Seven rounds in, and the table is beginning to take shape. The contenders are flexing their muscle, the pretenders are struggling to string together wins, and the middle of the table continues to be unpredictable. With the Origin 'trials' fast approaching, everyone is staking their claims for a rep jersey.
PREMIER LEAGUE
'Hood' Winked
For seventy eight minutes it looked like the struggling Adelaide Attitude were on track for a big upset win over the giant killing Manly Cannons, but the unlikely last tackle option of Dallas Hood saved Manly from an embarrassing loss. With full time minutes away, Hood chipped ahead and Michael Russo collected to score a remarkable try. The conversion sealed a memorable 16-15 win for the Cannons.
Adelaide: Darren Albert, Daniel Herbert, and Paul Deacon. Deacon 1/3. Lowes 1 fg.
Manly: Michael Russo, Aaron Moule, and Stanley Tepend. Rogers 2/3
PoM Points: Petero Civoniceva 3, Dallas Hood 2, and Darren Albert 1.
Luck of the Irish
After the Carnarvon Grizzlies’ woeful beginning to the 2003 season has been the talking point of many league pundits, especially after the club’s big names were rested a fortnight ago. They all returned tonight for the side’s 23-18 come from behind win over Darwin, but it was Irish representative Danny Williams who proved the game-breaker. The utility playing in lock was stinging in defence, and racked up a pair of tries to give Carnarvon its second consecutive win.
Carnarvon: Danny Williams 2, Freddie Banquet, and John Stankevich. Taylor 3/5. Drew 1 fg.
Darwin: Frank Puletua, Bill Rhyven, and Steve Kefu. Singh 3/4
PoM Points: Danny Williams 3, Angel Withers 2, and Kevin Campion 1.
"Who’s next?"
These chilling words were heard from Falcons’ captain, Robbie O’Davis, following the Falcons 20-4 humbling of the North Sydney Newbloods. Missing several stars, North Sydney were rank outsiders, but were outclassed as Central Coast raced away to their seventh consecutive win.
Central Coast: Phillipe Bernat-Salles, Craig Emmerton, and Terry O’Connor. El Masri 4/4
North Sydney: Paul Bowman. Li 0/1
PoM Points: Terry O’Connor 3, Steven Price 2, and Phillipe Bernat-Salles 1.
Back on Track
After a shaky start to their 2003 season, the Parramatta Vikings today made a welcome return to the form that saw them finish in fourth last season. Although the game wasn’t pretty, Parramatta toughed out a 27-18 win over the tenacious South Melbourne Devils on the back of star performances from Tonie Carroll and Jamie Lyon in the backs.
Parramatta: Francis Meli, Tonie Carroll, David Solomona, and Richard Swain. Fitzgibbon 5/8. Marsh 1 fg.
South Melbourne: Karl Lovell, Steve Witt, and Nathan Sykes. O’Neill 3/4
PoM Points: David Solomona 3, Tonie Carroll 2, and Jamie Lyon 1.
Lockyer Brilliance Crushes Christchurch
All hope of promoted side, Christchurch, scoring an upset win over the Perth Taipans were cast aside from the kick-off, when Perth fullback raced the length of the field to score a try after only thirty seconds. The traffic was one way from there, Lockyer snaring a hat-trick and scoring twenty two of his twenty six points in the 26-0 win.
Christchurch: None.
Perth: Darren Lockyer 3 and Glenn Morrison. Lockyer 5/5
PoM Points: Darren Lockyer 3, Cameron Davis 2, and Glenn Morrison 1.
Slater’s Dream Week Continues
After earning man of the match honours on his international debut, Billy Slater has completed a memorable week with another man of the match award in Gold Coast’s solid 24-8 win over local rivals, Surfers Paradise. Slater was elusive throughout, but Gold Coast won’t be celebrating after star five-eighth Jonny Wilkinson was stretchered off the field with a suspected fractured jaw after a high Carlaw tackle.
Gold Coast: Billy Slater, Josh Perry 2, and Scott Sattler. Johns 1/1. Wilkinson 3/4
Surfers Paradise: Dane Carlaw. Hannay 2/2
PoM Points: Billy Slater 3, Josh Perry 2, and Jonny Wilkinson 1.
