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NZ Warriors win, ensuring Top 8

The NZ Warriors have booked themselves a spot in the NRL Top 8 for 2008, firing at Parramatta Stadium to break a long running hoodoo of losses since 1995. The Warriors running out easy winners over the home side 28-6.

Making the win even sweeter for the Warriors, the fact that big winger Manu Vatuvei buried his demons from Parramatta Stadium from last year - getting himself 3 tries early on to setup the big away with for the New Zealand side.

The big mobile winger getting 2 tries in the first half and getting the Warriors off to an ideal 2nd half start with an early try to make it a triple for himself.Not only was their poor showing on the field a concern for the Eels, off the field they couldn’t get a fan through the gate. A crowd of just on 5,000 turning up in what must be severe danger signs for club officials as they plan for 2009.

Joining in the party for the NZ Warriors side, outside back Brent Tate having a good showing and getting himself a double and former Eel Michael Witt playing strong and proving successful with the boot.

For the struggling Eels, Kris Keating touched down for a solitary try in the first term and Luke Burt potted the conversion.

The Warriors are now guaranteed a spot in next weeks finals series, earning themselves the right by finishing on 30 NRL competition points, edging out the inconsolable Newcastle side who hiccuped against the Brisbane Broncos last night,

The Warriors should now finish in 7th or 8th spot, the final spot will be confirmed once the Canberra and Bulldogs clash completes tomorrow; with the Knights now only the absolute slightest mathematical possibility of sneaking into the Top 8.

Parramatta, who have been inconsistent for most of 2008 are more than likely to end the disappointing year in 10th spot on the NRL Ladder.

It was always going to be the NZ Warriors’ night after the unpredictable Manu Vatuvei barged his way over out the try line on the fringes after only 3 minutes, following Lance Hohaia towering bomb that was tapped back by the Warriors, allowing utility Nathan Fien to fire a quality cut-out ball to the rampaging flanker.

The Warriors jumping to 8-0 with a 13th minute Witt penalty goal.

The Eels showed a glimmer of hope in the 31st minute after the speedy Luke Burt got some space on the left flank before a nice in-field kick setup no.7 Keating to score; the Eels rookie getting a good bounce and bringing the home side within 2 points.

The massive Vatuvei was at it again soon after, this time getting over the line just before the half time break. It was another superb passing display with Michael Witt sent cutting out several of his own runners and finding the NZ winger to get him team out to a 14-6 lead as the teams broke for oranges.

The winger getting a triple for his work after only 8 minutes of the second term when he was the final man on a nice Warriors sweeping attack play.

Brent Tate gave his team even more confidence heading into next weeks finals, with scores in the 60th and 75th minutes, and all that was left for the crowd to enjoy was a bit of push and shove from Eels hooker Matthew Keating on former team mate Michael Witt which got heated.
The Warriors have now been victorious in 8 of their last 10 games to qualify for the NRL finals, their runaway win tonight at Parramatta the first since 1995.

Manly’s minor premiership hopes alive

Manly’s minor premiership hopes are still well and truly alive after a 34 - 16 win over the Penrith Panthers today.  A somewhat unconvincing win for the Eagles means Melbourne still have a chance to reclaim the minor premiership.

Leading 18-6 midway through the first half, the Eagles were in control of the match and looked set to come away with a big win.  However, the Panthers, despite knowing their season was all but over, remained in contention for most of the match.

Based on the result, the Storm now need to beat South Sydney by more than 26 points tomorrow night to climb their way back into 1st position on the ladder which would mean back-to-back minor premierships for the Club.

Playing in wet and slippery conditions, Steve Menzies, Steve Bell and the Stewart brothers, Brett and Glenn, found their way over the line for 4 pointers while David Williams scored a double.

Playing without Luke Lewis, the Panthers put on 3 tries through Tony Puletua, Paul Aiton and Nathan Smith.   While going down at full time, the Panthers put in a gutsy performance with just over 6000 fans.

Panthers were first to cross the line, scoring in the 7th minute when Puletua, playing his last NRL match, barged through a missed tackle by Menzies.

