Dragons still on top; Storm keeps winning, RGL

May 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

SYDNEY (AP) St. George Illawarra continued its winning form to remain atop Australia’s National Rugby League on the weekend while the tainted Melbourne Storm won their third of four matches since a salary cap scandal rocked the club.

The Dragons beat the Bulldogs 19-6 in front of 37,773 fans at the former Olympic stadium the biggest rugby league crowd in Sydney this season. The Dragons have eight wins and two losses in 2010 and lead the competition with 16 points, two clear of Penrith and the Gold Coast and four ahead of Manly and South Sydney.

Melbourne center Greg Inglis scored three tries to lead the Storm to a 17-6 win over the Canberra Raiders. Inglis scored all but one of the Storm’s points, converting two of his tries, as more than 12,000 fans booed the Storm at Canberra Stadium throughout the match.

The salary cap scandal Melbourne has exceeded the cap by an estimated $1.6 million in five seasons led to the Storm being stripped of its premierships from 2007 and 2009. The league has also prohibited the Melbourne club from accruing any competition points this season.

Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy shrugged off the reception from Canberra fans. “We can’t control that.

All we can do is control what we do on the field, and what we do during the week,” he said. “It’s probably not pleasant (for the players) but .

there’s not much use worrying about it.” On Sunday, winger Nathan Merritt scored three of South Sydney’s nine tries as the Rabbitohs beat the Wests Tigers 50-10, handing the Tigers their fourth straight loss.

The win kept the Rabbitohs, co-owned by actor Russell Crowe, in the top five. Penrith moved to equal second with the Gold Coast Titans with a 34-14 win over Cronulla.

Center Michael Jennings scored three tries for the Panthers. Akuila Uate scored three tries as the Newcastle Knights beat the Sydney Roosters 34-18 and the New Zealand Warriors ended a three-match losing streak with a 24-12 win over the North Queensland Cowboys.

Israel Folau, rumored to be heading to rugby union or Australian Rules football, scored two tries as the Brisbane Broncos beat the Gold Coast 28-6 in a local derby before 40,168 fans at Brisbane on Friday night. Manly can move level with the Titans and Penrith if it beats the six-place Parramatta Eels on Monday in the final match of the 10th round.

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Knights need to show the ‘right smarts’

April 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Newcastle rugby league coach Rick Stone says until the Knights reduce their penalty and error count, it will be difficult for the team to win.

The Knights went down to the Rabbitohs at Gosford on Saturday night, 28 points to 10.

It is the Knights fourth consecutive loss.

Stone says the return of some key players next week will hopefully boost their performance.

“I suppose it was a pretty brave effort under the circumstances. We lost a couple of key players at crucial points of the game,” he said.

“But we are just not showing the right smarts at different points of the game to assert some authority.

“Some silly penalties, some poor errors and some soft tries are putting us in a position where it’s hard to win games. So until we get those out of the game it is always going to be tough.”

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Burgess, Bunnies match the hype

April 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment

They may have taken some time to emerge from the burrow but the Rabbitohs made good on Monday night as their much-vaunted pack finally walked the walk in a 38-16 NRL thumping of Canterbury.

Inspired by a dominant display from English import Sam Burgess, who scored a first half double as mother Julie watched on from owner Russell Crowe’s private box, the Rabbitohs ambushed the Bulldogs with a first-half onslaught from which the visitors never recovered in front of a healthy 30,120 crowd.

After several listless displays to start the year, the seven-tries-to-three romp was just what the Rabbitohs faithful needed to restore a belief that had been heightened by off-season acquisitions of Burgess and David Taylor.

Burgess’s double was part of a five-try avalanche in an opening stanza – which started with a Bulldogs try in just the second minute – as the Rabbitohs pack matched the hype as they rumbled over a Bulldogs defence that had no answer to the relentless assault.

Burgess denied he deserved credit for the win, but admitted he was starting to feel more comfortable after his first month in the NRL.

“I probably didn’t get into my stride straight away but as a team we’re improving and I’m pretty sure I’m going to improve as well as a player,” Burgess said.

“I try to ignore (the expectation) and just enjoy it.

Souths coach John Lang admitted the Bunnies were finally living up to their potential.

“It showed the boys what they are capable of,” Lang said.

“It’s hard to have belief if you haven’t actually done it.

“To go out and play like that against the Bulldogs, that will give us a lot of confidence.”

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Minichiello extends Titans stay

April 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Titans back rower Mark Minichiello has agreed to stay with the Gold Coast until the end of 2012.

The 28-year-old was contracted until the end of the season but has signed a two-year extension.

The foundation player has gained representative honours with three New South Wales City Origin caps since joining the Titans from the Rabbitohs.

“I think Mark has a big future in the game and we are really happy with him on and off the paddock,” Titans managing director Michael Searle said.

“It’s great for him to be able to secure his future in this time for them both.”

Minichiello suggested he may finish his career with the Titans.

“I’m really happy up here at the moment and (wife) Milena is pregnant so we thought it would be good to stay,” he said.

“The first three years have been very enjoyable and I didn’t want to put myself on the market because I’m enjoying life so much up here.

“The new deal means I’ll be here for six years and hopefully there’s a chance I can finish my career here after that.”

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Tigers, Roosters off to flyers

March 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment

It took just one round for Wests Tigers and Sydney Roosters fans to begin dreaming of their sides making the NRL finals.

And it has taken only two rounds for the clubs to find themselves in a bona fide Sunday afternoon blockbuster at the Sydney Football Stadium.

