Origin, Roosters-Knights And New Zealand-Bunnies

By HeBeGeeBee on May 26, 2011 in Other

Origin threw the line-ups of the ten teams that didn’t have byes this week into complete disarray but we were still treated to some spectacular footy. The Green Machine posted another win, this time against the Bulldogs who were inept in attack, while the Eels demolished an under strength Sharks outfit. This review is slightly late this week due to Game 1 of State of Origin falling on Wednesday but what a game it was with the Queenslanders coming in ready for yet another series win and the New South Welshmen hoping to stem the flow of ordinary performances over the last five years.

QUEENSLAND 16 – NEW SOUTH WALES 12

Special Report – Eighty minutes of footy went by on Wednesday night and I actually thought the Blues had a chance. They admirably defended their line under an extreme amount of pressure and maintained a steely resolve to at one point lead the match. Queensland seemed to lose a bit of direction during the second half and the tide really turned when Jonathan Thurston missed a penalty goal from right in front, which then lead to the Blues’ Michael Jennings scoring his first try of the season. But this Queensland team can seemingly produce a try at the drop of a hat especially when it’s needed most and unfortunately for New South Welshmen everywhere Darren Lockyer slipped a superb pass on the inside to a flying Billy Slater to snatch away victory from a very well-drilled Blues team. Of note from this match was a very solid debut from young Josh Dugan who looked more than comfortable in his first ever Origin game. Queensland may have drawn first blood but to be honest I see this loss for the Blues as the fuel to the fire and can see a very competitive series this year with a 2-1 outcome. Who will win the two? You decide.

WARRIORS 12 – RABBITOHS 6

The Warriors continued their winning ways with an underwhelming victory over a mostly lackadaisical Red and Green Bunnies team. For 33 minutes both clubs went hard out at each other with the dam finally breaking in favour of the home team when Brett Seymour pushed his way over the line from five metres out. A quick conversion from James Maloney had the Warriors going into the break up by six points, which was hardly a commanding lead. The second half saw the Bunnies lock up the scores with a try to Rhys ‘Impreza’ Wesser in the 54th minute but the Warriors grabbed the match winner through Krisnan Inu only minutes later.

Next Round – PANTHERS vs. RABBITOHS (30/05 at 7:00pm at Centrebet Stadium)

ROOSTERS 12 – KNIGHTS 10

Tri-Colours fans would be happy to again be scoring competition points with their win over the Knights. Shaun Kenny-Dowall set up and scored the first try of the match with a slick run up the edge of the field and although these were the first points of the match there was still a long way to go. No further points were scored by either team in the first half and the scoreboard read 6-0 in favour of the home team at the break. The second stanza opened with more promise for the Chooks with Anthony ‘The Count’ Minichello running off a Mitchell Pearce inside pass into a gaping hole in the Knights defence and finishing it off with a nice forward somersault that would have scored 7.0 – 6.3 – 8.4 from the international judges. The Roosters couldn’t seem to lock this one away and allowed the Knights back into what should have been a Tri-Wash and when Shannon McDonnell scored in an exciting passage of play there was an air of concern at the SFS. In the final minutes the Knights came to within two points and even though this game ended with a Roosters win it was very, very close.

Next Round – COWBOYS vs. ROOSTERS (28/05 at 7:30pm at Dairy Farmers Stadium)

RAIDERS 20 – BULLDOGS 12

The Green Machine seems to have seen the mechanic and rectified whatever problem was troubling them with yet another win to almost get them off the bottom of the ladder. Completely controlling the first half and defending a continuous attack from the Doggies they managed to score two tries against the run of play and went into the break with a ten-point lead. As the second half started most thought that ten points would never be enough against the Bulldogs but Canberra continued to score points with Joel Picker extending the lead to 16-0. Finally the Bulldogs got on the board with tries to Josh Morris and Ben Barba but it was too little too late.

TIGERS 20 – PANTHERS 18

The big cats went to war in the west on Saturday night. The Tigers started off the scoring with a try to a newly re-signed Blake Ayshford but the Panthers returned serve with a try to Masada Iosefa. And back and forth the points went with the half-time scoreboard reading 12-10 in favour of the Panthers. The second half saw the Panthers grab another try through Lachlan Coote, who was playing his first game back from injury, and with the scoreboard reading 18-10 it all looked good for the Mountain Men. But with Benji Marshall playing, it ain’t over ‘til it’s over and the Tigers put on a flurry of points in the final 20 minutes to steal this one away from the Panthers.

EELS 40 – SHARKS 6

40-6 is a good outcome in anyone’s book but let’s be honest with ourselves and note down some facts about this game, most importantly the absence of Paul Gallen and Kade Snowden for the Sharks. Let’s face it, if you take the engine out of the car you don’t get very far and this exactly what happened to the Sharks on Monday night with the only real positive being that they never gave up. The Eels on the other hand found the try-line seven times with Luke Burt and Jordan Atkins scoring doubles, and although they managed to decimate the Sharks they still seemed to be lacking a little something. Jarryd Hayne stepped up and produced a fairly good game and halfback Jeff Robson did well to lead the boys around the park. It was close to this time that Parra went on a magical run a few years ago – could this be the start of another series of wins? Somehow the Eels now find themselves only two points out of the eight and if there is any time to make a move it is now.