The NRL Round 3 Match Thread

[Graham]

Tigers running the game.

Sharks don’t look to have any idea of how to get back in the game.

Hynes is having a quiet game behind a tired set of forwards.

[Sports Prophet]

What a disappointing effort from my Sharkies tonight. Tigers have played fantastic. Sharks have been less than ordinary.

[Graham]

Tigers so dominant another try was a sure thing.

It was scored by Bula

[Graham]

This is the Tigers’ show.

32-6 Tigers

[Graham]

Sharks only have one player left to use from the bench. The rest are cricked.

[Graham]

Still 8 minutes left for more Tigers points.

[Graham]

Who would have picked Tigers as one of the teams to score 30 or more points in our competition poll this week?

They fully deserve all their points too.

What a surprise. 
Well done Wests Tigers Rule for predicting a Tigers win.

[Graham]

FULL TIME

TIGERS 32 - 6 SHARKS

 

[Graham]

Score Summary

I. Papali'i 21, A. Seyfarth 35, J. Olam 39, J. Bula 52, J. Bula 70	Tries	T. Hazelton 14
A. Koroisau 22, A. Koroisau 36, A. Sezer 40, A. Koroisau 54, A. Sezer 72	Conversions	N. Hynes 15
A. Koroisau 46	Penalty Goals

[Graham]

A big vocal crowd can go home happy (Api) 

First win for Benji as head coach.

 

[Graham]

Sunday games

UK kick off times

 

Aussie times

Sunday, March 24
Eels vs Sea Eagles	CommBank Stadium	Nine/Fox	4:05pm
Knights vs Storm	McDonald Jones Stadium	Fox 6:15pm

 

Edited March 23 by Graham

[THE RED ROOSTER]

Canterbury Bulldogs v Gold Coat Titans

For a scoreline thst reads 32-0 to the Dogs you would be surprided to read that it was an even first 20 mins with the Titans bombling the chance to get the first try. What broke the game open was Kikaus chargedown try that put the Doggies two scores up.

From then on in the second half it was one way traffic with Gold Coast coughing up possession and defensively looking a solid as melting ice cream. Look at some of the tries where one attacker fends off 2-3 defenders

Bulldogs are still a work in progress but by bringing in experienced players from teams with winning cultures they will be an NRL force to be reckoned with in 2025 and 26

Attendance 12098 iirc

West Tigers v Cronulla Sharks

The league of the unexpected took a new twist this evening, again like the Bulldogs game. Sharkies made the early running and got the first try and I think everybody including the large Sharks contingent in the crowd thought this is the way it was going to be.

Wests got back in the game with a crossfield kick being deflected backwards for a score and this swung the game. Tigers fumbled over the line got ahead in the game and then scored right on the half-time hooter. To finish the half 18-6 up.

Sharkies had not respected possession in the first half  had managed to give away needless penalties such as kicking the ball out on the full.

But still they would bounce back in the second half would they not? But Wests forwards dominated the second stanza and 32-6 was a fair reflection of the game.

A lot for Benji and the Tigers to build on from this game. Confidence from beating a top 8 ranked side being one thing. Tipsters beware this is now a different breed of Tiger.

With Sharkies you cannot help but feel they do not score enough points and if they get behind by two scores struggle

In my opinion, Cronulla has stood still since 2022 and the rest of the league has improved. This is something that the coaching staff need to address.

Attendance 15990 iir

[Graham]

Preview
Eels v Sea Eagles

This is an intriguing contest as Parramatta Eels host Manly Sea Eagles.

The Eels are tough to beat on home soil and that could give them the edge but they will need to be better than they showed in the second half of last week’s loss to Penrith Panthers. They were kept scoreless in that 40-minute period.

Manly come into this game with two wins from two after impressing in both games to date.

Forum tipsters

Eels to win 8

Sea Eagles to win 5

Edited March 23 by Graham

[Graham]

Preview

Knights v Storm

Newcastle Knights were expected to challenge this season after such a strong end to last season but they find themselves without a win after two games and they have already opted to make changes to the makeup of their halfback pairing.
 

Melbourne Storm on the other hand are two from two and will be full of confidence ahead of this fixture. They will come into this though without their first-choice halves pairing but they still have plenty of quality players in their side.

How do our forum tipsters see this one going?

