NRL Round 16 Rewind
0By Stephen Gallagher
Panthers 28 Rabbitohs 26
Yet another loss for the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
The two point margin doesn’t reflect just how well Penrith played.
Youngin’ Nathan Cleary is a stellar superstar in the making, and has the potential to be greater than his father.
At 18 years of age, he is finding his feet, and has been solid for the Panthers.
The Rabbitohs looked off, despite scoring the first try with ease.
The second half was all action. Greg Inglis cashed in not long after the break but three tries in a row by the Panthers was the back breaker.
Dragons 30 Knights 18
One way traffic, a hot Dragons side make it two in a row.
It was electric, led by Benji Marshall who I believe had his best game of the year.
Starting to feel sorry for the Knigts, they are competitive for a little bit – but when it stops going their way it blows out quickly.
Credit to them for not giving up, but they have so much to work on. I find it hard to believe they will win again this season.
You what????
Sharks 19 Warriors 18
Make that eleven wins in a row. Remarkable.
The grit and steel of this team is wonderful. They win games. Not nececcerily by being the best team on the night, but by finding ways to win.
The Warriors took a 10-0 lead early on, but as the 2016 Sharks do – they found a way to lead. 12-10 on half time.
A penalty try made it 18-10, and 8 Warriors points sent this game to Golden Point.
No field goal attempts were taken in the first half of, but it was James Maloney who sunk a wobbly ol’ attempt over the crossbar to sink a hard Warriors team.
Bulldogs 40 Broncos 14
Too big, too strong, too committed.
The Bulldogs put on 40 with ease, but it was a steady first half that could have gone either way after the break.
The support play by both sides as great, but with every opportunity came points for the Belmore Bulldogs.
In his first game this season, Brett Morris scored himself a hat-trick as the Broncos origin woes continued.
The only Bronco who could match the Dogs was Adam Blair. Sadly, his efforts were in vein.
Raiders 30 Titans 22
It was another sharp performance by Ricky Stuart’s men. They are really shaping up to be a strong top four side.
They have all the forward power, with the backd who consistently find the try line.
The Gold Coast again are marred by their lack of consistency, which comes down to inexperience in key positions.
They scored some great tries the Titans, but only when they were already staring down the barrell of a loss.
I don’t know if there is a better hooker in the comp than Josh Hodgson.
Storm 29 Tigers 20
This game finished well and truly too close for the comfort of the Storm. Craig Bellemy will serve them at training this week.
Up 26-0 and the game in the bag at half time, it looked like a 50 or 60 point drubbing was going to occur.
Credit to the Tigers for their fightback. They never gave up, they dug deep but they let themselves down in the first half by not getting on the board at all.
This game of two halves showed just how dangerous these sides can be. Each error made, the other would capitslise.
Too little, too late for the Tigers unfortunately.
Cowboys 30 Sea Eagles 26
Seven losses in a row for an abysmal Manly side, but this loss was one of their better showings throughout the streak.
The Cowboys were the ones with a strong start, with a try after 11 minutes. 11 minutes later though it was an 80 minute effort from Tom Trbojevic to Daly Cherry Evans to keep them in the game.
From that moment until half time, it was pretty much one way traffic, with the Townsvillians taking a 14 point lead in to the break.
Whatever Trent Barrett said at half time seem to have worked, as the Sea Eagles snuck in 18 points in 20 minutes.
The Cowboys played the better football and got the result, but it wasn’t with out a glimmer of hope from the Manly players.
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