The Synopsis - NRL Round 25

Rabbitohs 56 vs Broncos 61
There must be plenty of disillusioned Rabbitohs' supporters around today. Thursday's match was an absolute disaster for the army of Cardinal and Myrtle fans. All week they had hit blog and conversations with commentary along the lines of ‘Ignore last week. The match against the Cowboys in Townsville was the real South Sydney'. Of course the ratings over the last 6 weeks supported their argument.

However the same data shows how badly they did in this game. Souths were ranked 1st committing the least number of errors, but against the Broncos they committed 14 errors, which would have ranked them last. They had rated 2nd in metres gained from kicks, but against the Broncos they would have rated last. With 49% of the ball they could manage only 22 completed sets.

Souths were competitive for just the first 5 minutes. Their second set even finished with them gaining a line drop out. They went close to scoring in that set but it finished with a hand-over to the Broncos whose defence was solid. Brisbane's third possession was almost finished, until on the 5th tackle Adam Blair (who had three defenders on him and was falling in the tackle) got a pass to Anthony Milford who burst into open spaces, avoided the last line of defence and passed to Justin Hodges who unselfishly gave it on to Jordan Kahu (7th min) to score in the corner. Like it or not after that, Souths were almost always on the back foot. The Broncos went on to score in the 13th, 15th and 24th minutes. Souths forward replacement Chris Grevsmuhl grabbed a try at the 29th minute and the half time score was Brisbane 22 - South Sydney 6.

The second half was a rerun of the first as Brisbane scored four tries (46th, 65th, 68th and 77th) and South Sydney added just one (56th min). The final score was 47-12 as Anthony Milford added a field goal (79th min) to his two tries, but the big news (outside of the wonderfully talented Bronco halves) was the season ending injury to the Rabbitohs' John Sutton, and the likely suspension of his NZ bound team mate Isaac Luke. Souths, who had hoped to snatch 4th place if the Sharks lose might fall to 7th if the Sharks and Bulldogs win. (Post Script: They did!!)

Sea Eagles 76 vs Roosters 34
The Friday night match at Brookvale was Manly Warringah Coach Geoff Toovey's last home game in charge. It was also the last gasp in the home teams late season charge to finals football. Against Parramatta last week, all the confidence and skill the Sea Eagles had demonstrated in the previous five weeks was overwhelmed by the visitors enthusiastic defence and a nervous attack by the home side. This week Manly would not lose to enthusiastic ‘battlers' instead they would be wiped out by a professional team that had (amazingly) at least $2million worth of their squad on the sideline.

The first half saw the Roosters score three tries (9th, 17th and 26th minutes) before the Sea Eagles responded with a try to Captain Jamie Lyon (37th min). With a 6-16 half time score, home fans knew their team needed to score first in the 2nd stanza to get back into the match.

At the 43rd minute local hopes were dented when Brendan Elliot scored his third try for the day. Those hopes were well and truly shot when Daniel Tupou scored at the 59th and 62nd minutes. It was 34-6 and the Sea Eagles chances for finals football were dead. Former Rooster Tom Symonds crossed for the Sea Eagles at the 69th minute but the only interested party was the stats man considering its effect on the Roosters for and against, as they aimed for a third straight J.J.Giltinan Shield. The Roosters scored twice more (75th and 78th minutes) to make sure the trip to Brookvale wouldn't negatively affect their advantage. Final Score Roosters 46 - Sea Eagles 10.

Eels 107 vs Sharks 81
Last week Parramatta stopped the Manly-Warringah finals charge with a fantastic defensive effort in rain at Brookvale. This week they faced a Sharks team that has started to score points, as opposed to just restricting their opponents scoring.

The first half started well for the home team with tries to Sosaia Feki (9th min) and Ricky Leutele (16th min) creating a 12-0 score. Eels centre Ryan Morgan (20th min) scored a try after the Sharks dropped a high kick and Parramatta were on the board, but poor goal line defence saw Luke Lewis hit back for the Sharks, four minutes later. At 16-6 it looked like the home team might run away with the match, but, Semi Radradra scored his 22nd try for the year get the Eels back to 16-10. However, the home team were not finished scoring and Jason Bukuya crossed three minutes from the break.