Knights to win 2

Storm to win 11

 

Edited March 23 by Graham

[Farmduck]

Certainly a good day's viewing. Floggings are maybe easier to watch when you have no emotional investment in either team. I didn't care who won the first 2 games so it was good to see the Doggies finally click. Kikau probably his best game ever at the Dogs. One good sign was that most tries didn't involve Crichton or Kikau.

In the St George game I thought the low-point for the merger was when Chad Townsend scored from 10m out with 4 defenders in front of him. Chad Townsend, not Payne Haas or Haumole Olakau'atu, but Chad Townsend. Sloan just stood there, 5m away, watching. All he needed to do was put his foot on the line to stop Townsend grounding the ball.

As for Wests, I want to see them do it again before I get too excited. Let's not forget they scored 66 against the Cows last year then conceded 74 a few weeks later on the way to another Wooden Spoon.

I liked seeing Toby Rudolf get pulled for a HIA. If you're injured enough to lie on the ground hoping for a bunker replay and penalty then clearly you're injured enough to need a HIA. I'm sure it wasn't the line of thinking but I wish it was. And he did get a smack across the face so probably should have got a penalty.

[Route66]

11 hours ago, Graham said:

A big vocal crowd can go home happy (Api) 

First win for Benji as head coach.

 

If I ever make it to Sydney the tigers stadium will be top of my places to visit, I’ll be on top of that hill

[Graham]

2 hours ago, Route66 said:

If I ever make it to Sydney the tigers stadium will be top of my places to visit, I’ll be on top of that hill

When I was involved at Featherstone, several Wests Tigers fans from Australia on holiday here at different times came into the club shop. It’s a great worldwide rugby league family we all belong to.

Other Aussies with allegiances to various clubs visited too.

[Anita Bath]

2 hours ago, Route66 said:

If I ever make it to Sydney the tigers stadium will be top of my places to visit, I’ll be on top of that hill

The nearest Australia has to Pompeii…..But Pompeii is in better shape

[Farmduck]

Gold Coast captain Tino Fa'asuamaleaui will miss the rest of the NRL season after scans confirmed he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) against Canterbury on Saturday.

Fa'asuamaleaui had scans in Sydney on Saturday night after the Titans' 32-0 loss and a further analysis by a club doctor on Sunday morning revealed the worst possible news.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-24/nrl-gold-coast-titans-tino-faasuamaleaui-out-for-season/103625706

[Farmduck]

What is going on with the times this weekend? On the NRL site all the match times were AM, not PM. Today Fox Sports shows the Eels game at 5.05PM but their live match blog says it starts in 46 minutes which would be 4.05PM

[Farmduck]

TEAMS

Eels team: 1. Clinton Gutherson 2. Morgan Harper 3. Viliami Penisini 4. Blaize Talagi 5. Sean Russell 6. Dylan Brown 7. Mitchell Moses 8. Reagan Campbell-Gillard 9. Joey Lussick 16. Joe Ofahengaue 11. Shaun Lane 12. Bryce Cartwright 13. J’maine Hopgood

10. Junior Paulo 14. Luca Moretti 15. Ryan Matterson 17. Kelma Tuilagi.

18th man: 20. Brendan Hands

 

Sea Eagles team: 1. Tom Trbojevic 2. Raymond Tuiamalo Vaega 3. Tolutau Koula 4. Reuben Garrick 5. Jaxson Paulo 6. Luke Brooks 7. Daly Cherry-Evans 8. Taniela Paseka 9. Lachlan Croker 10. Josh Aloiai 11. Haumole Olakau’atu 12. Ben Trbojevic 13. Jake Trbojevic

14. Karl Lawton 15. Corey Waddell 16. Ethan Bullemor 17. Nathan Brown.

18th man: 18. Jakob Arthur

[Farmduck]

6min: T-Turbo finishes a 80m move. After an earlier penalty goal, Garrick converts try

Manly 8 - 0

[Farmduck]

12min: Jaxson Paulo try. Garrick converts.

Manly 14 - 0

[Farmduck]

19min: Penisini try after the leapers missed the kick. Gutho goal

Earls 6 - 14

[Farmduck]

26min: Moses try off nice Jr Paulo offload. Gutho kicks it

Eels 12 -- 14