Menzies righted his wrong only 3 minutes later, when he scored out wide.  Manly then commanded the lead after 14 minutes when Bell made a break sending Williams over the try line.

Bagging a double, Williams crossed again in the 25th minute, intercepting a terrible pass from Nathan Smith.  Panthers dug deep and kept themselves in the game when hooker Aiton made a dummy half run and dived over the line bringing the score back to 18-12 at half time.

Smith bought the Panthers back within two 2 points after halftime when Rooney batted back a Jarrod Sammut kick, but they failed to even the scores as Michael Gordon’s conversion hit the upright.

Storming his way over the line in the 54th minute, Glenn Stewart gave the Sea Eagles a breath of fresh air while his brother Brett all but sealed the win with a try and only 12 minutes remaining on the clock.

In the last 3 minutes, Panthers dropped their defence and saw Bell almost walk his way through to the line scoring what could be seen as a crucial try in the minor premiership race.

With Panthers season now over, we see Tony Puletua heading to St Helens, Luke Priddis moving to St George Illawarra, Rhys Wesser heading to Souths and Luke Rooney on his way to visit Sonny Bill at Toulon.   A win for the Panthers tonight, however, would have offered some much needed encouragement to coach Matthew Elliott, who has been subject to intense speculation that he is possibly going to be sacked by the club.

Sharks end regular season well

The Cronulla Sharks have ended the NRL regular season for 2008 on a good note, dispatching the plucky North Queensland Cowboys in horrid conditions at Toyota Park. The Sharks leading comfortably by 20 points, before the Cowboys ran in 3 tries in the final 10 minutes for a final score of 28-22

For the Sharks, it was rangy winger Luke Covell who chipped, stabbed and kicked conversions brilliantly to give the Sharks an attacking edge and get them away to a comfortable lead.

The unfashionable Sharks winger made 3 unique plays to create touchdowns for Brett Kearney, Brett Seymour and Terence Seu Seu allowing the Cronulla side plenty of breathing space early.

Covell was deadly accurate as he kicked cross-field to a flying Kearney in the 24th minute for Cronulla’s 2nd touchdown of the night - a much needed dash of attacking flare for the usually defensively oriented Sharks side.

Just minutes after the break, Covell was in the action again - this time keeping the football alive with his foot as he fell over the sideline, allowing the ball to flash into the in-goal for Brett Seymour to make the most of it and score, getting the Cronulla side out in front to the tune of 22-4.

Covell shone yet again, this time with more footwork - chipping from the touchline inside the final 20 minutes for former Newcastle rake Terrence Seu Seu to get a 4-pointer and ensure Cronulla would not be beaten on the night.

The struggling Cowboys however, did manage to lay on 3 late tries to prop Shane Tronc (71st), Matthew Scott (73rd) and Ty Williams (77th) to give themselves something to smile about in what has been a horror season for the previously high flying Northern club.

For the Sharks Luke Covell also capped off a top night, booting 4 goals from 5 - to give him what seems like the honours for leading point scorer in the NRL. His good form also helping the winger boost chances of extending terms with Ricky Stuart and the Sharks club.

Cronulla currently sit in 2nd place on the NRL ladder, their final finishing position only confirmed once Melbourne face South Sydney tomorrow night,

For the North Queensland Cowboys, they have a more concerning wait - possibly copping the NRL wooden spoon if the Bulldogs pull off a major turnaround against the usually strong Raiders in Canberra.

The Cowboys while finally ending a tragic year all-round, did manage to start tonights game with some potential. The visitors getting away to solid start through Ashley Graham and his touchdown inside 5 minutes.

But the Sharks showed they can be an attacking threat when they want to be with 3 tries in in a 10 minute period of the first hard - to Ben Ross (20th minute), Kearney (24th) and Kade Snowden (28th) - and take an 18-4 lead into the break.

The other positive news for the Cronulla club is their continued confidence and form, without prominent pivot Greg Bird. The Sharks will fancy their chances in the NRL Top 8, certainly considering they are likely to get a 2nd bite at the cherry after facing potentially the Dragons or Raiders in their first week.