Caretaker Coach’s Warm Welcome to Premier League
Not many coaches can boast a Premier League win in their debut game, but North Melbourne caretaker coach Grant Johnston had it easy as his Maulers’ raced away to a 32-6 win over the woeful Wollongong Destructors. The Maulers now look more and more like the side that made last year’s finals, and Johnston’s performance has seen the Brisbane board offer him a full time job now that John Williams has returned.
North Melbourne: Marc Barctholomeuss 2, Richard Taylor, Scott Hill, Paul Sculthorpe, and Matt Bickerstaff. Campbell 4/6
Wollongong: Simon Woolford. Orr 1/1
PoM Points: Matt Bickerstaff 3, Preston Campbell 2, and Paul Sculthorpe 1.
Wellington Rule the Roost
Wellington have ended a worrying two game losing streak, storming back from 18-16 down in the second half to register an impressive 36-18 win over their opponents from last year’s Grand Final, the Central Phoenix. The Cougars came out with guns blazing and lead 12-0 after six minutes, before Central scored eighteen points leading into halftime. The scoreline didn’t reflect the competitive nature of the game- a highlight being two end to end sets which both ended in disallowed tries in the seventieth minute. Both sides showed why they are contenders, with Wellington victorious in front of an ecstatic crowd.
Wellington: Clinton Toopi 2, Graham Luana, Willie Talau, and Timana Tahu. Luana 8/8
Central: Scott Donald, Justin Murphy, and George Gregan. Schifcofske 3/3
PoM Points: Clinton Toopi 3, Justin Murphy 2, and Timana Tahu 1.
DIVISION TWO
Coffs Ravage Injured Marlins
An injury ravaged Auckland side, missing several key players after last week’s big win, were humbled today by the Coffs Harbour Wyrms, who are seeking to reclaim their division favouritism after a poor start to the season. The Wyrms were dominant throughout, scoring an important 20-10 victory.
Auckland: Matthew Petersen 2. Detreaux 1/2
Coffs Harbour: Terry Martin 2 and Mohammed Zian Ali. Opan 4/4
PoM Points: Mitchell Sargent 3, Howard Opan 2, and Anthony Minichiello 1.
Kill the Coach! New England Fans Enraged
New England Fans have rioted outside the UNE Union Bistro today, following New England’s 26-14 capitulation to the resurgent Brisbane Bulls. Despite a twelve-point margin, it could have been much worse, with Kevin Sinfield only converting half of his side’s six tries.
New England: Bryan Fletcher and James Harrison. Farrell 3/3
Brisbane: Fifita Moala, Scott Prince, Wayne Bartrim, Sean Ryan, and Kevin Sinfield. Sinfield 3/6
PoM Points: Wayne Bartrim 3, Kevin Sinfield 2, and Sean Ryan 1.
A Metre Short of Victory
A last gasp tackle from John Wilshere has saved Newcastle from an embarrassing loss to the visiting Ipswich Reds. By all logic, Newcastle should’ve won it after they lead 14-0 at halftime, but a determined Reds’ fightback had the game at 16-14 in favour of Newcastle when Hassan Saleh made his eighty metre dash upfield. The tackle sent the big centre into touch, and sealed Newcastle’s third win of the season.
Newcastle: Kevin McGuinness and Gabrielle Yane. Wilshere 4/4
Ipswich: Hassan Saleh and Florian Chaubet. MacNamara 3/4
PoM Points: Steve MacNamara 3, Daniel Heckenberg 2, and Paul Anderson 1.
Are Sydney Back?
The boasting of Oilers’ coach, Roger Bossert, is often a leadup to yet another failure for his side- but today the Oilers’ pack backed up their coach’s words with a solid 20-10 win over the ‘other’ Sydney side, Hawkesbury. The game was a real thriller, with Hawkesbury’s Wise Kativerata the better player despite playing on a losing side.
