on us at the moment.”
Neither side took control of the tough match-up, with Gold Coast’s opening margin of eight points after just 11 minutes the biggest for the match, with two Jamie Soward conversions proving the difference between the teams.
Both teams ran over for four tries, with Ben Hornby having his hand in the first two for the Dragons.
Hornby ran in a try from a magical off-load by Lagi Setu on the line for the Dragons’ opener in the 29th minute, then set up another later in the first half with a cut-out pass into space for Brett Morris to stroll over.
Soward was a standout for the visitors, playing a big role in setting up St George’s offensive forays and finishing with a perfect kicking record of five from as many attempts.
Mat Rogers kept the Gold Coast in the game throughout the match, his intercept in the 60th minute giving the home side a two-point lead after running in a try against the run of play. But his efforts proved fruitless as the Dragons secured the points when Michael Lett was awarded a simple try 11 minutes from time.
A high bomb from Soward towards the right side line was spilled after a clash between two Titans defenders, allowing Lett to snatch the ball from behind the play.
Dragons coach Nathan Brown says despite his team’s sixth win in a row, he was disappointed with its start to the game.
“Happy to win and happy that we fought back that was really good, I was just disappointed, I thought that we [were] a little bit slack and lacklustre in the first half and I think that probably helped them grow a leg,” he said.
Dragons: 26 (B Hornby, B Morris, C Stanley, M Lett tries; J Soward 4 conversions; J Soward 1 penalty)
Titans: 22 (B Jeffery, B Delaney, L O’Dwyer, Mat Rogers tries; M rogers 4 conversions; M Rogers 1 penalty)
Manly cruise to win over Knights 28-12
June 29, 2008
Manly has held their position at the head of the NRL table with a cruisy 28-12 victory over Newcastle in Saturday night’s round 16 NRL clash at Bluetongue stadium in Gosford.
In the night’s other match, South Sydney produced the second-biggest comeback in history from 28-4 down to defeat North Queensland 29-28 at Dairy Farmers Stadium in Townsville.
Trailing by 24 points in the 51st minute, the Rabbitohs piled on three tries in eight minutes to pull the margin back to a converted try with 20 minutes remaining, with the returning Craig Wing playing a crucial role in the fight-back.
Jason Taylor’s side then drew level via a Luke Capewell try five minutes from time, before young half-back Chris Sandow coolly slotted the match-winning field goal with just 30 seconds remaining.
The Cowboys had a late chance to send the match to golden point extra time but an Anthony Watts field goal was charged down by the Rabbitohs defence, handing Souths its third win on the trot.
Sea Eagles roll on
In Gosford, Manly took advantage of a Newcastle side missing Danny Buderus, Kurt Gidley and Ben Cross to Origin in a controlled performance that sees them join the Roosters on 24 points at the top of the ladder.
Leading 10-8 at the break, the Sea Eagles kicked clear with three tries in 15 minutes to kill off any chance of a Knights upset.
With the game in the balance after the break, centre Steve Matai received the ball on the Newcastle 40-metre line before jinking and fending his way past three Knights defenders and linking up with a flying Anthony Watmough to put the big second-rower in under the sticks.
Orford’s conversion put the Sea Eagles out 16-8 in the 50th minute and from there the home side was never threatened.
Manly put on two more tries through Jamie Lyon and Steve Bell to extend the margin against the Knights, who felt the loss of their Origin stars in the latter stages of the match despite a late consolation try to winger James McManus.
Both sides crossed for two tries in the first half, with Matt Orford landing one conversion from two attempts for the Sea Eagles and Wes Naiqama spraying his shots wide for the visitors.
Manly opened up a 6-0 lead after just five minutes through a David Williams try, before the Knights ran in for the next two four-pointers through Cooper Vuna and McManus.
But Manly hit back with a bullocking try to Matai nine minutes from the break to hold the advantage at the break.
Manly 28 (D Williams, S Matai, A Watmough, J Lyon, S Bell tries; M Orford 4 conversions)
Newcastle 12 (J McManus 2, C Vuna tries)
South Sydney 29 (R Asotasi, F Talanoa, C Wing, B Champion, L Capewell tries; I Luke 4 conversions; C Sandow field goal)
North Queensland 28 (A Graham 2, R Cashmere, J Williams, B Harris tries; J Williams 4 conversions)
Roosters charge ahead, beat Bulldogs 24-14
June 28, 2008
The Sydney Roosters kept their impressive 2008 NRL run going, this time without 6 Origin stars as they moved to the top of the NRL ladder with a 24-14 win over the Bulldogs at the Sydney Football Stadium tonight.
Down 10-4 at the break, the Roosters scored four tries to one after halftime to consign the Bulldogs to their fourth straight loss, the defeat all but extinguishing their finals hopes.
The Roosters started their resurgence with a try to Brent Grose just before the break, but it was in the second half that they finally found some rhythm.
