NRL Weekly Wrap: Everything we saw in Round 13

There may have been less games due to Origin but there was still plenty to unpack from round 13 in the article below.

Dolphins handle Dragons in Redcliffe

In their second game of the season at Redcliffe’s Kayo Stadium, the Dolphins triumphed over the struggling Dragons 26-12 in the first of the Origin-impacted matches.

A Jack Bird try got the visitors on the board early before a trio of tries within the space of seven minutes put the Dolphins in a favourable position.

Matters were made worse for the Red V with stand-in skipper Jack de Belin binned just shy of the half-hour mark for dangerous contact below the knees.

Dragons rookie Toby Couchman scored on the stroke of half-time to breathe some life back into the Dragons’ chances before a second Jamayne Isaako try on the other side of half-time proved enough as Wayne Bennett’s men held on for their seventh win of the season.

Isaako continued his outstanding season finishing with a double to go along with 131 run metres whilst Jeremy Marshall-King assisted on a try, made a line break, and made a team-high 44 tackles.

For the Dragons, Jacob Liddle assisted on a try, made a line break, and made 53 tackles whilst de Belin ran for a 138 metres and made a game-high 60 tackles.

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Eels outlast Cowboys at CommBank

The Eels have managed back-to-back wins for just the second time this season after outlasting an undermanned Cowboys outfit 24-16 at CommBank Stadium on Friday night.

North Queensland drew first blood via fullback Scott Drinkwater before Wiremu Greig crossed for the first try of his NRL career to tie it.

Tries to Maika Sivo and Sean Russell midway through the second stanza gave the hosts a 12-point buffer before the Cowboys came roaring back thanks to a pair of Kyle Feldt tries entering the dying stages.

Their comeback fell short, however, with Mitchell Moses crossing for the blue and golds late to seal it.

Dylan Brown assisted on a try and ran for 155 metres whilst J’maine Hopgood ran for 159 metres and made 45 tackles.

For North Queensland, winger Robert Derby ran for 215 metres from 25 carries and made zero errors in a neat, top-grade debut whilst Drinkwater scored a try, assisted on two others, and ran for 155 metres with four tackle breaks.

‘Baby’ Broncos hold off Warriors fightback in Napier thriller

An Origin-gutted Broncos side pulled off one of their gutsier wins of the season 26-22 over the Warriors in Napier but it was not without some late-game theatrics that nearly resulted in a miracle comeback.

Brisbane took a 12-6 lead into the sheds thanks to tries to Deine Mariner and Jordan Riki before Ezra Mam crossed in the 53rd minute to improve their lead to a dozen and eventually 14 after an Adam Reynolds penalty goal.

Dallin Watene-Zelezniak grabbed his second of the evening to keep the Warriors afloat before Mariner’s second of the encounter looked to seal in for the Broncos who led 26-10 with less than seven minutes to play.

The Warriors crashed over the subsequent set through fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad before a neat, Adam Pompey flick put Marcelo Montoya over in the corner to cut it to four with two-and-a-half minutes to play.

The hosts appeared to have a tied it at 26 and given Shaun Johnson the opportunity to win it via a sideline conversion with a minute left after Montoya trucked his way to the line once more only for the video officials to step in and penalise Pompey for tugging on the jersey of Mariner in the lead-up.

Tristan Sailor assisted on a try and ran for 131 metres with four line breaks in his first NRL outing in three years whilst Mariner scored a double and ran for 179 metres with five tackle breaks.

Addin Fonua-Blake ran for 264 metres from 20 carries with six tackle breaks to go along with 29 tackles without a miss whilst Watene-Zelezniak scored two and ran for 241 metres with nine tackle breaks.

Raiders pip Rabbitohs in eventful Homebush clash

The Raiders have won six of their past seven after squeaking past the Rabbitohs 33-26 in an emotional clash at Homebush on Saturday night.

Jed Cartwright crossed to give the hosts an early lead before Canberra snagged a trio of tries in the space of nine minutes – via Corey Horsburgh and an Albert Hopoate double – to make it 16-4.

Alex Johnston crossed prior to half-time for Souths before Isaiah Tass scored on the other side of the half to tighten things up.

Souths took the lead 52 minutes in thanks to Johnston’s second before the back-and-forth nature of the affair continued with Tom Starling scoring to wrestle the lead back the way of the visitors.

A frightening scene in which Raiders back-rower Corey Harawira-Naera was left on the ground shaking after a rather innocuous-looking tackle halted the game with players from both sides and medical staffs forming a huddle around him.

Upon the restart of play, a Damien Cook try and subsequent Blake Taaffe conversion with 10 minutes left gave Souths a two-point lead before Hopoate’s third proved the match-winner for the Raiders with less than five to play.

For Canberra, Josh Papali’i and Joseph Tapine combined for 443 metres from 38 carries and 83 tackles without a miss.

Souths were led by Cody Walker’s three try assists and 59 run metres whilst Keaon Koloamatangi ran for 140 metres and made 29 tackles in his return from a six-week injury layoff.

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Knights too strong for Sea Eagles in Hunter

Manly have lost four of their past five after surrendering an early lead to go down to the Knights 28-18 in Newcastle on Sunday afternoon.

With no Trbojevic brothers or Daly Cherry-Evans available, Manly jumped out to an early 8-0 lead before the Knights answered via tries to Greg Marzhew and Bradman Best.

Lachlan Croker scored prior to the intermission to snatch the lead back for the visitors before Marzhew grabbed two in two minutes on the other side of the break.

Jason Saab tied it for the Sea Eagles via a 90-metre intercept with just under a quarter of the match remaining before a Phoenix Crossland try gave Newcastle the lead at the 66-minute mark.

Dom Young showed off his blinding pace in a 90-metre dash to the try-line in the final stages to put the icing on the cake for the Knights.

Marzhew scored three and ran for 182 metres with 13 tackle breaks whilst Best scored one, assisted on another, and ran for 197 metres with eight tackle breaks.

For Manly, Toafofoa Sipley ran for 165 metres with four tackle breaks and made 27 tackles.

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