NRL Weekly Wrap: Everything we saw in Round 2

Panthers too strong for Souths, kick-off title defence

The defending premier Panthers have notched their first win of 2023 after outmuscling South Sydney 16-12 in a heated encounter at the foot of the mountains.

Stephen Crichton crossed early in the piece for Penrith before Izack Tago snagged a brilliant try on the stroke of half-time off a break and grubber courtesy of five-eighth Jarome Luai.

A Brian To’o four-pointer increased the Penrith lead to 16 at the 52-minute mark before South Sydney answered through tries through Alex Johnston and Isaiah Tass to set up a grandstand finish but ultimately fell short.

Isaah Yeo was unsurprisingly strong for Penrith running for 159 metres from 18 carries and making 42 tackles without a miss whilst Sunia Turuva ran for a game-high 198 metres from 20 carries.

With Tevita Tatola and Jai Arrow among those missing for the Rabbits, Shaquai Mitchell stepped up off the bench and put together his strongest outing in the top grade running for 155 metres from 15 carries and making 33 tackles whilst Tass scored a try and ran for a team-high 168 metres with three tackle breaks.

Sharks outlast Eels in back-and-forth affair

Cronulla have handed the Eels back-to-back losses to start the season after running out 30-26 winners over last year’s Grand Finalists at CommBank Stadium on Friday evening.

The Eels snatched a pair of tries in the opening five minutes before Cronulla fought back to take the lead at the first-quarter mark.

A William Kennedy hat-trick helped them fend off a surging Parramatta side late to grab their first win of 2023 without star halfback Nicho Hynes.

Kennedy was superb running for a team-high 183 metres with four tackle breaks to go along with his trio of tries whilst Matt Moylan and Braydon Trindall each assisted on a pair of tries and managed the Sharks towards a needed victory.

J’maine Hopgood, meanwhile, continues turning heads at Parramatta with the 23-year-old assisting on two tries, running for 145 metres, and making 47 tackles whilst Dylan Brown ran for a game-high 195 metres and assisted on two tries of his own.

Walsh announces re-arrival in blistering Queensland derby

A Reece Walsh masterclass has helped propel Brisbane to a 28-16 win over rivals North Queensland to keep them undefeated on the season.

Jeremiah Nanai crossed in the opening minutes for North Queensland before Brisbane snagged a pair of tries through Kurt Capewell and Ezra Mam leading up to half-time to keep them in the contest.

Cowboys fullback Scott Drinkwater was binned in the early stages of the second half after a stray shoulder caught Corey Oates high and broke his jaw as he jetted towards the try-line.

A Kotoni Staggs try saw the Broncos snatch their first lead at the 44-minute mark before Mam grabbed a second several sets later to give them a comfortable lead that they did not look back from.

Walsh scored a try in the final minutes to cap off a night in which he finished with a try assist, three line break assists, and 175 run metres whilst Mam scored two tries and ran for 183 metres.

For the Cowboys, Jason Taumalolo ran for a team-high 202 metres from 15 carries with seven tackle breaks whilst Valentine Holmes ran for 149 metres with five tackle breaks.

Gallant Warriors unable to contain clunky Chooks

The Sydney Roosters are on the board for 2023 after a shock Round 1 loss to the Dolphins after brushing past the Warriors 20-12 at Allianz Stadium.

A Jaxson Paulo try opened the account for the hosts just four minutes in before Sam Walker slotted a penalty goal shortly after to give them an early 8-0 lead.

Wayde Egan crossed for a try off a brilliant link-up between halves Te Maire Martin and Shaun Johnson, however, second half tries to Paulo and Walker gave the Roosters an 18-8 lead which ultimately proved enough against a Warriors outfit that put together some stout defensive efforts on their own line for significant stretches.

Joseph Sua’ali’i enjoyed a stellar outing for the tricolours running for a game-high 231 metres from 17 carries with seven tackle breaks to go along with a pair of line breaks and a try assist whilst Lindsay Collins led the way for the Roosters’ undermanned forward pack running for 184 metres from 16 carries and making 34 tackles.

For the Warriors, Tohu Harris picked up from where he left off in Round 1 against Newcastle running for 144 metres from 15 carries and making a game-high 60 tackles whilst Egan scored a try and made 45 tackles.

The Dolphins are… good?

The Dolphins have defied all odds to secure a pair of victories from their first two premiership outings after sneaking past the Raiders 20-14 at Redcliffe’s Kayo Stadium on Saturday evening thanks to a 77th minute match-winner courtesy of Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow.