NSW stars Braith Anasta and Mitchell Pearce had been given much of the credit for the Roosters leading the NRL in tries scored from kicks, but stand-in playmaker James Aubusson and fullback Amos Roberts proved they were just as good.
Tries four minutes apart to Sam Perrett and Shaun Kenny Dowall came off smart short kicks to give the Roosters their first lead, and it was game over when Roberts reached out to score, despite the fullback shaking his head in apparent disappointment at dropping the ball.
He was reprieved by the video referee, but the same couldn’t be said for Bulldogs debutant Arana Taumata whose long ball landed in the waiting arms of Setaimata Sa for a runaway intercept try.
A tentative start from both sides gave little indication as to the imminent explosion of brilliance with Sonny Bill Williams marking his return from a month-long injury layoff with a sublime out the back flick for Hazem El Masri’s 11th minute opener.
It was a rare piece of skill over the opening half hour, with the Bulldogs’ lack of confidence showing through in their footy up against a Roosters side patched up with lower graders.
As happens when you lose three in a row, you find a way to make an error, and boy did the Bulldogs put on a smorgasbord of errors.
Taumata’s first touch resulted in the ball travelling 30 metres backwards, as a kicked skewed off the side of his boot.
Then Ben Roberts knocked on at the scrum to hand over possession before a mix-up between Nick Youngquest and Heka Nanai as they looked to defuse a bomb was only saved from finishing in a try by a Iosia Soliola knock-on off his shoulder.
The Roosters made plenty of breaks, but couldn’t finish them off, like when Sa powered for the line on the half hour.
Sa lost the ball a metre out, Youngquest picking up the loose ball and taking off downfield.
He linked up with Taumata on the 60 metre line, the 19-year-old making up for his earlier blunder as he outsprinted Roberts to punctuate a memorable debut.
SYDNEY ROOSTERS 24 (B Grose S Kenny-Dowall S Perrett A Roberts S Sa tries A Roberts 2 goals)
BULLDOGS 14 (H El Masri A Taumata T Winitana tries H El Masri goal)
Crowd: 9,271.
Broncos and Panthers fight out NRL draw
June 28, 2008
Brisbane coach Wayne Bennett felt his side achieved more, even though an equally injury riddled Penrith fought out the NRL’s first draw of 2008 tonight, dead-locked at 12-12 after golden point extra time at CUA Stadium.After an 80-minute arm-wrestle had yielded the sides two tries each, they frantically fought out an extra 10 with 18-year-old Panthers debutant Lachlan Coote having at least three chances to win it with kicks.
Asked if he was entitled to be happier than Panthers counterpart Matt Elliott, Bennett said: “I think so, yeah. I would be in that situation.
“When I realised it was getting out of our reach, I was just happy to realise we could pick up a point and not panic about that.
“But I think in their case they’d be looking for the two at home and certainly with a lot more quality players.”
Both sides went into tonight’s match with nine first-graders on the sidelines due to injury and State of Origin duties.
Elliott was loathe to disagree with the legendary Broncos mentor.
“We probably had a couple of extra opportunities, didn’t we?” he said.
“As I said to the players if I express any dissatisfaction after the effort they put in, feel free to punch me in the head.”
Bennett said the one-point result was a positive because it took for-and-against out of the equation in his side’s run home to the finals.
“It’s better than your for-and-against, it just takes all that type of pressure off and you’re obviously going to be an odd one out now so it will just put you in a good position.”
Coote had the first opportunity to kick his side to victory but missed with a 43m penalty shot in the second minute of extra time, and then a long-range field goal attempt in the fifth.
In the second period of extra time, Brisbane halfback Shane Perry missed with a field goal attempt with three minutes left on the clock and Coote missed again in the final minute.
“I said sorry to the boys,” Coote said.
“I let them down, I couldn’t finish it off. No excuses but I just had nothing in my legs.”
The scores were also locked up at halftime, 6-6, and the Panthers went ahead 8-6 five minutes after the break with a Shane Rodney penalty goal.
But the Broncos took the lead for the first time in the match in the 47th minute when, on the back of a superb charge from David Taylor, Corey Parker beat a poor attempt at tackle from Luke Lewis and crashed over, Michael Ennis’ sideline conversion making it 12-8.
The Panthers looked to have hit back spectacularly in the 64th minute when Coote flew high to grab a Wade Graham bomb and prop Brendan Worth crashed over.
But video referee Phil Cooley ruled Worth had been in front of the kicker and disallowed the try.
A piece of individual brilliance from Michael Jennings, who flashed down the left touchline and beat four defenders, had the scores locked again, at 12-12, with seven minutes left.
Coote also had a regular time chance to make it 14-12 but his conversion attempt from wide out to the left missed.
“Although we didn’t get the two points, to walk into the shed and look your mate in the eye and just know everyone’s had a real big dig for each other … it’s pretty satisfying,” Broncos skipper Parker said.