Hawkesbury: Wise Kativerata and Danny Lima. Tuqiri 1/2
Sydney: Brent Tate, Nigel Vagana, and Ali Lauititi. Fields 4/5
PoM Points: Wise Kativerata 3, Brent Tate 2, and Ali Lauititi 1.
Sixty Two Point Thriller
It’s not often that sixty-two points are scored without the game devolving into a messy clash, but today’s 34-28 victory by Canberra over the Penrith Highlanders was one such affair. The six-point margin was an accurate portrayal of an end to end thriller, in which the lead changed six times before Scott Staniforth strung together two late tries to seal it.
Canberra: Scott Staniforth 2, Joel Caine, Sean Towers, Franco Luullai, and Henry Perenara. Towers 6/8
Penrith: Martin Gleeson, Stuart Kelly 3, and Julian O’Neill. Riddell 4/5
PoM Points: Franco Luullai 3, Chris Logan 2, and Jamie Fitzgerald 1.
Ravens Bounce Back to Form
After last week’s demoralising away loss, Capetown has recovered the best way they could, massacring the visiting South Queensland’s crushers 44-8. The game was effectively over at halftime, with Capetown up 22-8. The Capetown halves combination continues to be the linchpin of their immense success, with Mehrtens getting two more Player of the Year points in the win.
Capetown: Steve Williams 3, Andrew Mehrtens, Derek Gateshead, Mark Meredith 2, and Andrew Dunemann. Mehrtens 6/8
South Queensland: Anthony Farrell. Rodwell 2/2
PoM Points: Mark Meredith 3, Andrew Mehrtens 2, and Derek Gateshead 1.
The Scrum That Cost Eastwood the Game
Seventy fifth minute, Dom Peters feeds a scrum on his own twenty, and it is struck by Tamworth City and won against the feed. From the ensuing set of six, Kurt Gidley went in out wide to score the match-winning try. A late penalty sealed the result, Eastwood left to rue their lack of commitment after a 28-18 home loss.
Eastwood: Motu Tony, Narem Ekhbatana, and Tom O’Shea. Furner 3/3
Tamworth City: Kurt Gidley, John Wilson 2, and Toutai Kefu. Cummins 6/6
PoM Points: Kurt Gidley 3, John Wilson 2, and Narem Ekhbatana 1.
Scott Magro’s Meteoric Rise Continues
The meteoric rise of Fairfield lock, Scott Magro, continued today as the young Maltese star lead the Stallions to a commanding 48-18 win over the injury ravaged Suva Suns. It was never close, the Stallions coming out fired up and never looking back as they completed a woeful week for JD Marskell.
Fairfield: Aaron Mercer, Rupeni Caucaunibuca, Danny Bampton 3, Darrell Trindall, and Jarod O’Doherty 2. Magro 8/8
Suva: Chad Randall, Tim Horan, and Demetrius Liechtenstein. O’Gara 3/3
PoM Points: Scott Magro 3, Darrell Trindall 2, and Danny Bampton 1.
Remarkable Redlands
It seems like only last year that the Redlands Rhinos were the laughing stock of the ASRL. Wait, it was. It’s remarkable how solid coaching can overcome even the most unremarkable squad, but Matt Lyons continues to forge his claim for coach of the year, as his Rhinos today belted fellow Queensland side, Townsville, 32-0 in a dominant home display.
Redlands: Allianya Takawira, Brett Finch, Geoff Bell, Peter Ryan, Jamain Lowe, and Jody Gall. Takawira 4/7
Townsville: None.
PoM Points: Paul Sterling 3, Jamain Lowe 2, and David Giffin 1.
Crusade Connection
Stellar performances from former Crusade players: Tommy Martyn, Mat Toschak, and Steve Simpson has seen the Port Moresby Power score a remarkable 32-0 win over the up and down Cairns White Pointers. The win steadies what can only be described as an unpredictable start to the season by a team generally considered contenders for the Division Two title.
Port Moresby: Tommy Martyn 2, Ryan Cross, Michael Smith, Marcus Bai, and Tiri Toa. Rice 4/6
Cairns: None.
PoM Points: Adrian Lam 3, Steve Simpson 2, and Tommy Martyn 1.