Parramatta produced their best set (of the match) 8 minutes into the 2nd half and it finished with Daniel Alvaro scoring his first try in the top grade. He was actually downed twice in his 35 metre run but youthful enthusiasm pushed him onwards and he scored with defenders all around, but none able to stop him. This started a 20 minute surge by the Eels and after their hooker Isaac De Gois crossed at the 67th minute local fans were shocked into silence, as they looked at a score of 22-28. Sosaia Feki scored his second try at the 71st minute to level the scores at 28-28. Both teams played out a couple of sets before Valentine Holmes kicked another field goal in a clutch situation three minutes from time. The match was won but the Sharks weren't finished as Michael Ennis (79th min) pushed his way over from dummy half to create a 7 point margin and a likely top 4 finish. Final Score Sharks 35 - Eels 28.

Knights 109 vs Bulldogs 54
Last Monday night Newcastle surprised everyone, especially Melbourne when they won by 24 points. As a result Coach Des Hasler was not going to let his Bulldogs take this match lightly. (Need I add that no team should allow themselves to be mentally lazy in a competition that has salary caps, to spread the talent as evenly as in the NRL).

Scores of retired Knights players, family and friends had welcomed Kurt Gidley for his 250th NRL and last home game. The desire to win was palpable, but when Newcastle forward Tariq Sims scored in the 12th min (almost) everyone at Hunter Stadium allowed themselves to entertain thoughts of three wins for stand-by coach Danny Buderus and a big send off for Kurt!!

The Bulldogs, took the crowd out of the match for rest of the half with tries in the 20th, 26th and 32nd minutes, but with only one conversion the half-time 14-6 score didn't present too huge a hurdle for the home team.

Twelve minutes into the second half Nathan Ross, in only his fifth top grade game, showed amazing desire, to touch down just inside the dead ball line with Bulldog Sam Perrett less than two feet away. Tyrone Roberts converted, cutting the deficit to just two points. At the 53rd minute Bulldog giant Frank Pritchard thundered across out wide and with half back and goal kicker Trent Hodgkinson off injured, Timotei Lafai converted the try, stretching the lead back to eight (20-12). It was to be a crucial kick.

As if the Rugby League gods had prepared the script, Kurt Gidley (71st minute) split the Bulldog defence and ran five metres to score beside the posts. The converted try cut the deficit to two points and left many thinking that the momentum of the match had swung the Knights way. It was not to be. Both team were desperate as they traded sets and mistakes but neither could add to the scoreboard. Final Score Canterbury 20 - Newcastle 18.

Storm 41 vs Cowboys 55
The under strength Cowboys who ranked first in line breaks and had scored the most points in 22 games of Rugby League, (539) went to Melbourne to play a home team that had lost the previous Monday night in a bruising encounter with Newcastle, but were rated 2nd in defence and 1st over the last 6 weeks in restricting opponent scoring.

Despite the prowess of the Cowboys, it turned out to be a low scoring match with only three tries scored, two to Melbourne and one to Cowboys (79th minute). For the first time this year, the Cowboys made NO line breaks and sadly, the best try (probably of the year) was disallowed for an infringement that was 50/50 at best.

The Storm scored first with a penalty goal at 17th min. Then at the 23d minute Melbourne forward Kenny Bromwich ran onto a classic Cameron Smith dummy half pass to score untouched, between the posts. The 8 nil score lasted until half-time and when Will Chambers pounced on a Jonathan Thurston (in goal) fumble three minutes into the 2nd stanza, 14 - 0 was posted on the AAMI Park scoreboard. Even the most ardent Storm supporter couldn't have predicted that North Queensland would take 79 minutes to break their teams defence. The last minute try was no consolation for the Cowboys who, as a result of the loss, gave up 2ndposition on the ladder. Final Score Melbourne 14 - Nth Queensland 6.

Tigers 130 vs Warriors 134
This match was between two teams that have disappointed their fans and failed to live up to the expectations of many pundits who (at years start) predicted both would make the finals. Sadly for NZ supporters the Warriors have performed worse than any other team over the last six weeks, ranking 16th in 5 of 11 areas while Wests Tigers were little better.

