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It’s back to square one for St George Illawarra but they’re not alone after a round of NRL upsets.
The Dragons were the biggest casualty, their seven-game winning streak brought to a sudden halt by Canberra 19-12 at WIN Stadium today.
The Raiders’ first victory in Wollongong in a decade ruined the Dragons midseason surge that had seen them rise from the rear of the field to fifth place on the table.
“Today is disappointing but next week we turn up to Melbourne with a pretty clean slate,” said Dragons coach Nathan Brown.
“Money is out of the bank now, next week we’re back to square one.
“We have won seven and now we have to start from scratch again.”
The round of spectacular surprises began on Friday when injury-ravaged Gold Coast stunned high flying Sydney Roosters 32-28 and Newcastle ran over Penrith 30-18.
South Sydney continued their hot streak with another come from behind win on Saturday, this time a 32-20 victory over Parramatta to make it five on the trot.
And the struggling Bulldogs completed the tipsters’ nightmare today with a 26-18 defeat of Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium to open a four-point buffer over the wooden spoon-bound North Queensland Cowboys.
The Cowboys were one of the few sides to stick true to form, their 24-14 loss to the New Zealand Warriors in Auckland a club record equalling 10th defeat in succession.
While bottom place looks almost assured, the other 15 positions are still up for grabs even though Manly put one hand on the minor premiership with their 34-6 mauling of fellow leaders Cronulla on Saturday night.
The Sea Eagles lead the competition with 28 points and have a significant points differential gap over the rest of the field.
The Sydney Roosters (2nd, 26pts), Cronulla (3rd, 26pts) and Melbourne (4th, 24pts) complete the top four who have raced clear.
But the Roosters season could nosedive tomorrow with star halfback Mitchell Pearce under review for a possible kneeing infringement in the loss to the Titans.
The Dragons are fifth (22pts) and only ahead of the Titans (22pts) with superior for and against, while Brisbane (21pts) and Penrith (19pts) complete the top half of the ladder.
Wests Tigers (11th, 18pts) can sneak into the top eight when they play the Storm at Campbelltown Stadium tomorrow night, while Melbourne can jump to second with a win.
Newcastle moved from 11th to ninth with their win on Friday and are joined on 18 points by Parramatta (10th), Tigers, Canberra (12th) and the Warriors (13th), with 14th placed South Sydney in striking distance on 16 points.
NRL ROUND 18 SNAPSHOT
THEY SAID IT: “I went in to tackle big Willie and I think I hit big Willie’s big willy.” Titans skipper PRESTON CAMPBELL explains how he was knocked out trying to tackle Roosters big man Willie Mason.
“We are up shit creek pretty much, we’ve got one paddle left, if we lose that we’re in strife.” Parramatta stand-in captain NATHAN HINDMARSH sums up the Eels’ poor season. The paddle he refers to is star Feleti Mateo, who has knee scans tomorrow.STAT THAT MATTERS: Five in a row. The number of wins in succession for South Sydney, thrusting them back into finals contention. Ten in row. The number of losses in succession for North Queensland – an equal club record.
MAN OF THE ROUND: Newcastle’s KURT GIDLEY. Stand in captain and did everything on the field bar carry the water. A brilliant performance to lead his side to victory. Has officially taken Andrew Johns’ status as the most important player for the Knights.
MAGIC MOMENT: Rookie Gold Coast winger JORDAN RAPANA’S try in just the sixth minute, reminiscent of Israel Folau’s Origin stunner. Rapana leapt high above his opponent to get one touch on the ball, then managed to reach out and secure the ball as he fell to the ground and touch down inches inside the dead ball line.
TALKING POINT: All the upsets. The NRL season has been tossed on its head with Gold Coast, Newcastle, South Sydney, Canberra and Bulldogs all winning against the odds.
JUDICIARY WATCH: Parramatta: Nathan Hindmarsh (high tackle); Sydney Roosters: Mitchell Pearce (kneeing).
KEY INJURIES: Sydney Roosters: Setaimata Sa (shoulder); Parramatta: Feleti Mateo (knee); Manly: Matt Orford (corked leg); Penrith: Frank Pritchard (shoulder), Luke Lewis (ribs, calf), Wade Graham (groin); Newcastle: Wes Naiqama (leg stress fracture), Chris Bailey (quadriceps), Brisbane: Nick Emmett (ankle)
UNDER PRESSURE: Wests Tigers, Penrith, Parramatta, New Zealand, Newcastle and Canberra. All are fighting for a spot in the finals but there’s a big green and red shadow lurking just two points behind them called South Sydney.
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