Roosters lock-in 4th spot

The Sydney Roosters have locked themselves firmly into 4th position on the competition ladder after a 10-0 win over St George Illawarra.

Willie Mason, one of the Roosters’ key players will, however, sit out the remainder of the season after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in the first 10 minutes of the game.

Mason who has represented both NSW and Australia requires a full knee reconstruction. Not only is Mason’s injury a huge loss to the Roosters premiership hopes, it is also a huge loss for the Australian side as he will also miss Australia’s World Cup campaign.

Scoring a try in his first game back after being sidelined for almost 3 months, Anthony Minichiello gave the Roosters something to smile about. Minichiello, somewhat a hero, was making his third comeback after suffering potential career-ending spinal injuries.

Adding plenty of spark to the Roosters, Minichiello scored the first try in the 45th minute coming off a Braith Anasta grubber.

Anasta, the Roosters new skipper added points to the board with a try in the 59th minute after taking advantage of a fumble from Dan Hunt.

Losing Mason so early in the match meant the Roosters had to lift their defence but they managed to hold off the Dragons and come away with a gutsy win.

The Roosters’ win tonight secures them 4th position on the ladder and sees them up against 5th placed Brisbane next Friday at the Sydney Football Stadium.

If the Dragons are to hold on to 6th position, they are going to have to pray for a miracle win of the Dogs over Raiders as a win of 17 points or more for the Raiders will see them overtake St George on the competition ladder.

The Dragon’s loss could have come at an expense with forward Ben Creagh suffering concussion in the first half after being pole-axed off the ball by Setaimata Sa. Motionless for a few minutes, Creagh left the field and never returned.

The Roosters will also await the outcome of Mark O’Meley’s case in front of the judiciary as he was put on report for a high tackle on Jason Ryles shortly after Mason was leaving the field.

While Mason said he wasn’t going to dwell on his injury, Minichiello admitted he was relieved to survive his first match in almost 3 months without injury.

“It was a massive relief, the game out there was pretty brutal tonight and I came through pretty good,” Minichiello said.

Nathan Brown admitted that his team weren’t playing smart football and the match fitness was nothing when compared to that of the Rosoters.

“They definitely played smarter than us,” Brown said. He also stated that the Roosters were more aggressive than his team and he believed it was the first match in some time that the opposition was more physical.

Broncos make Knights life tougher

Far from convincing, Brisbane pulled off a 24-2 win over Newcastle tonight delivering their foundation coach Wayne Bennett a farewell at Suncorp Stadium to remember.

The win tonight helped Bennett end his 21-year club association with the old Lang Park on a good note.

The 37,552 crowd together with a big screen tribute showcased people’s appreciation of Bennett’s contribution to not only the Broncos Club, but the game of NRL.

Not surprisingly, during his speech, Bennett turned the thanks around to the crowd. He admitted not being too big on accolades and in turn gave all accolades to the fans.

Humble Bennett told the crowd how he and his team have played for them. In the earlier years with Wally Lewis and followed on by Kev Walters and the great Allan Langer. Bennett confessed the game was always about the fans.

Playing his 100th game, tonight was also an important night for Karmichael Hunt. At only 21, Hunt became the youngest player to reach such a milestone.

Hunt put Broncos on the board in the 43rd minute with referee Tim Mander awarding their first try. Then the play maker put on a spectical that saw Ben Hannant cross the line in the 61st minute putting Brisbane 8 points ahead of the Knights at 10-2 .

Steve Simpson spent 10 minutes in the bin for a professional foul after holding Hunt down. The penalty gave Hannant his second try of the night as he bulldozed over the try line taking the score to 16-2.

With the possibility of Brisbane hosting a home final, tonight was also an emotional night for Bronco’s forward Tonie Carroll as he made his official farewell appearance.

The win tonight leaves Brisbane in 5th position on the competition ladder. They now face the Roosters who are placed 4th after beating the Dragons.

Newcastle’s hopes now lie with Parramatta. They need the Eels to beat the Warriors preventing the team from across the Tasman from stealing their top 8 position.

After a last minute try from Joel Moon, Carroll was given an opportunity to kick the first goal of his career. With his team behind his cheering him on, he hooked it and missed out on the 2 extra points.