In soppy conditions, Canberra drew first blood through Jack Wighton before Nick Čotrić made it 10-0 shortly before the half-hour mark.

Things were made worse for the hosts when hooker Jeremy Marshall-King was binned for an ugly hip drop.

The 12-man Dolphins answered, however, through Tabuai-Fidow on the stroke of half-time before Tom Gilbert crossed 62 minutes in to make things interesting.

The sides found themselves all tied up through several penalty goals and, with Hudson Young in the bin for Canberra and Sean O’Sullivan for the Dolphins, Tabuai-Fidow ran a sharp sweep off the hip of Isaiya Katoa to slide over for the match-winning try as Kayo Stadium erupted.

Tabuai-Fidow was sensational for head coach Wayne Bennett scoring a double and running for 157 metres whilst O’Sullivan came up with a pair of try assists and kicked for 423 metres.

Canberra, meanwhile, were led by Joseph Tapine’s 177 metres and 36 tackles without a miss.

A dawn of a new era at Canterbury

The Bulldogs managed to pull off one their most impressive wins in recent memory demolishing the Storm 26-12 in Melbourne to capture the first win of the Ciraldo Era.

Rookie Jacob Preston – who was fast-tracked into the starting 13 – notched the first points of the contest before Jacob Kiraz and Josh Addo-Carr both managed first-half tries to give the Dogs a 16-0 halftime lead.

Kiraz snagged his second early in the second stanza before Jake Averillo joined the try-scorers party to give the visitors a 28-0 lead with half an hour remaining.

Nelson Asofa-Solomona and Jahrome Hughes got Melbourne on the board to breathe some life back into the contest but the night belonged to the Dogs as they secured their first win over Melbourne in nearly seven years.

Kiraz went berserk for Canterbury scoring two tries, running for a game-high 235 metres, and breaking 10 tackles whilst Max King ran for 194 metres from 17 carries and made 35 tackles.

Knights fight for two-point win over hapless Wests Tigers

The Newcastle Knights came away with their opening win of the season after surviving the Wests Tigers in a fierce clash at Leichhardt Oval on Sunday afternoon.

After losing Kalyn Ponga to a head knock in the opening minute, tries to Dom Young and Lachlan Fitzgibbon stabilised Newcastle’s cause.

With Young in the bin for a tackle off the ball, Asu Kepaoa scored for the Wests Tigers to breathe some life back into the home side on the stroke of half-time.

Tommy Talau left the field prior to half-time with a suspected broken nose suffered in a tackle from former-teammate Jackson Hastings with the situation flaring up postgame.

Young snagged a double on the hour-mark before Jacob Saifiti was sent from the field for an ugly high shot that ended Jake Simpkin’s afternoon.

The only points the Wests Tigers managed to score with Saifiti off the field was a Stefano Utoikamanu four-pointer moments before the siren.

The Wests Tigers made 18 errors and missed 33 tackles in a disheartening outing against a less-than-convincing Knights unit.

Young scored a double for Newcastle and ran for a team-high 177 run metres with nine tackle breaks whilst Daniel Saifiti was the only Knights forward to surpass 100 run metres finishing with 157 metres from 16 carries and 31 tackles.

For the Wests Tigers, Daine Laurie ran for a game-high 191 metres from 19 carries with six tackle breaks.

Clinical Dragons dispatch of Titans in opening appearance of 2023

Fresh off a Round 1 bye, the St. George Illawarra Dragons are in the winners circle after overcoming a slow start to defeat the Titans 32-18 at Kogarah to end the round.

The visitors jumped out to an early 12-2 lead after Alofi’ana Khan-Pereira and Sam Verrills broke down some meagre Dragons goal-line defence to notch tries before the home side poured on 22 points in 15 minutes to turn the tide completely.

Tyrell Sloan and Jacob Liddle linked up for a beautiful try up the middle to open their account before Ben Hunt and Mikaele Ravalawa found ways to score.

Sloan scored one of his own before prop Blake Lawrie ensured the 91 games he waited for his maiden NRL four-pointer would not be repeated, steaming into a hole off lock Jack Bird to dive under the posts and put the cherry on top of a nice victory for the Red V.

Hunt scored and assisted on a try for the Dragons whilst Liddle scored a try, ran for 132 metres with six tackle breaks, and made 25 tackles in his club debut.

Skipper Tino Fa’asuamaleaui led the way for the Gold Coast scoring a try, running for 128 metres, and making 42 tackles in 70 minutes.

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