NRL Weekly Wrap: Everything we saw in Round 3
Eels fall to a worrying 3-0 as Seibold’s Sea Eagles rush to victory
Manly have handed Parramatta their third straight loss to start the season after running away 34-30 winners at 4 Pines Park on Thursday night.
The Sea Eagles took a 14-0 lead in the first half before Parramatta snatched the lead early in the second half with a flurry of points.
Tom Trbojevic, Brad Parker and Haumole Olakau’atu all scored tries for Manly within 17 minutes to put them in a dominant position with the final 10 minutes.
Parramatta scored tries in back-to-back sets from Maika Sivo and Josh Hodgson to set up a stand finish only for Olakau’atu to pounce on a loose offload against the flow of play and seal it for Manly.
Tom Trbojevic hit a double, assisted another and ran with 10 tackle breaks for a game-high 204 yards, while Josh Schuster had three try assists with five eighths in his first game of the season.
The Eels were led by Clinton Gutherson’s two tries and 156 yards.
3 out of 3 for Wayne’s men
The Dolphins made a stunning 3-0 start after battling 36-20 against an undermanned Knights team in Newcastle on Friday night.
After some back-and-forth in the first half, the Dolphins went into the sheds with a 16-12 lead before Newcastle took the lead in the 46th minute through a converted try on full-back Lachie Miller.
However, four tries in the last 23 minutes led the Dolphins to a powerful win, with Tesi Niu notching a hat-trick and Jamayne Isaako a brace.
Dolphins enforcer Felise Kaufusi was collected in the 68th minute for a late shot at Knights helped Jackson Hastings and will face justice earlier this week.
Tom Gilbert was outstanding for the Dolphins, running 172 yards from 19 carries and making 41 tackles as a team-high while Niu scored three tries and ran 230 yards in game-high.
For the Knights, Lachie Miller hit a double and ran with six tackle breaks for a team height of 212 yards.
Roosters earn bragging rights with a bitter victory over rabbits
The 252nd iteration of Roosters vs. Rabbitohs erupted in an intense Friday night affair at the Alliance with the Tricolors, with Trent Robinson’s men battling for a 20-18 win.
Attempts with Keaon Koloamatangi and Alex Johnston gave the Rabbitohs an early double-digit lead before the Roosters settled on attempts at Brandon Smith and Daniel Tupou to end a first-half high.
A second-half double from Jaxson Paulo gave the Roosters a crucial lead before Izaac Thompson crossed in the 78th minute to give the Red-Greens a glimmer of hope, only to fail.
Joseph Manu and Michael Chee-Kam were eliminated on a push and shove in the closing stages after Manu hauled Isaiah Tass up after the whistle.
Paulo was sensational against his former side, scoring a double and running for a team-best 192 yards with four tackle breaks from 19 carries, while James Tedesco assisted on one try and ran 151 yards with six tackle breaks.
For Souths, Campbell assisted Graham on a try, made two line breaks and ran for a game-high 194 yards with four tackle breaks, while Latrell assisted Mitchell on a try and two line breaks and ran 128 yards with five tackle breaks.
The Titans defeat the atypical Storm in a searing gunfight
The Titans earned their second win of 2023 by defeating the Melbourne Storm 38-34 on a muggy Gold Coast afternoon while an angered Craig Bellamy looked on from the coaching box.
Both sides traded blows for most of the first half before a second-half double from Aaron Schoupp helped the Titans endure an attacking power-laden Storm side to sneak across the finish line in front of their home crowd.
It was only the second time in Storm history that the team had scored 34 points or more and lost the game; the only other time was in Round 10, 2017 also against the Titans.
Titans skipper Tino Fa’asuamaleaui ran 145 yards for the team and made 21 clean-shooting tackles while AJ Brimson assisted on two attempts and ran 140 yards.
For Melbourne, Harry Grant assisted on three tries and posted a game-high with 41 tackles.
Warriors impressively annoyed by cowboys in Townsville
The revamped Warriors enjoyed a big win against the North Queensland Cowboys, beating last year’s preliminary finalists 26-12 in warm weather in Townsville.
Rookie Tom Chester crossed over early for the home team before hookers Wayde Egan and Reece Robson got their names on the try scorer list.
However, after 20 unanswered points, the visitors sped away with a stunning second win under new head coach Andrew Webster.
Marcelo Montoya enjoyed a big day for the Warriors, scoring two tries and running 246 yards with six tackle breaks, while five-eighth-man Te Maire Martin assisted on two tries and made 25 tackles.
Chester had a clean play for the suspended Scott Drinkwater, scoring a try and running for 163 yards with four tackle breaks.
Brisbane stormed home to start 3-0
The Broncos made their first 3-0 start in six years after clinching a 40-18 win over the Dragons at Suncorp in an incendiary 10-minute final.
Attempts against Mathew Feagai, Tyrell Sloan and Jayden Sullivan saw the visitors jump out to a shocking 16-6 lead before Brisbane launched an imposing second-half chase.
With 18 points each just before the 70-minute mark, Brisbane once again crossed Selwyn Cobbo, Reece Walsh, Ezra Mam and Walsh to accumulate 22 points in the final 10 minutes and put the icing on the cake of a dominant pie.
Adam Reynolds put up two tries and kicked St. George Illawarra into submission, while Payne Haas ran 240 yards from 18 carries and went clean for 26 tackles.
For the Dragons, Francis Molo ran 176 yards from 15 carries and made 26 tackles.
Action galore as dogs survive tigers in Belmore
The Bulldogs survived a fast-ending West Tigers squad 26-22 on Sunday afternoon, with Belmore Sunshine fit for the tragedy of rugby league to go 2-1 under Cameron Ciraldo.
Hayze Perham snatched the first try of the duel just four minutes later before Josh Addo-Carr and Paul Alamoti ran down the visitors’ left edge as the Dogs went into the sheds 20-6.
Matt Burton scored the first try of the second half for the Dogs before the lackluster Wests Tigers turned him on at lightning speed and scored three tries in five minutes to send a surge of nervous energy across Belmore only for the Blue and Whites to hold on for an entertaining win and give Tim Sheens’ men their third loss of the season.
Jacob Kiraz continued his phenomenal start to the season with 283 yards and six tackle breaks, while Alamoti assisted on two tries and ran 191 yards.
For the Wests Tigers, Brent Naden scored and assisted on one try and ran for 188 yards.
Canberra clinches first win of 2023 and extends win streak to 9 against Cronulla
Canberra won their first game of the season 24-20 against the Sharks at GIO Stadium to move straight into ninth place against the Shire men.
Both sides crossed twice in the first half as the hosts went into the sheds 12-10 before Matt Timoko and Corey Horsburgh – who scored the first double of his career – looked to lead the Raiders to 14 in the second half.
Late attempts against Jesse Ramien and Britain’s Nikora gave Cronulla a chance to stage a comeback, but Craig Fitzgibbon’s men ultimately failed in the nation’s capital.
Shark’s big man Royce Hunt was sensationally thrown in the basket in the 51st minute for delivering a punch to Horsburgh leading up to the angry redhead’s second try.
Jack Wighton assisted on a try and ran 100 yards from Canberra while Timoko scored a try, assisted on two line breaks and ran 154 yards.
For the Sharks, Teig Wilton ran a team height of 176 yards and made 41 tackles.