Bennett finished by giving thanks to the 140+ players he had coached at the Club. “Think of all the wonderful players in 21 years who made my job easier,” said Bennett, being true to his word and not showing any emotion.

“I’ve been proud to be part of their lives and the fans should be proud of them.

“I hope you enjoyed the Broncos tonight.”

Eagles angry win could cost them

While it was the farewell night at Brookvale for Manly’s favourite son Steve Menzies, the Sea Eagles final 20 minutes of frustration could cost them in the suspension department with several high tackles sure to come under investigation after they beat a gutsy Titans side 28-10 in front of a packed house at Brooky.

The Titans fought tooth and nail, despite rarely threatening the scorers, the visitors made Manly work hard for whole match, despite the relatively comfortable scoreline.

Des Hasler would be the first to admit everything went the Sea Eagles way tonight, with two tries coming off freakish plays - one involving a kick riccochet and another off a massive falcon from Titan Scott Prince.

Regardless, no one would spoil the night of Steve Menzies, and the locals chanted all night ensuring they sent the club stalwart out in style from the opening whistle, with bone-jarring hits from Josh Perry and Steve Matai in the first set of the game.

Manly forward Glen Hall carried several Titans defenders over the line in just the third minute, but a video referee adjudication wasn’t needed, after Jason Robinson ruled Anthony Watmough had obstructed a Gold Coast defender in the lead up.

A Titans knock-on, followed by a flop penalty provided the Sea Eagles with some sustained possession in the 10th minute, and the visitors cracked.

Anthony Watmough attacked the Gold Coast line with tenacity, before offloading in traffic to Hall, who placed his membership in the front rower’s union in sever jeopardy by powering over for his third try in the last two weeks.

Matt Orford added the extras from adjacent to the posts to extend the Sea Eagles advantage to six.

Titans fullback Esi Tonga ran into trouble in his starting debut with a dangerous tackle on Steven Bell, in a match that featured a number of spine-tingling hits, mostly on Gold Coast players.

A bell-ringer from the world’s biggest five-eighth Watmough (he was named at six to allow Menzies to wear his favoured number eleven jumper) on James Stosic gave Manly more attacking ball, and a sweeping second-man play provided Matai with Manly’s second four-pointer in the 22nd minute.

Brett Stewart was denied his 18th try of the season in the 34th minute when David Williams was ruled to have knocked on an Orford kick in the lead up, and the Titans hit back with a 37th minute try to Gavin Cooper against the run of play, to cut the halftime deficit to four.

A remarkable piece of luck resulted in Stewart crossing in the 47th minute. when a last tackle kick from Orford cannoned off Scott Prince’s head and back to Watmough, who surged towards the line before linking with Stewart who crossed for his 47th try in 51 matches at Brookvale.

Watmough then came up with yet another bone-crunching hit, this time on Ben Jeffrey, who knocked on to place the Titans under more sustained pressure.

Matai crossed out wide for his second try following a sweet short ball from Menzies in the 56th minute, with Orford nailing the sideline conversion to give the Sea Eagles their biggest lead of the night at 22-6.

The home side made it two tries in three minutes, again courtesy of a hefty slice of luck.

An Orford grubber took a defection off Titans forward Daniel Conn that wrong-footed fullback Ben Jeffrey, presenting Brent Kite with the Sea Eagles fifth try under the posts.

The Titans crossed for a consolation to winger Jordan Atkins in the 73rd minute to round out the scoring.

Titans coach John Cartwright paid tribute to the fighting qualities of his injury ravaged side, and thought his side was particularly unlucky not to get much closer in the end.

“I though my blokes went out there against probably the minor premiers, and gave as good as they got.

“It killed us those two tries in the second half…there’s not much you can do about ricochets and the bounce of the ball.

“They got 12 in front, and they did what good sides do.”

“Defensively I though Manly were the best we’ve come up against tonight, we haven’t really struggled to score points all year…tonight they just choked us.

Manly mentor Des Halser was also pleased with his side’s application, particularly on the defensive end.

