SYDNEY: The Cronulla Sharks cemented their place in the National Rugby League's top eight with a controversial 18-16 win over Canterbury Bulldogs on Sunday.
The Sharks were awarded a contentious penalty goal with six minutes left after Valentine Holmes was hit late as he took a shot at drop goal.
Holmes kicked the penalty to extend Cronulla's lead to 18-10.
Canterbury's English skipper James Graham threw his hands in the air in frustration after they went down by two points at the end.
Canberra Raiders overcame some dubious video refereeing decisions to defeat Penrith 34-24 in a 10-try thriller at Penrith Stadium.
Winger Edrick Lee sealed the victory with four minutes left when he intercepted a Peter Wallace kick, catching the ball and running about 75 metres to keep the Raiders' season alive and resign the Panthers to a third straight loss.
It was a fair result for the Raiders, who looked to be on the end of a couple of poor video refereeing calls in the first half which resulted in tries to Elijah Taylor and Isaah Yeo.
Competition leaders Brisbane Broncos extended their winning run to eight matches after a comprehensive 34-0 victory over the Gold Coast Titans.
The Broncos ran in six unanswered tries to condemn the Titans to a fifth straight loss and closer to a second wooden spoon in five years.
Sydney Roosters secured their sixth successive win, beating Wests Tigers 33-8 at the Olympic stadium, with Brendan Elliot scoring two tries.
The Tigers restricted the home side to 8-4 at halftime, before the Tricolours clicked into gear in the second half.
The Roosters scored three tries to one in 20 minutes after the break through Elliot, Sam Moa and James Maloney to race to a 26-8 lead and put the result beyond doubt.
The win keeps the Roosters in the top four with six rounds of the regular season remaining, while the Tigers remain at the bottom of the standings.
Defending champions South Sydney side flexed their premiership muscle with a 52-6 demolition of hapless Newcastle.
The Rabbitohs recorded their biggest-ever victory over Newcastle, surpassing last year's 40-point rout in Cairns.
The win consolidates the Rabbitohs' spot in the top four, while Newcastle's loss, their 12th in 14 games, all but ends their remote finals hopes.
Skipper Greg Inglis and Alex Johnston both scored hat-tricks, while centre Dylan Walker recorded a try double.
The New Zealand Warriors' playoff suffered a massive blow with Test scrum-half Shaun Johnson's season-ending ankle injury.
Coach Andrew McFadden confirmed the seriousness of Johnson's injury after his side's 32-12 defeat to Manly in Auckland.
Hometown hero Tohu Harris had a hand in two tries as the Melbourne Storm downed St George Illawarra 22-4 at Napier in New Zealand.
Second-placed North Queensland Cowboys complete the 20th round against the Parramatta Eels in Townsville on Monday.
Comments
Comments are closed.