NRL Live round 16: Titans vs. Warriors, Roosters vs. Bulldogs, Rabbitohs vs. Sea Eagles
Three low scores to Manly, New Zealand and Canterbury in lopsided contests have played havoc with scores on a dramatic day on Super Saturday. See all the Winners and Losers from Saturday.
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The Sydney Roosters, South Sydney and the Gold Coast Titans all secured vital wins for their season on Super Saturday.
Gold Coast started the day with a massive win, 66-6 over New Zealand, to keep their top eight hopes alive.
Sydney then beat Canterbury 26-8 before South Sydney kept Manly scoreless, for the first time in two years, recording their fourth win in a row, with a 14-0 win.
Let’s run through all the SuperCoach winners and losers for tonight.
WINNERS
Jayden Campbell (160) – Incredible performance by the Titans five-eight with a try and a perfect 11 conversions from 11 attempts. Campbell was electric as the Gold Coast banked its biggest ever victory.
Keano Kini (149) – Kini simply needs to have a place in the Titans’ NRL side every week. The diminutive fullback is as slippery as they get and he has the speed to turn broken tackles into tries.
Alofiana Khan-Pereira (126) – The Gold Coast winger scored four tries, including the first and last of the afternoon, in a 66-6 romp. Although the Titans are languishing around the bottom rungs of the ladder, Khan-Pereira is the competition’s leading try scorer.
Damien Cook (118) – First 100 plus score of the year and his fourth score out of his last five games of 80 or more. If he continues this form he is a lock for teams in the last part of the year.
Terrell May (111) – A third 100 point score for the year and continues to be a leading forward in SuperCoach. Coaches will be hoping he hits consistent form in the final part of the year.
Sam Walker (109) – The man of the match for Sydney against the Bulldogs. He was involved in everything and had multiple try assists. Walker has averaged 80 points in his last three games before tonight’s performance. Someone to consider in the halves for the next few rounds.
Jeral Skelton (99) – What a way to make an impact in your first game. Skelton was impressive for the Bulldogs, scoring a try and setting up another. He also scored 99 points in SuperCoach, one of the best results for a first-game player. 433 coaches have him right now, expect that to rise significantly if he is named again next week.
Keaon Koloamatangi (98) – A try right at the end almost pushed the Souths forward over 100 points. Souths form improvement has come from the forward playing well. It’s also boosted his SuperCoach with Koloamatangi scoring 87 points on average in his past three matches. A lock right now.
Kieran Foran (98) – The veteran halfback was at his best on Saturday, assisting four tries and creating four line breaks. Foran also made 17 tackles without a miss, and if the Titans attack keeps firing he could be a nice backup option at just $426.200 before this week’s adjustments.
Jacob Kiraz (90) – Kept his hot run going with 90 points for the Bulldogs against Sydney. Kiraz has averaged 87 points in his past five games.
David Fifita (88) – The only thing that stopped Fifita cracking the century was Des Hasler giving his devastating backrower an early mark with 10 minutes to play. Fifita was searching for work and found plenty of it.
Jye Gray (79) – Scored his first try for Souths and had his best game at the club. He scored 79 points and could be a good cheapie but only if he plays for the Bunnies with Latrell Mitchell back in the fold. SuperCoaches will need to see him in the squad to pick him.
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (63) – Was inspirational in the first half, helping the Roosters to the win. Also had his best SuperCoach score for the year with 63. While the forward is a cheap option it would be a risk to pick him from one strong game.
Toafofoa Sipley (59) – Manly’s highest scoring SuperCoach player on a dark night for the club. It was an impressive bounce back from the forward after being injured last week. His 59 was well above his average.
Karl Lawton (59) – Two weeks in a row Lawton has scored more than 50, scoring 59 against Souths. He now averaged 43 from his past three rounds, before tonight, 18 above his average. He might be a cheap option with Manly’s players out with State of Origin commitments.