“We certainly did plenty of defense, it was a real grind and we showed plenty of resolve there.

“We’ve got to keep winning, it’s about finishing one-two for us.”

Both coaches were effusive in their praise of the UK-bound Menzies.

“He’s got to go down as one of the all time greats, to consistently play at the level he does.

“Fifteen years at the top level, you won’t see a lot of players do that in the future,” said Cartwright.

According to Hasler: “Its all been said, it was a great tribute for him tonight…and to now have a stand named in his honour, it’s just a tremendous accolade for both him an Bob Fulton.”

The man himself was disappointed he couldn’t get over the line in his final premiership game in front of a bumper crowd.

“I think I was sniffing around for a try for most of that second half, even the ground announcer was saying give the ball to me.

“The support with everyone hanging around, when the old legs were walking around the field it was very nice,” said Menzies.

MANLY 28 (S Matai 2 G Hall B Kite B Stewart tries M Orford 4 goals) bt GOLD COAST 10 (J Atkins G Cooper tries S Prince goal) at Brookvale Oval. Referee: J Robinson. Crowd: 14,755.

NZ Warriors too good for Panthers

The New Zealand Warriors remain in the hunt for the NRL Top 8 but superstar custodian Wade McKinnon could be in hot water for remaining games after being accused of spitting at a touch judge.

The Warriors accounted for Penrith 42-20 on the back of a five tries to one first-half blitz, with burly winger Manu Vatuvei grabbing a double in the space of three minutes.

But the Warriors will be sweating on McKinnon, who was seen remonstrating with the sideline official after Penrith winger Luke Rooney was awarded a second-half four-pointer off a blatant Rhys Wesser forward pass.

The touch judge then claimed that McKinnon had spat at him and the Warriors custodian was duly booked for a second time by referee Ben Cummins.

He was already on report for showing dissent towards Cummins earlier in the match.

The incidents tarnished another fine performance from McKinnon, who forced his way over for a first half try four weeks into his comeback from a serious knee injury.

They also detracted from an exciting all-round display from the Warriors, who were simply too big and too strong for the mountain men.

The Warriors sit just outside the top eight on points differential and need to beat the Eels in Parramatta next weekend and see either Newcastle or Canberra go down to taste finals action.

Warriors skipper Steve Price acknowledged it was a must-win game if his side was to have any chance of making the finals.

“We desperately needed them (the two points), it was quite obvious especially after Newcastle winning (against Melbourne) last night,” he told ABC Grandstand.

“We can’t control that, all we can control is what we do. We didn’t start as well as we wanted to but geez we came back well.

“We had a little bit of last week’s jitters, ran over the sideline and gave away some penalties.

“But then we just got back to the basics … as soon as we got that we got some ball back, started to build some pressure and got some tries.”

Nervous wait

Price said McKinnon was frustrated with some refereeing decisions that went against the home side, but hoped he would be free to play against the Eels.

“Wade was disappointed with a couple of decisions and he spoke to the referee and he felt it wasn’t the right way,” Price said.

“Wade has just got to get back to what’s been working for him, and hopefully nothing will come out of it and he’ll be right for next week.”

The Panthers crossed within five minutes via Rooney but were then swamped by a Warriors onslaught which netted five tries in 14 minutes.

The New Zealand side went into the sheds leading 30-6 and an annihilation looked on the cards before the Panthers stopped the rot with some early four-pointers in the second stanza.

Normal service resumed however when Jerome Ropati crossed unattended out wide and then hooker Ian Henderson capped a fine individual performance by busting his way through some pathetic Panthers defence.

Rooney completed his hat-trick for the Panthers late on.

Any flickering hope the Panthers had of playing finals has well and truly been snuffed out and they suffered the further indignity of losing hooker Luke Priddis to what looked to be a serious shoulder injury late in the match.

Warriors 42 (M Vatuvei 2, M Luck, W McKinnon, M Witt, J Ropati, I Henderson tries; M Witt 7 conversions)

Panthers 14 (L Rooney 3, M Gordon tries; M Gordon 2 conversions)

Broncos give Lockyer a victory

The Broncos have outclassed the Bulldogs today 36-22 to ensure Darren Lockyer’s 300th game for the club was a memorable one, the victory giving veteran Lockyer something to smile about, as the Broncos at times struggled to put the plucky Canterbury side away.