The Roosters’ 36-10 upset of South Sydney and the Tigers’ amazing comeback to beat Manly 26-22 were two of the gobsmacking results of the season’s opening weekend.

On Sunday the two first-up winners are likely to run onto the ground they share in front of a bumper crowd boosted by Lote Tuqiri’s impressive return on Monday night.

“I don’t know about an all-time high but, from my point of view while I’ve been around, I reckon the footy that was played last week and the general feeling in footy at the moment is big,” Roosters coach Brian Smith said.

The key combinations of the Tigers’ Benji Marshall and Robbie Farah, and the Roosters’ Mitchell Pearce and Todd Carney are likely to be as thrilling as they are crucial to their side’s chances.

A support cast of Robert Lui and Tim Moltzen for the Tigers, and veteran Braith Anasta for the Roosters should ensure skill will be a major factor in the result.

Carney is wary of Marshall’s more direct play in attack this year after the New Zealand captain’s superb ball-playing display against the Sea Eagles.

“I watched a bit of stuff on him, he looks like he’s getting back to his best,” Carney said.

“When he’s running across the field and he’s got a lot of space he’s very dangerous.

“I noticed he’s taking the line on a lot more and he’s a lot more dangerous when he does that – he and Farah and Moltzen’s combination looked really good, so we’re going to have to tighten up that middle.”

Carney, who played a blinder against the Rabbitohs, is under no illusion his move to full-back will be tested under instructions from wily Tigers coach Tim Sheens.

“I’ll be ready for all the trick kicks and bombs and the players coming through,” Carney said.

“There’s going to be a lot of pressure but I’ve just got to concentrate on my game and hopefully I just do my job.

“The Tigers are a team that you have to be on (against), when they shift they shift, they’re deep and they’re coming (at you).”

Tuqiri’s second match back after seven years in rugby union has taken on drawcard proportions after his first-touch try against the Sea Eagles and his late charge down the left wing, which helped rescue the match for the Tigers.

Smith is not sure whether he will be even better for the hit-out on Monday night.

“That’s hard to say,” he said.

“Some guys do and some guys, it takes a lot out of them and it takes them a couple of weeks to get going again.”

Meanwhile, Roosters prop Jason Ryles, named on the bench this week, is likely to start the match.

- AAP

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Carney not buying into Origin hype

March 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Rejuvenated bad boy Todd Carney says he will not let a successful NRL return overshadow the enormity he faces in getting his life and career back on track.

Just one game into a comeback after 16 months out of the game, Carney found his name tossed up as a State of Origin contender after a stunning Sydney Roosters debut.

Shown the door by Canberra midway through 2008 after a string of alcohol-related incidents, the 23-year-old looked like he had never been away as he toyed with the South Sydney defence, but he admitted talk of a Blues jumper was beyond his ambitions.

“Nate (team-mate Nate Myles) was into me about being the saviour and things like that but I’m not looking into it that much,” Carney said of New South Wales selection.

“I remember the headlines 18 months ago – I don’t want to jump into things too early, just keep working hard and keep my head down.”

Still, Carney could be an intriguing option for Blues selectors trying to end Queensland recent dominance, and he was on the verge of a call-up when his world came crashing down in 2008.

At home at half-back and five-eighth, Carney proved against the Rabbitohs he was more than capable in the number one jumper, though his chances of representative selection could be determined as much by his ability to keep things in check off the field as his performances on it.

Without a drink since the new year, Carney is determined to leave the past behind.

Just prior to being shown the door at the Raiders, the Goulburn junior was handed a final chance with the club which was contingent on him adhering to a five-point plan – one point being that he stay away from alcohol until 2012.

Carney rejected the offer and promptly had his contract torn up.

No such constraints have been placed at the Roosters, but Carney said a change in attitude had negated the need for any mothering.

“I’m going day by day, week by week and I just keep going the way I am,” Carney said.

“I don’t need one so I’m happy not drinking.

“That side’s passed me and I’ve still got a lot to work on but I’m feeling comfortable and excited and happy.

“I’m just going along with my football, happy to turn up to training everyday, I’m just excited to be back playing football.

“The change has been great, I’ve seen that in myself and I think everyone can see that.”

Carney said he had no hard feeling towards Canberra for letting him go, and while the Raiders claim they feel the same way toward the troubled star, there is no doubt more performances of the ilk he produced against South Sydney will leave the talent-starved club with some regrets.

“I did the wrong thing at Canberra and they had the right to sack me,” Carney said.

“It was a business [decision] for them and they sacked me. I’ve got on with it, they’ve got on with it.”

-AAP

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Titans anticipate vengeful Bunnies

March 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Gold Coast coach John Cartwright says South Sydney will be keen to make amends for last weekend’s big loss, when the Rabbitohs and Titans clash on Friday night in Sydney.

The Roosters beat Souths 36-10 while the Titans scored a 24-18 win over the Warriors at Skilled Park on Sunday afternoon.

Cartwright says the Rabbitohs will want to turn things around on Friday night at Sydney’s Olympic stadium.

“Their supporters won’t let them forget that in a hurry,” he said.

“I was listening to a bit of talkback and there was a lot of irate supporters so I daresay they’re going to be a different side this week.

“They sort of talked it up that they were the best forward pack in the comp [but] sometimes you’re better off saying nothing I think.”

Titans full-back Preston Campbell is hoping he will be given the all-clear to play after a head knock late in the game against the Warriors.

“There’s no need for scans – the doc’s checked me out and he says I’m fine,” he said.

“It’s going to be his decision, he’s going to talk to [Cartwright] about it.

“But whatever he says goes, I’m not going to argue with him.”

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