LOSERS
Shaun Johnson (9) – Johnson hasn’t looked himself since returning from injury. He barely made a ripple as the New Zealand attack spluttered with errors and poor decisions.
Peter Mamouzelos (12) – The potential South Sydney hooker of the future didn’t make much of an impact in the minutes he got. His score of 12 is well below his average of 29 but he also got less minutes than other games this year.
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (13) – You might not have noticed, but Tuivasa-Sheck made his return from a hamstring injury. Uncharacteristically quiet performance and a second-half sin bin.
Junior Pauga (20) – Only 235 SuperCoaches have him and it might be down to zero this week. Pauga only scored 20 points and is expected to be on the sidelines for a few weeks after being sent off.
Jack Wighton (23) – Played at five-eighth, compared to his usual position in the centre, and scored well below his average, with 23. The almost 6000 players will be disappointed the gamble did not pay off.
Luke Brooks (23) – Averaged 27 points below his average with a low score against South Sydney. Had a chance to lead the Manly line with no Daly Cherry-Evans and struggled to do it.
Matt Burton (24) – Struggled to make an impact after being overlooked for State of Origin this week. The Bulldog player scored 40 points below his average.
Tommy Talau (26) – Manly not scoring was always going to hurt Tommy Talau. And he had one of his worst point scores for the year, well down on his average of 58. With Talau on report as well, he might provide a headache or two to coaches this week.
Lehi Hopoate (27) – First game under 50 for the career of the young fullback, only scoring 27 against the Bunnies. The Manly player still averages 74 from his three games and is not a player to trade away, just yet. But he is one to keep an eye on if he scores low again.
Victor Radley (28) – On a day where forwards should be scoring well, in the wet weather, Radley struggled, scoring 28 points. It was well below his average of 61.
Drew Hutchison (29) – Had a lean game after averaging almost 60 the past three weeks. The Bulldogs not scoring well contributed to his score of just 29.
Phillip Sami (32) – Couldn’t get in on the action as the Titans scored 11 tries. Looked to have picked up a leg injury bit played on, maybe that impacted his ability to register a decent SuperCoach score.
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad (37) – The Gold Coast did a great job containing the Warriors fullback. Despite making 19 runs he only broke two tackles and four missed tackles cost him.
Addin Fonua-Blake (40) – The usually reliable prop only took eight carries in his 50 minute performance. However, Fonua-Blake was the only New Zealand forward to not miss a tackle, making 34 without fail.
Brandon Smith (50) – In a game where he was expected to score high, with the conditions, Smith struggled in the second half after scoring well in the first half. He ended up on 50 after scoring 45 in the first half. An 80-point day went begging.
FULL TIME: 14-0 Bunnies
South Sydney wins their fourth game in a row with a 14-0 win over Manly. It was not the best ever NRL match but the Rabbitohs did enough to keep their top-eight hopes alive.
79th minute: 14-0 Bunnies
Damien Cook has produced a man of the match performance and he completes the game with a try assist. He kicked the ball under the posts, on the last tackle, and Keaon Koloamatangi scores. Bunnies will win and Manly will not score in the match.
78th minute: 8-0 Bunnies
Jai Arrow has been cleared to continue playing after having a HIA test. He is back on.
75th minute: Bunnies 8-0
Five minutes to go and Manly still haven’t scored. May 2022 was the last time Manly was kept pointless in a NRL contest.
65th minute: Bunnies 8-0
Manly are still in this game despite not scoring a point all night. One try in the next five minutes will put them right in the hunt.
58th minute: Bunnies 8-0
Jai Arrow has gone off for a HIA after two head knocks in the space of 10 seconds. The first was with a Manly defender’s arm before he fell on his head after being tackled during the play. He may not return for the rest of the night.
55th minute: Bunnies 8-0
Damien Cook is on track for his 4th 80+ SuperCoach score in his last five games. He has 79 points and is on track for 100.
46th minute: Bunnies 8-0
The game has opened up with the rain easing at Accor Stadium. Still no points in the second half after a few minutes.