Although the Warriors prop Albert Vete (9th min) scored first and his try was converted the Tigers proceeded to score nine tries in 59 minutes. Started by Robbie Farrah (21st min) and ending with David Nofoaluma (80th min) the Tigers put on a fine display of attacking football which culminated in them posting their highest score of the season.

Certainly the Warriors fielded an inexperienced backline / team and as the season comes to an end they have fielded 34 players in first grade. Six of the 17 who ran on yesterday had played just 28 matches between them. The other 11 played 198 matches while those on the sidelines have played 145. Debutante Winger Matthew Allwood scored two tries and will remember his first NRL match for the Warriors while most of his team mates would rather forget. Final score Tigers 50 - Warriors 16.

Titans 133 vs Dragons 85
Sunday afternoons match from CBUS stadium on the Gold Coast provided yet another example of teams facing season defining matches and coming up short.

Two weeks ago Canberra's finals chances were lost when Manly beat them 26-24 after trailing 16-24 with 13 minutes to go. Seven days later Manly lost 16-20 to Parramatta on a rain soaked Brookvale Oval, inexplicably conceding their finals chances in a match no one expected them to lose.

South Sydney have conceded a top 4 finals spot and face almost certain finals oblivion after losses to Canterbury and Brisbane, and finally St George needing to defeat the lowly ranked Gold Coast lost 26-28 after leading by eight points twice in the match.

The Dragons had played ok. They were good enough to lead 8-0 after 11 minutes and 20-12 at half time. But, as their Coach Paul ‘Mary' MacGregor said, they cracked under the pressure in a 2nd half filled with errors and missed opportunities. Titans forward David Taylor scored the match winning try in the 77th minute and their second try in the 31st minute, keeping his team competitive on the scoreboard. However, Taylor, like the Titans has under-performed in 2015. In 17 matches he carried the ball 159 times (about 9 times per match) and averaged 12 metres gained. Carrying the ball for 84 metres per match is hardly stellar in the world of ball running forwards, and before Sunday Taylor had scored just 2 tries in 16 matches. Yet he seemed to be an unstoppable match winner on the last Sunday in August.

So a team with (supposedly) little to play for (Titans) defeats a team that is desperately hoping to secure a top 8 position (Dragons). By losing seven matches in a row St George fell out of the top 8 altogether and could do so again if they lose their last two matches. They lead Manly on for and against by 61 points, but a heavy loss to the ‘Robbie's got something to prove' Tigers and a big win by Manly over Cronulla could see the Dragons season end early - all because they wilted when the pressure was put on them by the Gold Coast. Final Score Gold Coast 28 - St George 26.

Raiders 96 vs Panthers 108
Canberra started yet another match with a bang, scoring four tries in 28 minutes for a 22-0 lead. Led by Sam Williams and Blake Austin, they tore Penrith to shreds, dummying and stepping their way through what commentators described as a defence that was thinking more about the end of season trip than tackling players in lime green. Penrith put their first score on the board when hooker James Segeyaro (33rd min) reached over one handed from one metre out. At 22-6 the half time score flattered the visitors, who completed their first 11 sets in a row , including forcing two line drop outs, but achieved nothing.

The first 20 minutes of the 2nd half was awful as we were reminded of the ‘Darwin disaster' when Parramatta and Penrith presented a match of mistakes and missed tackles. To add insult to injury the most creative players on both sides Blake Austin (home team) and Jamie Soward (visitors) were forced from the field with match ending injuries. Canberra grabbed the first try of the last quarter when Kurt Baptiste crossed in the 61st minute and when Lewis Brown (65th min) scored for Penrith the score was 28-12. Jarrod Croker put the cream on the cake when he scored in the 74th minute. At 34-12 the score was a good indication of the dominance of the Raiders although Will Smith in his 7th match as stand in fullback for Penrith showed his ability by stepping his way to the line two minutes from time cutting back the deficit by 6 points. Final Score Canberra 34 - Penrith 18.