NRL Friday: Dragons and Titans Prevail
Friday's games for the National Rugby League's (NRL) Round 19 have come and gone and The Dragons and Broncos have registered victories over the Rabbitohs and Titans respectively.
Dragons 16 Rabbitohs 13
The Dragons were coming off of a Round 18 bye, which was preceded by a Round 17 loss. Sitting at the top of the table after Round 18, the Dragons were looking to rebound. The Rabbitohs were the victim of a Round 18 loss in the Sydney derby. They were hoping they could get the season back on track with a win at home in South Sydney’s ANZ Stadium. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case.
The Rabbitohs played the Dragons close, actually holding the lead up to the 64th minute before a 71st minute try by the Dragons cemented the victory for the visitors.
The Rabbitohs came screaming out of the gates boosted by the support of the home fans. The strong play paid off as the Bunnies Captain Roy Asotasi notched the first try of the game only five minutes in. Chris Sandow then made the score 6-0 with a conversion. Even though the Sydney side dominated play in the first 40 minutes, the St. George club matched them with a try of their own courtesy of Brett Morris in the 27th minute. Neither team could manage any more points as they went to half stuck at 6-4.
After the half, the Rabbitohs once again came out firing, with a John Sutton try only 7 minutes in. Sandow would then continue his strong play with another conversion. Jason Nightingale, however, was able to battle back with a try that was helped on by Mark Gasnier, and the score was cut to 12-10 after a John Howard conversion. Howard managed a penalty in the 60th minute to tie the game up at 12, however, Sandow followed quickly with a field goal to give the Bunnies the lead at 13-12.
It looked as though the Sydney-siders were going to upset the first place Dragons. However, with only 9 minutes to go, the Rabbitohs plans were foiled for the second week in a row as Gasnier capped off a wonderful game with a try of his own. The Dragons claimed victory with a hard fought 16-13 win.
Broncos 24 Titans 10
In an all Queensland match up against the Brisbane Broncos and the Gold Coast Titans, both teams were looking to make a mark, as they headed into the final eight matches of the season.
The Broncos were coming off of a Round 18 bye as well as a Round 17 loss, and looking to get back on track. While the Titans were coming off of a heartbreaking one point loss to the Wests Titans, and were keen on progressing up the ladder.
The Titans played strong early on, coming out of halftime with the lead. However, they were no match for the Broncos, and were not able to score a point in the final 40 minutes.
The Titans did not waste any time, scoring a try in the 9th minute as Mat Rogers recorded all six points on his own. Bodene Thompson added another four points in the 25th minute to make it 10-0. After that, it was all Titans, as the Queensland side suddenly woke up. Matt Gillett scored and Corey Parker recorded the conversion in the 34th minute.
After the break, Antonio Winterstein scored two tries in the first coming in the 54th and the second in the 68th, both bolstered by Parker conversions. The Broncos refused to let up as Jharal Yow Yeh scored with two minutes remaining in the match. Finally, after an 80th minute Parker conversion, the game came to a close with a final score of 24-10 in favour of the Broncos.
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