NRL Weekly Wrap: Everything we saw in Round 2
Panthers too strong for Souths, kick-off title defense
The defending Premier Panthers earned their first win of 2023 after beating South Sydney 16-12 in a heated encounter at the foot of the mountains.
Stephen Crichton crossed for Penrith early in the play before Izack Tago made a brilliant effort just before half-time and dug with five eighths courtesy of Jarome Luai.
A four-pointer from Brian To’o increased Penrith’s lead to 16 after 52 minutes before South Sydney responded with attempts from Alex Johnston and Isaiah Tass to set up a stand finish but ultimately fell short.
Isaah Yeo was unsurprisingly strong for Penrith, who ran 159 yards from 18 carries and cleaned 42 tackles, while Sunia Turuva put in 198 yards from 20 carries.
With Tevita Tatola and Jai Arrow missing from the Rabbits, Shaquai Mitchell came off the bench and had his strongest game at the top, running 155 yards from 15 carries and making 33 tackles while Tass had a try and for a ran team height 168 meters with three duel breaks.
Sharks outlive eels in the back and forth
Cronulla awarded the Eels back-to-back losses earlier in the season after they went 30-26 winners against last year’s Grand Finalists at CommBank Stadium on Friday night.
The Eels snatched two tries in the first five minutes before Cronulla hit back to take the lead in the first quarter.
A William Kennedy hat-trick helped them fend off a rising Parramatta side late on to earn their first win of 2023 without star halfback Nicho Hynes.
Kennedy ran superbly for a team height of 183 yards with four tackle breaks that came with his trio of tries, while Matt Moylan and Braydon Trindall assisted on two tries each and led the Sharks to a needed win.
J’maine Hopgood, on the other hand, continues to cause a stir in Parramatta. The 23-year-old assisted on two attempts, rushed for 145 yards and had 47 tackles, while Dylan Brown rushed for 195 yards and assisted on two attempts of his own.
Walsh announces return to hot Queensland derby
A masterclass from Reece Walsh helped Brisbane to a 28-16 win over rivals North Queensland to keep them unbeaten this season.
Jeremiah Nanai crossed for North Queensland in the opening minutes before Brisbane caught two tries from Kurt Capewell and Ezra Mam before half-time to keep them in contention.
Cowboys full-back Scott Drinkwater was thrown in the early stages of the second half after Corey Oates caught a stray shoulder high and broke his jaw as he headed for the try-line.
A try by Kotoni Staggs saw the Broncos grab their first lead after 44 minutes before Mam grabbed a second a few sets later to give them a comfortable lead they didn’t look back from.
Walsh scored a try in the closing minutes to round out a night in which he finished with one try assist, three line break assists and 175 running yards while Mam scored two tries and ran 183 yards.
For the Cowboys, Jason Taumalolo ran for a team-high 202 yards from 15 carries with seven tackle breaks, while Valentine Holmes ran 149 yards with five tackle breaks.
Brave warriors cannot hold back chunky chooks
The Sydney Roosters are on the board for 2023 after a shock Round 1 loss to the Dolphins after slipping past the Warriors 20-12 at Allianz Stadium.
A try from Jaxson Paulo opened the scoring for the hosts just four minutes later, before Sam Walker scored a penalty shortly after to give them an early 8-0 lead.
Wayde Egan crossed a brilliant connection between halves Te Maire Martin and Shaun Johnson for a try, but in the second half Paulo and Walker attempted an 18-8 lead for the Roosters that ultimately proved sufficient against a Warriors team that some put together strong defensive efforts on their own lines over considerable distances.
Joseph Sua’ali’i enjoyed a stellar performance for the Tricolors, running for 231 yards from 17 carries, with seven tackle breaks, a couple of line breaks and a try assist, while Lindsay Collins paved the way for the Roosters’ undermanned forward pack , running 184 yards from 16 carries and making 34 tackles.
For the Warriors, Tohu Harris picked up where he left off in Round 1 against Newcastle, running 144 yards after 15 carries and making 60 tackles that was a game high, while Egan scored a try and made 45 tackles.
The dolphins are… good?
The Dolphins have defied the odds to secure two wins from their first two Premiership games after going 20-14 at Redcliffe’s Kayo Stadium on Saturday night thanks to a 77th-minute match-winner courtesy of Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow slipped past the Raiders.
