NRL Round 17 Rewind

By Stephen Gallagher

Bulldogs 24 Roosters 20

A fast start from the Roosters was an ominous sign for the Doggies, who looked lacklustre and shocked.

But they kept competing, and eventually drew level with some slick backline moves of their own.

A 12-all scoreline would have impressed Roosters coach Trent Robinson, but their second half showing let them down.

Top many missed tackles helped the Bulldogs breakout of their own half an capitialise – and the Morris twins in their first match together in a long time was a sight to see.

Bondi based Roosters now only have one win from their last six matches, and the Bulldogs now sit in the top four.

Storm 48 Broncos 6

This was not the result I saw coming at all.
The Storm were ruthless and the Broncos were gutless. Hard to think this Brisbane side will cause any stir in the playoffs if their form continues to be poor.

Melbourne just make rugby league look easy. A plethora of talent and depth means every player that puts the purple on does a stellar job.

They’ve now put a warning shot out to the rest of the NRL.

Brisbane need to regroup and refocus.

Warriors 27 Titans 18

The first 20 minutes threw up some pretty random football.

A length of the field try to each team and some very bizarre and poor options.

The game evened out but it was the Titans who looked the better of the two at half time with the scores locked.

The Warriors made it four-in-a-row at Mount Smart with a second half performance that wasn’t flashy, but when the game was even their big players made great plays.

The Titans did themselves no favours with some errors but Cameron Cullen standing in for Ash Taylor was a highlight.

Tigers 34 Panthers 26

Gunning for a hattrick of wins, the Panthers had the better of the starts with a 14-2 lead bang on 20 minutes.

That was it though, for the next 50 minutes it was a West Tigers masterclass led by none other than James Tedesco.

The Black and Orange were commanding. They got the upper hand and flexed. It seemed like the Panthers could only watch.

One of the best Tigers wins this season. They clocked off as Penrith scored two late ones, but not enough to stop a Tigers win.

Sharks 34 Eels 24

A fast-footed French streaked away to help Parramatta lead 18-0 after 22 minutes.
As quickly as they strung up those points the Sharks put some on themselves.

Parramatta lead at half time, just.

A few errors from Parramatta let the Sharks back in to the match and further in to the lead. So much so, that they were never going to be run down.

12 in a row and the Sharks are looking deadly. Who will beat them?

Raiders 29 Knights 25

Rugby league throws up a crazy match here.

Leading 22-0, Newcastle had silenced the home fans and the Green Machine was not that at all.

Remember earlier this year when these two teams met, it was a draw.

And of course, here come the Raiders.

22-6, 24-12, 24-18, 24-24! It was phenomenal and it seemed Newcastle had no answer! And when Blake Austin slotted a field goal with about 50 seconds on the clock Ricky Stuart was rumored to have done three backflips.

Buuuuuut, the Knights get it back from a short kick-off. But surely they can’t? Can they? Boom. 25-25 all. Golden Point here we come.

Now the script unwinds as follows. Piss poor field goal attempt after piss poor field goal attempt. But luckily for Canberra, Jordan Rapana chases one – the bounce is wicked and he swoops between two Knights defenders and wins it with a try.

Rugby league, you beauty.

Cowboys 20 Rabbitohs 0

From the kick off, the Rabbitohs were under the pump.

The Cowboys tied up Souths and never let them in to their half. It was an outstanding effort with ball in hand that set these two sides apart.

The Rabbitohs had no offerings up front and their attack was lacklustre.

North Queensland asserted their dominance even more with setting up repeat sets for 80 minutes, and some well constructed tries.

Sea Eagles 36 Dragons 6

The Dragons went back to their early season attacking woes where they were incapable of scoring points.

A first half Manly blitz was more than enough to secure the win as the scoreline read 22-0.

Tom Trbojevic was electric at fullback, providing more ammunition for Brett Stewart to retire.

The Red V were lucky to even get on the board, Manly boarded up their goal line with some great defence.

Manly looked happy to be at home, and could use this match as a spring board for the rest of their season.

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