Souths snatch victory over Titans 24-23
June 23, 2008
Souths have managed a huge upset tonight at ANZ Stadium, beating an injury ravaged Titans side 24-23 in a close and entertaining affair. The Bunnies looked likely for the majority of the match, but simple errors and the constant menace of enterprising Titans attack ensured a close contest throughout.
By sticking with Chris Sandow at half-back, the Bunnies were able to ensure they had cohesion for once; the results were there for all to see. While Souths were impressive in the forwards, it was hooker Issac Luke who again stole the show. The robust rake scoring the first two tries, bustling over from dummy half and proving a handful all night for his opposite Nathan Friend.
While rushing final tackle plays at times, Souths look a whole lot sharper with the ball in hand and are certainly threatening the line much more than earlier in the 2008 NRL season.
The Titans had a night they would probably want to forget. Their discipline was erratic for most of the night and as they lost several key players to injury; their depleted bench was always going to prove an endurance problem. The Gold Coast were forced to play the final 15 minutes with only 13 fit players, the likes of Luke Bailey, Daniel Conn and Preston Campbell all sidelined with injuries.
The Gold Coast remained in the contest with the good kicking of Mat Rogers and the creativity of Scott Prince. Queensland half Prince scoring a nice solo try under the posts in the 2nd half, with plenty of attention from Souths defenders, the wiley no.7 was somehow able to skip through the tacklers to get his team ahead.
The Titans were trying desperately to slow the ruck down, the tactics costing them a 9-3 lopsided penalty count which could have been much worse had referee Steve Lyons pinged them for more infringements that went unnoticed. The game wasn’t with controversy, the referee and officials missing up to 3 blatant lost balls in tackles; allowing the game to play on. The NRL also much intervene to stop the growing incidents of ‘milking’ in the game at present, Titans pivot Mat Rogers pulling off an Italian Soccer special early in the match to somehow get his team a 5th tackle penalty with a Souths player not laying a hand on him.
To compound the errors from the officials, video referee Russell Smith came up with another pearler on a held up decision. With Anthony Laffranchi crashing over the Souths line, as 3 defenders tried to hold him up - on-field referee Steve Lyons referred the decision to Smith in the video box. With evidence totally inconclusive, the only viable results were; Ref’s Call, Benefit of the Doubt or the outside bet of No Try. Amazingly Russell Smith came up with none of these and simply threw up the green light - to the dismay of both Souths and Titans players. Video referee results are no truly a lottery, with players, fans and commentators having no idea what the outcome will be.
The final stages had the crowd on their feet as the Bunnies scored with 8 minutes remaining, locking the scores up and setting the scene for golden point at 22 points all.
All the momentum was with Souths; but somehow the wounded Titans made massive metres down field and Scott Prince was able to snap a field goal from 30m without any pressure from Bunnies defenders. The attempt seemed to catch everyone off guard and suddenly the South Sydney side was trailing again 23-22.
With minutes to go, Souths used their thrust in the forwards to roll down field and get within range. Their quick play the balls allowing them to grab quality metres and after a John Sutton bust they had the Titans at sixes and sevens. With a try on offer, Gold Coast defender Jordan Aitkens took the chance to slow the Sutton play the ball and simply held on too long. Referee Lyons having no other option but to award a penalty to Souths from 30m out and to the left of the posts; hooker Issac Luke stepping up and calmly potting the 2 pointer to give his side the advantage.
Souths moving to 10 competition points and leaving the Cowboys all alone at the foot of the ladder. The loss really hurts the Titans and leaves them slightly adrift from the lead pack on the NRL ladder. Gold Coast meet the in-form Dragons in what is shaping as a quality contest next weekend.
Roosters hold out plucky Knights 16-14
June 22, 2008
With a stiff Newcastle breeze at their backs, the Roosters managed to pip the Knights 16-14 in a close round 15 NRL battle at EnergyAustralia Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
It came down to the wire as Wes Naqaima looked to touch down a high ball on the full-time siren which would have handed the Knights the win.
But video referee Tim Mander ruled against the home side, judging a Roosters defender had arrived first to ground the ball safely in the in-goal.
It was an error-riddled second half but both teams fought hard, struggling to gain ground in a neck-and-neck contest that could have gone either way until the final minute.
The Roosters were denied a try in the opening minutes but Shaun Kenny-Dowall changed the visitors’ fortunes in the next set of six, barely staying in the field of play to ground a Braith Anasta bomb.
Later Kenny-Dowall grabbed a dream bounce from another high ball to turn the lead to the Roosters’ favour for the second time of the afternoon.
But it was not all deficit-creating tries for the Sydney winger - Kenny-Dowall made several unforced handling errors which hampered the Roosters’ go-forward.
Kurt Gidley was clinical with the boot for the home team, booting two conversions and a penalty goal, and Cory Paterson and Danny Buderus finished with a try each, both of which turned the game to the Knights’ favour.
- Roosters: 16 (S Kenny-Dowall 2, D Shillington tries; C Fitzgibbon 2 conversions)
- Knights: 14 (C Paterson, D Buderis tries; K Gidley 2 conversions, penalty goal)