Match Review

In driving rain and gale force winds the kicking game of Ben Hunt proved vital in a tight contest which featured just four tries.

The Dragons opened the scoring in bizarre fashion when Jordan Rapana attempted a short dropout and Jack Wighton tapped the ball back, only for the ball to land in the hands of Talatau Amone who strolled over for a 4-0 lead.

Another short dropout gone wrong by Canberra handed Zac Lomax a gift two points from in front of the sticks and the Red V led 6-0 after 26 minutes.

Back on home soil for the first time in 1038 days the Warriors made sure their legion of fans went home happy with their fifth win of the season.

After controlling possession for the first 10 minutes and receiving four straight penalties the Warriors looked to have cracked the Tigers line when Wayde Egan burrowed over from dummy half but the bunker ruled he'd been held up.

The home side were denied a second time when Shaun Johnson launched a pinpoint bomb which Marcelo Montoya knocked on in the air before Ronald Volkman forced the ball in goal.

Despite their position on the ladder, the Jets came out firing from the kick off, charging upfield with their first set to attack the Hunters’ line. The visitors’ defence held but it was a sign of things to come, with Ipswich dominating field position and yardage early on to score tries through Ricci Falaniko and Denzel Burns inside the first 10 minutes.

Having been beaten out of the gates, the PNG side mustered to drag themselves back in the contest thanks to the silky attacking skills of Judah Rimbu at fullback.

Tries to returning winger Kyle Feldt, Reece Robson and Jeremiah Nanai within 18 minutes blew the game wide open in the second half after the Cowboys took a narrow two-point lead into the break after an absorbing opening. 

Brisbane clawed their way back in the final six minutes with two tries before Murray Taulagi got his second of the evening on fulltime. 

A dominant performance from Scott Drinkwater at fullback was among the highlights of the evening with the No.1 coming up with three try assists in the 14-point win.

The accurate kicking of halfback Nicho Hynes, on a surface with plenty of standing water, was key to Cronulla building pressure on the scoreboard against a Bulldogs side who were reduced to a two-man bench midway through the second half. 

The match swung on a potential 12-point turnaround just after the hour mark, with the Dogs denied a try to rookie Kurtis Morrin after the NRL Bunker found a Sharks player was held back in the lead-up, before Nikora scored three minutes later. 

Despite a gutsy performance without star playmaker Luke Keary and forward leader Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, the Roosters have now crashed to four consecutive losses for the first time since 2016 and are in 10th place.

Given a ladder position that belies the quality of the Roosters line-up and the way they have been playing without key players, it could be argued that Trent Robinson's men are the best bottom eight team in recent memory.

Lee set a Newcastle try-scoring record as the Knights romped to a comfortable victory with many of the club's greats on hand to celebrate Beanie for Brain Cancer round.

The 70th minute dismissal of Wallace for a lifting tackle further soured a dismal night for the Gold Coast, who were outgunned from the start and trailed 22-0 at halftime.

Both sides finished the match with 12 men after Newcastle prop David Klemmer was sinbinned for reacting to Wallace's tackle on Knights rookie Simi Sasagi.

Blues coach Brad Fittler made a number of changes after a first-up loss in Sydney and was vindicated as Matt Burton shone on debut and Jake Trbojevic was immense in his return to the Origin arena.

The series now heads to Brisbane for a decider on July 13 with NSW carrying huge momentum and Billy Slater's Maroons needing to regroup.

Six minutes into the contest it was Maroons flyer Selwyn Cobbo with a chance to open the scoring but he was denied by a great cover tackle from Brian To'o.

The first 17 minutes of football saw Isou hold the Gurias scoreless, but this was not long before Gurias broke the hoodoo courtesy of a penalty kick followed by a try through co-captain, Edward Goma to lead 6-0.

Isou were able to hit back with a converted try through Michael Timothy to draw level again 6-all before Gurias fullback, Ilias Stanley celebrated his first game back with a try just before halftime to extend the lead at 12-6.

Mead grabbed a try and ran for 139 metres as he led his country to their eighth win in their past 11 Test matches.

Fiji looked to have struck the first blow in the 10th minute when Taane Milne powered crashed over from close range but he was ruled to have lost the ball on the way to the ground.

Not to be denied the Bati kept the pressure on and co-captain Kevin Naiqama opened the scoring when he put in a grubber and cleaned up the scraps after Dan Russell had fumbled the ball.