42nd minute: Bunnies 8-0
Manly blows a big chance to score in their first set of the second half. Karl Lawton makes a line break and just needs to pass to another Manly player to break through the last defence of the Bunnies to score. Instead, he passes to the wrong player who drops the ball cold. It should have been a try.
SuperCoach points at half time
South Sydney have seven of the top-10 players in SuperCoach with Damien Cook leading all players with 62 points. Try scorers Richard Kennar and Jye Gray are next with 55 and 44 points respectively. The best player for Manly is forward Corey Waddell with 42 points.
HALF TIME: 8-0 Bunnies
South Sydney keeps Manly scoreless in the first half but should be leading by more. Alex Johnston, with the last play of the half, dived towards the line but the ball spills out just as he was about to score. The Bunnies have kept a side scoreless for the second time in two weeks.
37th minute: 8-0 Bunnies
Cody Walker is in the hands of a trainer after getting a hit to the pec. He looks to be okay but for a second he was in some pain.
29th minute: 8-0 Bunnies
South Sydney’s players are dominating SuperCoach during the first 30 minutes. Richard Kennar leads on 53 points ahead of Damien Cook with 49. The other try scorer Jye Gray is on 38.
21st minute: 8-0 Bunnies
Manly keeps making mistakes and South Sydney is starting to punish them. A lovely pass from Cody Walker goes to Jye Gray and the young fullback sprints to the line to score his first for the club. It followed three mistakes from Manly, which gave South Sydney three straight sets. Cody Walker misses his second straight conversion.
10th minute: 4-0 Bunnies
South Sydney score first, capitalising from a penalty conceded by Manly. A quick pass from Damien Cook goes straight to Richard Kennar and the momentum puts him over the line. Cody Walker misses the conversion.
4th minute: 0-0
Manly loses their captains challenge in the first set of the game. Still scoreless as the rain keeps coming down in Sydney.
Final scores – Sydney v Canterbury.
Full wrap to come in winners and losers later.
7:35pm: Game underway
South Sydney and Manly is underway. It’s another game in wet conditions in Sydney.
7.25pm: Final teams for South Sydney and Manly
The team are in for the final match of Super Saturday. South Sydney are as named from one to 17 but Manly have made late changes, including a shock move. CENTRE
Jaxson Paulo has been moved to centre from the reserves with Aaron Schoupp moving from centre to the second row. Toafofoa Sipley has been moved from second row to prop with Ethan Bullemor moved to the bench. It’s a bold move, moving a centre to the second row.
FULL TIME: Roosters 26-8
Sydney moves into the top four with an impressive win over the Bulldogs. But the side will now stress on the likely suspension of Junior Pauga. They also have Sam Walker on report for a first half incident. He was also sin binned for 10 minutes right at the end. Roosters for 70 minutes were great as the Bulldogs made too many mistakes, preventing them from being in the contest for longer.
Strong performance 💪ðŸ¼ðŸ“ #EastsToWin@UNIBETAustraliapic.twitter.com/MIyjynrnFO
— Sydney Roosters 📠(@sydneyroosters) June 22, 2024
73rd minute: Roosters 26-8
The Roosters will have to play the final seven minutes with 12 men after Junior Pauga was sent off. The Roosters centre hit Bulldogs player Connor Tracey in the head with a swinging arm after the fullback passed the ball. The late hit was brutal and deserved the punishment. He will spend a few weeks on the sidelines.
Junior Pauga was sent off late in the second half for this hit on Connor Tracey.
— Fox League (@FOXNRL) June 22, 2024
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66th minute: Roosters 26-8
Another try assist by Sam Walker and he’s helped the Roosters extend their lead. He passes inside to Blake Steep with the forward scoring his first try in the NRL in his second game for the club. It could be the decisive try of the contest.
63rd minute: Roosters 20-8
The Bulldogs have been their own worst enemy. Not only are the Roosters leading 57-43 per cent in possession but the Bulldogs keep making mistakes when having the ball. The team has completed just 68 per cent of sets tonight.
