NRLW Round 6: Star Eel Kennedy Cherrington injured, Cronulla Sharks too slick for Gold Coast Titans

Parramatta’s hopes of playing finals footy took a big blow while the Sharks must now be considered premiership favourites after a big victory over the Titans. FULL ROUND WRAP HERE

Parramatta’s finals hopes have taken a massive hit with inspirational lock forward Kennedy Cherrington helped from the field with a right knee injury as her side suffered a costly 42-14 loss to the Dragons.

Already without Reuben Cherrington for the rest of the season due to a serious syndesmosis injury, the Eels are now sweating on her sister’s fitness after her leg was trapped under Zali Hopkins as the Dragons hooker dived over for a try.

She was in immediate pain and had to be helped off by trainers, with Cherrington unable to put any weight on her right foot.

The game was in the balance before she came off, with the Dragons scoring three tries in as many sets to blow the contest wide open to leave Parramatta outside the top four with three rounds to go.

Kennedy Cherrington leaves the field after injuring her right foot. Picture: NRL Images

BERRY GOOD

The Dragons had only won one of their first five matches, but they’ve stayed in the hunt for the top four with a scintillating attacking display which started with Bobbi Law slicing through after just one minute.

Teagan Berry threw the final pass for that one and she had a field day as the game opened up in the second half as she backed up two breaks to score twice in three minutes as the Red V raced clear.

The perfect bounce ✨ #NRLWEelsDragons@Telstra Moment of the Match pic.twitter.com/SqGjYBZcJq

— NRLW (@NRLWomens) August 31, 2024

Her first came off a big break by Hopkins who had a terrific game off the bench with three line breaks, a try and an assist as Jamie Soward’s side produced their best performance of the season.

They’ll need to win their remaining games to sneak into the top four, but you can’t write them off with veteran Raecene McGregor leading the way with two try assists.

“I think we’ve been very disappointed with our last two results,” Berry said after the game.

“We worked really hard at training because we really wanted it.

“It feels good scoring that many points because I don’t think we’ve done that yet. It gives us a lot of confidence moving forward for the last three games.”

SHARKS NOW CLEAR MINOR PREMIERSHIP FAVOURITES

The Sharks have one hand on the minor premiership after they made it a perfect six from six to start the NRLW season after they put a huge dent in the Titans’ top-four hopes with a 22-6 win on the Gold Coast.

After they missed the finals in their debut season, the Sharks must now be considered premiership favourites after they knocked off last year’s beaten grand finalists.

They are now three wins clear of the chasing pack and boast the stingiest defence, although there are five other teams this weekend on six points who can close the gap.

GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA – AUGUST 31: Tiana Penitani of the Sharks is tackled by Lailani Montgomery of the Titans during the round six NRLW match between Gold Coast Titans and Cronulla Sharks at Cbus Super Stadium on August 31, 2024 in Gold Coast, Australia. (Photo by Russell Freeman/Getty Images)

They’ve flown under the radar this season with plenty of people happy to write them off after fullback Jada Taylor suffered a serious knee injury, but they keep proving the critics wrong ahead of two good tests against the Roosters and Broncos in coming weeks.

Centres Annessa Biddle (170 metres) Tiana Penitani (146) both scored crucial tries, while winger Georgia Ravics bagged a double just a week after she scored twice against the Dragons.

Biddle 🤝 Ravics#NRLWTitansSharks@Telstra Moment of the Match pic.twitter.com/lhBQBX0tQE

— NRLW (@NRLWomens) August 31, 2024

TITANS SINK

They went within a whisker of winning the title last year, but the Titans now face a battle just to make the finals after a costly loss at home where they enjoyed just 29 per cent of the territory.

The Sharks controlled the contest with six forced line dropouts as the hosts struggled to build any sort of pressure.

Strike weapon Jaime Chapman was held to just six runs and came off for an HIA late in the first half which she passed.

They’ll finish the round outside the top four and still have a grand final rematch to come against the Knights in round eight.