NRL Wrap: Plenty Of High-Scoring Games In Another Action-Packed Round Of Footy

By Danielle Smith

What another brilliant weekend of footy.

Here is your Monday snapshot of all the action from Round 3.

Cronulla Sharks 36 - 12 St George Illawarra Dragons

It was perfect wet weather for the Sharks, when they and former Dragon Cam McInnes gave the Red V a grubbing in Wollongong on Thursday night.

Recruit Nicho Hynes took the reins and guided the Sharks seamlessly around the park. Despite the atrocious conditions Hynes kicked 5/6, set up a try and scored one of his own, as well as providing the Sharks with a great kicking game. He is getting better each week in his new role of halfback.

New coach Craig Fitzgibbon also seems to be settling in nicely, with another win under his belt and confidence growing in the Shire.

Despite strong efforts from Ben Hunt and Mikaele Ravalawa, the Dragons just couldn't play to the conditions. Discipline played a huge factor in their loss, and Jaydn Su'A was sin binned for the second week in a row, which once again had St George fans up in arms.

New Zealand Warriors 16 - 12 Wests Tigers

With both teams starting the season off poorly and desperate for a win, this game had the potential to be really gritty and exciting.

It wasn't.

It was a frustrating 80 minutes, with a few glimpses of greatness.

Tiger's captain James Tamou tried to make the most of his return from suspension, scoring the first try and doing his best to inspire his troops. Oliver Gildart was also solid in a losing side.

Teammate Danie Laurie had a game he would like to forget, after a terrible night under the high ball and in general play.

Josh Curran had another brilliant hit out for the Warriors, and Reece Walsh was strong out the back.

Both teams made silly errors, gave too many penalties, and were their own worst enemies. Even when the Warriors were down to 12 men after Marcelo Montoya was sin-binned, the Tigers made it look like the were playing against 20.

Wests will be hoping for all their big names currently sitting on the sideline to return as soon as possible to give them a much-needed boost.

South Sydney Rabbitohs 26 - 16 Sydney Roosters

It was a game that many fans had been waiting for since last August. Latrell Mitchell and the Bunnies facing off with Joey Manu and the Roosters after that infamous tackle.

Many expected a game full of spite, and the Roosters to put on a runaway score against Souths. Neither happened.

The Rabbitohs were dominant from the start and struck first though captain Cam Murray. The skipper had a close to faultless performance in his 77 minutes on the field and led from the front.

Halfback Lachlan Illias looked much more at ease in only his third time at number seven, and Damien Cook was back in form for his 150^th game. Latrell Mitchell made his presence felt for the right reasons, heavily involved throughout the match, scoring a try, and converting 4/5.

The Roosters were a far cry from their usual best, looking very clunky. Leading the error count with 12 and having a poor completion rate of 69 per cent, they didn't give themselves a chance to compete. Despite running the most metres of the game with 202, James Tedesco looked extremely frustrated, impatient, and well off his normal high standards.

Penrith Panthers 36 - 20 Newcastle Knights

A top of the table clash in Bathurst that had the potential to be a cracker, but a huge brain snap from Knights forward Mitch Barnett changed the entire course of the game.

In the 33^rd minute, and with his team leading 6-4, Barnett elbowed Panther Chris Smith on the jaw in back play and was sent off for his efforts.

With the one-man overlap, Tyrone May crossed for Penrith only a few minutes later, and Penrith took to the break leading 12-6.

The Knights put on a gallant effort with only 12 men, and at one point were only trailing 28-20. But two quick Panthers tries in the final minutes put the game well out of reach.

Five tries to three in the second half with a player down should make the Knights faithful proud of the boys' efforts.

Fullback Dylan Edwards was a standout for the Panthers. Safe under the high ball, running for 216 metres and helping set up one of his team's tries.

A bit of a side giggle from the match - when the independent head doctor made an interesting call when Newcastle's Kurt Mann was accidently kicked ...um...downstairs. Because he was down on the ground for a while catching his breath, he was incorrectly taken off for a HIA. Twitter erupted with fans commenting he was taken off for an injury to the wrong head.

Parramatta Eels 28 - 24 Melbourne Storm

In their second Golden Point match in as many weeks, the Storm couldn't get the biscuits this time, going down to the Eels in a thriller on Saturday night.

With injuries and Covid depleting Melbourne's troops, and Brandon Smith rushing back into the team after suffering a broken hand in round one, many thought Parramatta would cruise to victory. Instead, we got to witness an absolute brilliant performance from both sides. A physical arm wrestle for 82 minutes, with both teams giving everything they had until the end.

The half time score was 12-12 and missed field goal attempts from either side couldn't break 24-24 deadlock at full time.

Parramatta's Ray Stone became the unlikely hero of the match, when he regathered a Mitch Moses's field goal that struck the upright and crossed over for the winning try.

In a bittersweet moment for the Stone, it looks like in scoring the match winner, he may have done ACL at the same time.

Canberra Raiders 24 - 22 Gold Coast Titans

In one of the greatest comebacks in the club's history, the Raiders turned an 18-point deficit at half time into a two-point victory for the ages.

It was all one-way traffic in the first half, with the Titans leading 22-0 at the 35^th minute. Toby Sexton and Beau Fermor were once again strong for the Gold Coast.

A try just before the break to Canberra centre Semi Valemei got the home team on the board, but the work in front of them seemed too great to overcome.

Whatever coach Ricky Stuart said to the Green Machine in the sheds worked a treat. And whatever Titans coach Justin Holbrook said had the opposite effect.

It was almost as if the players swapped jerseys for the final 40 minutes.

Canberra seemed to have an entirely new mindset, scoring five unanswered tries and not giving the Titans an inch.

Jack Wighton was instrumental in the second half, finally kicking into gear and helping his team secure the much needed two points.

North Queensland Cowboys 38 v 12 Brisbane Broncos

The Cowboys have served their big brother's their first loss of the season, with a 38-12 thrashing in front of a stunned Brisbane crowd.

The visitors gave it to Broncos during the Queensland derby, scoring six tries to two in a truly dominating performance.

Jeremiah Nanai had a memorable game, scoring a hat trick in only his third NRL match. Valentine Holmes was outstanding for the Cowboys, leading the running metres with 180, scoring a try and having a perfect day with the boot kicking 7/7 goals.

Former Bronco Tom Dearden was also impressive against his old club, setting up three tries and scoring one of his own.

Bronco's centre Herbie Farnworth had another solid performance. He led the team's tackle breaks with ten, scored one try and was also awarded a penalty try after being taken out by Cowboy's Kyle Feldt.

Brisbane halfback Adam Reynolds didn't play to his usual standards, kicking the ball out on the full twice and missing five tackles.

Many Sea Eagles 13 - 12 Canterbury Bulldogs

The Sea Eagles finally recorded their first win of the season, beating the Bulldogs at Brookvale in horrible conditions.

While not the most entertaining game of the round, it was a gritty and at times feisty performance from both sides. The wet weather certainly contributed to the handling errors and lack of ball control.

Both teams scored two tries, with only Rueben Garrick able to add the extras for Manly. Matt Burton made up for his two missed conversions kicking two penalty goals and levelling the score.

A late field goal from Daly Cherry-Evans put the home team in front by one point which was enough to secure the win.

Topics: Highlights, wrap, Round 3, score, nrl, try, Australia,