56th minute: Roosters 20-8
Jeral Skelton is on 96 SuperCoach points for the Bulldogs. He is 20 points clear of the next best, which is Terrell May on 76 points. Sam Walker is on 74.
47th minute: Roosters 20-8
What a response by the Bulldogs. Toby Sexton passes to Jeral Skelton who runs the length of the field to score the Bulldogs second try of the night. In his first game this season for the club he’s having a major impact. And is closing on 100 SuperCoach points.
JERAL SKELTON GOES ALL THE WAY!!! 🔥🔥🔥
— Fox League (@FOXNRL) June 22, 2024
Solid effort by Sitili Tupouniua though...
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43rd minute: Roosters 20-4
Sometimes luck fortunes the brave. Sam Walker kicks on the last and the ball ricochets off a Bulldogs players foot and on to Terrell May’s knee. The ball bounces off his knee twice and puts him in the clear. He grabs the ball and scores. Roosters leads 20-4 and this game could be over in the next few minutes if the Bulldogs don’t respond.
SuperCoach half time scores
Bulldogs duo Jeral Skelton and Jacob Kiraz lead SuperCoach with 64 and 59 points respectively. Both have been impressive down the right hand side and have kept the Doggies in the team. Sam Walker leads the Roosters with 51, off the back of two try assists. Brandon Smith is also having a great game, with 45 points, and is on track to have his best game this season in SuperCoach. It’s been a tough half for James Tedesco (37) who is on track for below his average.
Half time: Roosters 14-4
The Bulldogs got the lead early from the first try of the game but after that it was all the Roosters. Sydney has been slick in the wet conditions and have made less mistakes. In fact, the team should be up more, after missing a couple of chances to score. The Bulldogs are in the hunt but need to minimise mistakes in the second half.
34th minute: Roosters 14-4
The dominance is now being put on the scoreboard. And what a try. Sam Walker gets the ball and kicks it perfectly past the Bulldogs defence to the try line. Nat Butcher gets on the end of it and grabs the ball and scores the try. Roosters lead by 10 with six minutes to go until half time.
That is too classy from Sam Walker! 🙌
— Fox League (@FOXNRL) June 22, 2024
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30th minute: Roosters 8-4
The Roosters should be leading by more but have been making mistakes at crucial times in their attacking half. James Tedesco should have scored in the 29th minute but dropped the ball cold as he was running towards the try line.
23rd minute: Roosters 8-4
Dominic Young scores his first try of the match but the Roosters can thank Jared Waerea-Hargreaves for setting it up. The prop forces an error from the Bulldogs, 20 metres out, and the Roosters get a scrum. The next play Young gets into space and scores. The New Zealand international has been exceptional early and is one of the leading players in SuperCoach with 35 points. Waerea-Hargreaves is on for a big game.
18th minute: Bulldogs 4-2
A brilliant play from the Bulldogs breaks the try deadlock. A set of passes eventually leads the Dogs to attack down the right as Jacob Kiraz passes to Jeral Skelton. Skelton breaks through the Roosters defence with his pace and is able to beat the last defender with a pass to Jaeman Salmon who scores the first try of the game. Matt Burton misses the conversion attempt but the Bulldogs lead.
Jaeman Salmon gets over for the Bulldogs first! 👊
— Fox League (@FOXNRL) June 22, 2024
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14th minute: Sydney 2-0
Sam Walker is lucky to still be on the field. He makes high and deliberate contact with Bulldogs centre Jacob Kiraz as he makes a break away from the Roosters defence. Walker is on report but the referee doesn’t send him off for 10 minutes in the bin. Bulldogs get a penalty but nothing comes from it. Scoring is going to be at a premium in this clash.