Lockyer, who made his debut way back in 1995, set up three of the Broncos’ six tries as they reclaimed fifth spot on the competition ladder from the Dragons and put themselves in the box seat to claim a home final should the Roosters slip up next weekend.

Lockyer copped a nasty knock to his wrist early in the game but recovered to lead the visitors to an 18-12 half-time lead after falling behind 12-0 early to the cellar-dwelling Bulldogs in driving rain.

He said while it was pleasing to get the win in his milestone game, the Broncos would have to lift their intensity for the finals.

“It’s been a wonderful journey and it’s good to get the two points today so it makes it a little bit better,” Lockyer told ABC Grandstand.

“We’re probably not happy with the way we played, the (wet) conditions didn’t help, but at the same time we can’t really start big games in that fashion because it’s going to be too hard to dig ourselves out of those holes.

“We’ve been a bit scratchy the last couple of weeks, it’s just a matter of putting it together.

“I think not having Mick Ennis there today didn’t help, our combination around the ruck suffered early, we just didn’t gel real well.

“In the end we got the two points but our defence just needs to be a bit better too.”

The win held extra significance for the Broncos as it marked Wayne Bennett’s 350th NRL win as he prepares to depart the club he has coached since its inception in 1988.

While it was good news for the Broncos, it was a poor send-off for two Bulldogs veterans - coach Steve Folkes and hooker Corey Hughes - who were involved in their last home game for the club after years of service.

The match was played in front of a sparse crowd, and Lockyer admitted the lack of atmosphere was not conducive to a good performance.

“It’s not a great ground for rugby league, obviously there’s reasons why we play here but I think it should be reserved for the big ones,” he said.

“It does lack a bit of atmosphere and I just think the fans probably come here and go home wondering what could be better.”

After watching the Bulldogs cross for the first two tries, including an intercept to Heka Nanai against the run of play, the visitors finally snapped into action with three tries in the space of 15 minutes in the opening stanza.

A brilliant ball from Lockyer to Justin Hodges in the 31st minute put the loping centre on the outside of his opposite man Tim Winitana, and the Broncos soon went ahead with David Stagg’s try five minutes from the break.

Hodges secured a double just three minutes into the second half when he ran around Bulldogs skipper Andrew Ryan on the right edge, and despite some late consolation tries the Bulldogs never really threatened.

Sam Thaiday also crossed for a brace for the Broncos but could be in trouble after being put on report for a lifting tackle late in the game.

Brisbane 36 (S Thaiday 2, J Hodges 2, D Stagg, J Moon tries; C Parker 6 conversions)

Canterbury 22 (H Nanai 2, C Hughes, J Hickey tries; H El Masri 3 conversions)

Cowboys fight outta spoon land

North Queensland killed off Canberra’s chances of a top four NRL finish with a 22-10 win in Townsville tonight.

With injuries decimating their line up, Canberra were always going to be up against it facing a Cowboys side inspired by the chance to offload the wooden spoon with a victory in their last home game of a forgettable 2008 campaign.

Canberra were further weakened when lock-cum-halfback Alan Tongue was forced to take over the kicking game with star pivot Terry Campese nursing a hamstring injury.

But handling errors and a lack of defensive muscle were the visitors’ main problem.

Incoming North Queensland coach Neil Henry would have been impressed with what he has to work with next year but his immediate concern will be re-energising the green machine’s playoff hopes, the loss tonight ending their chance of earning a home final.

The Raiders can still miss the eight but would have to lose to the lowly Bulldogs in Canberra next week in the last round of the home and away season.

Aaron Payne was the Cowboys’ best, the Townsville junior turning in one of his best performances of the year, having a hand in two first half tries while constantly probing Canberra’s ruck defence.

The Cowboys stunned the high flying Raiders early with three first half tries to Johnathan Thurston (9th minute), Travis Burns (27th) and Ben Harris (32nd) for a 16-0 halftime lead.