In sloppy conditions, Canberra drew first blood through Jack Wighton before Nick Čotrić made it 10-0 just before the half-hour mark.
Things got even worse for the hosts when hooker Jeremy Marshall-King was thrown in the bin for a nasty hip drop.
However, the 12-man Dolphins answered just before the break through Tabuai-Fidow before Tom Gilbert crossed the 62nd minute to make things interesting.
The teams were all tied by multiple penalty goals and with Hudson Young for Canberra and Sean O’Sullivan for the Dolphins, Tabuai-Fidow caught a sharp swing from Isaiya Katoa’s hip to slide for the game. Attempt to win when Kayo Stadium erupted.
Tabuai-Fidow was sensational for head coach Wayne Bennett, who hit a double and ran for 157 yards while O’Sullivan had two try assists and kicked 423 yards.
Canberra, meanwhile, was led by Joseph Tapines for 177 yards and 36 clean-shooting tackles.
A dawn of a new era in Canterbury
The Bulldogs managed to pull off one of their most impressive wins in recent memory, demolishing the Storm 26-12 in Melbourne to claim the first win of the Ciraldo era.
Rookie Jacob Preston – who was quickly pushed into the starting XI – scored the first points of the contest before Jacob Kiraz and Josh Addo-Carr both tried in the first half to give the Hounds a 16-0 half-time lead.
Kiraz grabbed his second early in the second verse before Jake Averillo joined the group of try-scorers to put the visitors 28-0 up with half an hour to go.
Nelson Asofa-Solomona and Jahrome Hughes brought Melbourne onto the board to breathe some life back into the competition, but the night belonged to the dogs as they secured their first win over Melbourne in almost seven years.
Kiraz got angry for Canterbury, scoring two tries, running 235 yards high and breaking 10 tackles, while Max King ran 194 yards from 17 carries and made 35 tackles.
The Knights are battling it out for a two-point win over the hapless Wests Tigers
The Newcastle Knights clinched their opening win of the season after surviving the Wests Tigers in a fierce clash at the Leichhardt Oval on Sunday afternoon.
After Kalyn Ponga lost to a headbutt in the first minute, attempts from Dom Young and Lachlan Fitzgibbon stabilized Newcastle’s affair.
While Young was down after a tackle, Asu Kepaoa scored for Wests Tigers to bring the home side back to life just before half-time.
Tommy Talau left the field before half-time with a suspected broken nose sustained in a tackle with former team-mate Jackson Hastings, and the situation escalated after the game.
Young grabbed a brace after an hour before Jacob Saifiti was sent off the field with an ugly high shot that ended Jake Simpkins’ afternoon.
The only point the Wests Tigers could get from the field with Saifiti was a four-pointer from Stefano Utoikamanu just before the siren.
The Wests Tigers made 18 errors and missed 33 tackles in a daunting game against a less-than-convincing Knights unit.
Young netted a double for Newcastle and ran a team-high 177 yards with nine tackle breaks, while Daniel Saifiti was the only Knights forward to surpass 100 yards, finishing with 157 yards from 16 carries and 31 tackles.
For the Wests Tigers, Daine Laurie ran 191 yards from 19 carries with six tackle breaks.
Clinical Dragons dispatch of Titans in the opening appearance of 2023
The St. George Illawarra Dragons, just coming off a Round 1 bye, are among the winners’ circle after overcoming a slow start and beating the Titans 32-18 in Kogarah to end the round.
The visitors took an early 12-2 lead after Alofi’ana Khan-Pereira and Sam Verrills broke some meager Dragons goal-line defenses to score tries before the home side scored 22 points in 15 minutes to completely turn the tide .
Tyrell Sloan and Jacob Liddle combined for a nice try down the middle to open their account before Ben Hunt and Mikaele Ravalawa found chances to score.
Sloan scored one of his own before propsman Blake Lawrie ensured the 91 games he was waiting for his first NRL four-pointer wasn’t a repeat win for the Red V.
Hunt scored and assisted on a try for the Dragons while Liddle scored a try, ran for 132 yards with six tackle breaks and had 25 tackles in his club debut.
Skipper Tino Fa’asuamaleaui led the way for the Gold Coast, scoring one try, running 128 yards and making 42 tackles in 70 minutes.
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