5th minute: Sydney 2-0
As the game started the rain got heavier, which will make this contest tough for both teams. Minimising mistakes will be the premium but early both teams have been making them. Sydney won the first penalty before the Bulldogs got one in their second set for the match. Sydney then attacked on their next set and got a penalty, 15 metres out, after a player was impeded by a Bulldogs defender on the last tackle. Sydney opts to take the two points on offer and Sam Walker makes no mistake. The Roosters have the early lead.
5:30pm: Game underway
The game has started. The Bulldogs are going to the right of the television screen.
5:20pm: SuperCoach watch
The weather is going to have a massive impact on who can score well tonight. Forwards might get a better run at it and one player who could impress is Brandon Smith. At $320,900 he is relatively cheap compared to other hookers. His best score is 84 this season. There is a good chance, if he plays well, he can get close to it. Others to look out for include Matt Burton and James Tedesco who got overlooked for State of Origin. Both will be wanting big games to help their team to a win.
5.10pm: Final teams announced for Roosters and Bulldogs
The teams have been announced for the next game at a very wet Industree Group Stadium at Gosford. Sydney stay as named from their 1-17 on Tuesday while the Bulldogs are also as named from yesterday. Viliame Kikau has overcome his finger injury and will start in the second row. He is joined by Jake Turpin and Drew Hutchison who will start at lock and centre respectively. Josh Curran and Bailey Hayward will start from the bench with Bronson Xerri out.
FULL TIME – Titans 66-6
Gold Coast and Warriors fans will never forget that game.
New Zealand has played plenty of shockers but that could well have been their worst performance ever, against the bottom-placed Titans.
The Titans looked like a team of superstars and that win will give them plenty of confidence in the work they’ve been doing this season. Jayden Campbell topped SuperCoach scoring with 160 and he was one of three players to hit triple digits.
70th minute – Titans 60-6
Another Titans try to Keano Kini and another great conversion by Jayden Campbell.
David Fifita has been given an earlymark 10 minutes from full time after running for over 200m.
The Titans don’t look like they’re finished scoring either.
63rd minute – Titans 54-6
Alofiana Khan-Pereira’s third try of the afternoon – and his 13th of the season – has ticked the Gold Coast over the half-century.
That one was probably his easiest try today, but scoring in the corner gave Jayden Campbell his toughest conversion attempt of the night.
But the in-form five-eighth nailed his ninth goal and maintained his perfect record.
59th minute – Titans 48-6
The Warriors are on the board and my keyboard is getting a battering.
Tohu Harris juggled the ball and offloaded to Te Maire Martin who spun out of a tackle to score.
Adam Pompey successfully kicked his first conversion of the afternoon.
56th minute – Titans 48-0
Well that sin bin will have people talking.
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck has been sent for 10 after a lifting tackle on Jayden Campbell.
Commentators were debating whether it was worth a penalty when the Bunker intervened.
The Warriors didn’t have time to settle themselves and Keano Kini sliced through the defence to score.
This score really could end up anywhere.
New Zealand’s first player has finally hit 50 SuperCoach points: Jackson Ford.
Minutes later the Titans were in again for their eighth try of the afternoon, this time Kieran Foran linking up with his halves partner Jayden Campbell. Campbell is now up to a whopping 115 points.
47th minute – Titans 36-0
The Warriors started the second half with the wind in their sails but the Titans defence has stood tall.
Dylan Walker spent some time on the ground nursing a leg injury but he got up to play the ball before Wayde Egan was held up over the line.
But on the last tackle it was Alofiana Khan-Pereira who stole the show, pouncing on a no-look pass from Shaun Johnson and racing 90m to score a runaway try.
Warriors fans in Auckland may want to start thinking about the upcoming Super Rugby final because this game won’t get any prettier.
HALFTIME – Titans 30-0
A try on halftime has allowed the Titans to match their best-ever first half performance.
I don’t think there’s anything that Warriors coach Andrew Webster can say to his men that will be enough to see them turn the result around.
Errors, missed tackles and poor cover defence have all been major contributors to New Zealand’s shocking performance but the Gold Coast’s excitement machines have been on song.
