NRL Weekly Wrap: Everything we saw in Round 3

Eels drop to worrisome 0-3 as Seibold’s Sea Eagles storm to win

Manly have handed Parramatta their third-straight loss to start the season after running away 34-30 victors at 4 Pines Park on Thursday night.

The Sea Eagles jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the opening half-hour before a flurry of points saw Parramatta snatch the lead off them in the early stages of the second half.

Tom Trbojevic, Brad Parker, and Haumole Olakau’atu scored tries in the space of 17 minutes for Manly to put them in a dominant position heading into the final 10 minutes.

Parramatta scored tries in back-to-back sets through Maika Sivo and Josh Hodgson to set up a grandstand finish only for Olakau’atu to pounce on a loose offload against the run of play and seal it for Manly.

Tom Trbojevic scored a double, assisted on another, and ran for a game-high 204 metres with 10 tackle breaks whilst five-eighth Josh Schuster tallied three try assists in his first game of the season.

The Eels were led by Clinton Gutherson’s two tries and 156 run metres.

3 from 3 for Wayne’s men

The Dolphins are off to a stunning 3-0 start after getting the job done 36-20 against a shorthanded Knights outfit in Newcastle on Friday evening.

A back-and-forth first half saw the Dolphins head into the sheds with a 16-12 lead before Newcastle went ahead in the 46th minute through a converted try to fullback Lachie Miller.

Four tries in the final 23 minutes, however, saw the Dolphins power towards a strong win with Tesi Niu grabbing a hat-trick and Jamayne Isaako a double.

Dolphins enforcer Felise Kaufusi was binned in the 68th minute for a late shot on Knights half Jackson Hastings and will face the judiciary early this week.

Tom Gilbert was superb for the Dolphins running for 172 metres from 19 carries and making a team-high 41 tackles whilst Niu scored three tries and ran for a game-high 230 metres.

For the Knights, Lachie Miller scored a double and ran for a team-high 212 metres with six tackle breaks.

Roosters earn bragging rights with fierce win over Rabbits

The 252nd iteration of Roosters versus Rabbitohs went the way of the tricolours in an intense Friday night affair at Allianz with Trent Robinson’s men scrapping for a 20-18 win.

Tries to Keaon Koloamatangi and Alex Johnston gave the Rabbitohs an early, double-digit lead before the Roosters dug into it via tries to Brandon Smith and Daniel Tupou to cap off a high-voltage first half.

A second-half, Jaxson Paulo double earnt the Roosters a key lead before Izaac Thompson crossed in the 78th minute to give the red-and-greens a glimmer of hope only to fall short.

Joseph Manu and Michael Chee-Kam were binned in the final stages for a push-and-shove after Manu collected Isaiah Tass high after the whistle had been blown.

Paulo was sensational against his former-side scoring a double and running for a team-high 192 metres from 19 carries with four tackle breaks whilst James Tedesco assisted on a try and ran for 151 metres with six tackle breaks.

For Souths, Campbell Graham assisted on a try, made two line breaks, and ran for a game-high 194 metres with four tackle breaks whilst Latrell Mitchell assisted on a try and two line breaks and ran for 128 metres with five tackle breaks.

Titans trump uncharacteristic Storm in scorching shootout

The Titans were able to snag their second win of 2023 outshooting the Melbourne Storm 38-34 on a sweltering Gold Coast afternoon as a vexed Craig Bellamy watched on from the coaches box.

Both sides traded blows for much of the first half before a second-half Aaron Schoupp double helped the Titans hold out a Storm side loaded with attacking prowess to sneak over the finish line in front of their home crowd.

It marked just the second time in Storm history that the side had scored 34 points or more and lost the game; the only other time was in Round 10, 2017 also against the Titans.

Titans skipper Tino Fa’asuamaleaui ran for a team-high 145 metres and made 21 tackles without a miss whilst AJ Brimson assisted on two tries and ran for 140 metres.

For Melbourne, Harry Grant assisted on three tries and made a game-high 41 tackles.

Warriors notch impressive upset over Cowboys in Townsville

The revamped Warriors enjoyed a major win over the North Queensland Cowboys taking down last year’s preliminary finalists 26-12 in warm Townsville weather.

Rookie Tom Chester crossed early for the home side before hookers Wayde Egan and Reece Robson got their names on the try-scorers list.

20 unanswered points, however, saw the visitors race away with a head-turning second win under new head coach Andrew Webster.

Marcelo Montoya enjoyed a big day out for the Warriors scoring two tries and running for a game-high 246 metres with six tackle breaks whilst five-eighth Te Maire Martin assisted on two tries and made 25 tackles.

Chester had a clean game filling in for the suspended Scott Drinkwater, scoring a try and running for 163 metres with four tackle breaks.

Brisbane surge home to clinch 3-0 start

The Broncos have gotten off to their first 3-0 start in six years after a red hot final 10 minutes saw them earn a 40-18 win over the Dragons at Suncorp.

Tries to Mathew Feagai, Tyrell Sloan, and Jayden Sullivan saw the visitors jump out to a shock 16-6 lead before Brisbane embarked on an imposing, second-half chase-down.

With things locked at 18 apiece approaching the 70-minute mark, Brisbane crossed through Selwyn Cobbo, Reece Walsh, Ezra Mam and Walsh again to pour on 22 points in the final 10 minutes and put the icing on a dominant cake.

Adam Reynolds laid on a pair of tries and kicked St. George Illawarra into submission whilst Payne Haas ran for a game-high 240 metres from 18 carries and made 26 tackles without a miss.

For the Dragons, Francis Molo ran for a team-high 176 metres from 15 carries and made 26 tackles.

Action aplenty as Dogs survive Tigers at Belmore

The Bulldogs survived a fast-finishing Wests Tigers squad 26-22 in Sunday afternoon, Belmore sunshine fit for the rugby league tragics to improve to 2-1 under Cameron Ciraldo.

Hayze Perham grabbed the first try of the clash just four minutes in before Josh Addo-Carr and Paul Alamoti ran riot down the visitors’ left edge as the Dogs took a 20-6 lead into the sheds.

Matt Burton scored the first try of the second half for the Dogs before the lacklustre Wests Tigers turned it on in a flash scoring three tries in five minutes to send a wave of nervous energy across Belmore only for the blue-and-whites to hang on for an entertaining win and hand Tim Sheens’ men their third loss to start the season.

Jacob Kiraz continued his phenomenal start to the season running for a game-high 283 metres with six tackle breaks whilst Alamoti assisted on two tries and ran for 191 metres.

For the Wests Tigers, Brent Naden scored and assisted on a try and ran for 188 metres.

Canberra grab first win of 2023, extend winning streak against Cronulla to 9

Canberra have won their first game of the season 24-20 against the Sharks at GIO Stadium to make it nine on the trot against the men from the Shire.

Both sides crossed twice in the first half as the hosts took a 12-10 lead into the sheds before second-half tries to Matt Timoko and Corey Horsburgh – who notched the first double of his career – helped balloon the Raiders lead out to 14.

Late tries to Jesse Ramien and Briton Nikora gave Cronulla a chance to pull off a comeback but Craig Fitzgibbon’s men ultimately fell short in the nation’s capital.

Sharks big man Royce Hunt was sensationally binned in 51st minute for throwing a punch at Horsburgh in the lead-up to the raging redhead’s second try.

Jack Wighton assisted on a try and ran for 100 metres from Canberra whilst Timoko scored a try, assisted on two line breaks, and ran for 154 metres.

For the Sharks, Teig Wilton ran for a team-high 176 metres and made 41 tackles.

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