North Queensland continued the assault shortly after the half when Carl Webb crashed over carrying four defenders, before Canberra finally crossed in the 60th minute when Adrian Purtell latched onto a Glen Butriss bomb to reduce the deficit to 16.

The Cowboys enjoyed the majority of the possession and field position in the second half but Canberra continued to reduce the margin when winger Brett Kelly crossed in the 71st minute.

Cowboys coach Ian Millward credited his side’s defence as the catalyst behind the 22-10 victory.

“Defensively we were very good, we were strong, contact was great, we got forward pretty well,” Millward said.

“The try they got from the kick probably highlights the only way they were going to score tonight.

“Probably the score line was flattering to them.

“We created a lot of opportunities in the second half but it was probably the final pass that went astray.”

Henry was left to lament his side’s inability to control the ball.

“It was pretty messy. I’m disappointed with our lack of control of the ball but full credit to the Cowboys,” he said.

“They played a bit of footy. They were offloading the ball and the bounce went with them.

“We had to defend a lot. I think they had 60 per cent of the possession for most of the game and we didn’t utilise ours too well.

Henry said Campese entered the game with a slight hamstring strain but denied it would prevent the five-eighth from taking on the Bulldogs next week.

“He had a tight hamstring from last week’s game,” Henry said.

“We have got an eight-day turnaround so we will work overtime on a couple of players to get them up for our last game.”

NORTH QUEENSLAND 22 (T Burns B Harris J Thurston C Webb tries J Williams 3 goals) bt CANBERRA 10 (B Kelly A Purtell tries J Monaghan goal) at Dairy Farmers Stadium. Referee: M Cecchin. Crowd: 14,981.

Dragons hammer sorry Eels

St George Illawarra showed it will be a force to be reckoned with come finals time, dismantling finals aspirants Parramatta 40-14 in Saturday night’s round 25 NRL match-up at Sydney’s Olympic stadium.

The Dragons ended the Eels’ three-match winning streak and dealt their finals hopes a huge blow in the blow-out result, which was highlighted by a hat-trick to former Broncos and Wallabies star Wendell Sailor.

The win assures the Dragons a spot in the top eight and moves them ahead of Brisbane into fifth place, but the Broncos can reclaim their position with a win over the Bulldogs on Sunday.

In tonight’s other fixture, North Queensland notched consecutive wins at home with an upset 22-10 result over an injury-hit Canberra side in Townsville.

The Cowboys snapped the Raiders’ three-game winning streak with a four-tries-to-two display spearheaded by Johnathan Thurston and hooker Aaron Payne.

Thurston scored a try and made another while Payne tore Canberra up down the middle of the ruck as the home side raced to a 16-0 half-time lead that was rarely threatened in the second half.

The loss leaves the Raiders vulnerable in a tie for seventh with one round remaining and a host of teams in with a shot of making the eight.

St George Illawarra started the match with a bang, racing to an 18-0 lead after just 20 minutes courtesy of tries to Dan Hunt, Ben Creagh and Mark Gasnier.

Sailor’s first try three minutes before the break handed the Dragons a 24-0 lead at half-time, and Nathan Brown’s men went on with the job in the second half despite letting in soft tries with the result sewn up.

Brown it was a strong performance in the lead-up to the semi-finals.

“We came here obviously pretty confident if we played some good hard tough footy and we ran the ball in the right spots we could create some chances - and to the guys credit we put a couple of reasonable halves together,” he said.

Hunt and Creagh had huge games for the Dragons with 16 hit-ups each to go with 13 and eight tackles respectively.

The loss leaves Parramatta on the outside looking in to the top eight, and needing a win against the Warriors and results to fall its way next weekend to have any hopes of making the finals.

The Dragons play in a mouth-watering clash against the Roosters next weekend, with the boys from Bondi needing a win to secure fourth spot, while a Dragons victory could see them get a home final.

Dragons 40 (W Sailor 3, D Hunt, B Creagh, M Gasnier, M Cooper, J Morris tries; M Gasnier 4 conversions)

Eels 14 (L Burt 2, F Mateo tries; L Burt conversion)

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