Jayden Campbell leads SuperCoach scoring and looks destined to ton up.
37th minute – Titans 24-0
The Warriors crossed the line through Jackson Ford but with one quick review the try was wiped off for a knock on.
That one will have fans and players scratching their heads after the precedent set last week, as it was clear that there was never separation between Ford’s forearm and the ball.
For such a simple game, rugby league is getting harder and harder to understand.
33rd minute – Titans 24-0
Things are going from bad to worse, to whatever words you can think of to describe the way New Zealand is playing.
To give the Titans credit they are on fire this afternoon but that’s not the reason it has been one-way traffic.
Again, the Warriors were deep in attack when an error handed the Gold Coast possession. A yardage penalty put the Titans on attack and it was too simple for Jayden Campbell, who slipped past defender and offloaded to Keenan Palasia to score.
25th minute – Titans 18-0
This is getting embarrassing for the Warriors.
Their defence has been nothing short of abysmal for the past 10 minutes and they are making the Gold Coast look like a top four team.
They have already missed 22 tackles, and a couple more on their own goal-line allowed Chris Randall to slice through and score under the posts.
Titans winger Phillip Sami appeared to be in agony after an awkward tackle from Te Maire Martin – which he was placed on report for – but Sami played on.
21st minute – Titans 12-0
The Gold Coast doubled its lead just minutes after their first when the Warriors compounded an error in attack with a set restart, laying the platform for the Titans to march into attack and put Beau Fermor through a hole.
It was a beautiful line from Fermor and great deception from Kieran Foran but New Zealand won’t be satisfied with that defence.
17th minute – Titans 6-0
Alofiana Khan-Pereira has put the Gold Coast ahead with his 11th try of the season.
A huge set from the Titans that started with a linebreak ended with a slick play to the left that put the prolific tryscoring winger on the end of an overlap, propelling him to over 50 SuperCoach points.
Khan-Pereira ran the try in to give Jaydeny Campbell a simple conversion.
10th minute – 0-0
Neither team has broken the deadlock after a fast start on the Gold Coast.
The Titans have looked dangerous with ball in hand and it feels like the first try could come any second.
David Fifita has been actively looking for work and he leads all SuperCoach scoring early.
Gold Coast coach Des Hasler has shuffled his side in a bid to jump off the bottom of the ladder when the Titans host the Warriors.
Beau Fermor will slot into the centres allowing Jacob Alick-Wiencke to start in the backrow, Erin Clark is set to start the game at prop and utility Chris Randall will play at lock. Sam Verrills starts at hooker.
It’s a bit simpler from the Warriors, who welcome back Roger Tuivasa-Sheck from an injury lay-off. They enter the contest unchanged 1-17.
With Kurt Capewell back in the Queensland Maroons fold, utility player Dylan Walker starts in the second row and captain Tohu Harris starts at lock.
POPULAR CAPTAINCY PICKS PLAY TODAY
The wet weather has not scared off SuperCoaches though with Roosters fullback James Tedesco easily the most popular captaincy selection for the week.
Here’s how the captaincy and vice-captaincy selection stand for coaches in the top 10%:
Tedesco does have a tremendous record against the Bulldogs, he was averaging 95.9PPG against the club from 10 appearances before his four point game earlier this year (due to an early HIA) brought that average down to a ‘modest’ 87.5.
But the Dogs of 2024 are a much improved outfit conceding an average of a mere 47PPG to fullbacks so far this season.
The absence of Stephen Crichton (Origin) does weaken Canterbury’s defence considerably so expect the Roosters to target Canterbury’s right edge in particular.
Fifita may be the safer option, the big Titan has not dipped below 80 points for seven weeks in a row and he feasted on the Warriors in their matchup earlier this season scoring 126 points.
Whichever way you go, join us here as we cover all three games.
Originally published as NRL Live round 16: Titans vs. Warriors, Roosters vs. Bulldogs, Rabbitohs vs. Sea Eagles
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