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NRL Saturday: Warriors the big surprise packet on exciting day of footy

WIDELY tipped to struggle during the 2018 NRL season, the New Zealand Warriors have blown their opposition away in their opener.

Kalyn Ponga is a future superstar if he isn’t one already.
Kalyn Ponga is a future superstar if he isn’t one already.

Live: NRL Saturday

Welcome to NRL Saturday, our coverage of today’s games:

Wests Tigers defeated Sydney Roosters — 10-8

New Zealand Warriors defeated South Sydney Rabbitohs — 32-20

Melbourne Storm defeated Canterbury Bulldogs — 36-18

AN exciting opening round of footy continued on Saturday with three tantalising match-ups.

New Rooster James Tedesco had a nightmare outing when he took on his former side Wests Tigers who stole victory with a last-minute try.

Greg Inglis made his highly anticipated return from a knee injury that cruelled his 2017 campaign, but he wasn’t able to impact the game as the Warriors completely outplayed his Rabbitohs in Perth.

New Bulldogs coach Dean Pay was welcomed into the role by a rampaging Melbourne Storm outfit who ran out the contest with a comprehensive victory.

11pm

Storm continue opening round dominance

Melbourne have begun the post-Cooper Cronk era with a Cameron Munster-led 36-18 win over a gutsy Canterbury in Perth.

Despite a summer of unwanted headlines about errant behaviour, Munster starred in front of 38,824 fans on Saturday night at Optus Stadium.

After Billy Slater’s shoulder injury forced Craig Bellamy to shift him from the halves to fullback, Munster set up two tries in nine minutes late in the second half which proved decisive.

He also came up with a try-saver on Danny Fualolo before throwing a cut-out pass for Suliasi Vunivalu’s try which put the icing on the cake for the premiers.

There were positive signs for new Dogs coach Dean Pay with star recruit Kieran Foran displaying form of old after two injury-affected years.

Playmaker-turned-fullback Moses Mbye was outstanding in his first outing in the No.1 jersey, although he did come up with a costly error which led to Josh Addo-Carr racing 85m to score.

Young Storm halves Ryley Jacks and Brodie Croft had mixed outings — both kicking out on the full in the first half — however Munster took control of the contest.

The scores were level at 12-12 midway through the first half before Munster put his stamp on the game.

First he burst through the line to send a flying Addo-Carr between the posts before laying on a four-pointer for Kenny Bromwich.

Matt Frawley’s try after the break reduced the Storm’s lead to just six points, but Addo-Carr snatched the ball from Mbye’s grasp for a runaway try and his second of the night.

Former Bulldogs front-rower Sam Kasiano also made his Storm debut.

9.01pm

‘Feels like we just won the comp’

The Warriors have ended their Perth hoodoo in impressive fashion with a 32-20 win over South Sydney in Saturday’s NRL clash at Optus Stadium.

The Warriors entered the match having lost all nine of their previous matches in Perth.

But they made sure the first rugby league match at Perth’s new stadium was one to remember, running in six tries to four to secure the easy victory.

Former Manly five-eighth Blake Green starred in his debut for the Warriors, helping control the game and proving to be a perfect foil for halfback Shaun Johnson.

Star Rabbitohs veteran Greg Inglis failed to have his usual impact in his first NRL game since injuring his knee in last season’s corresponding round.

The Warriors were widely tipped to struggle this year, but they looked dangerous in attack and much fitter than the team who ended last season with nine- consecutive losses.

In contrast, Souths were out of sorts in attack and defence under new coach Anthony Seibold.

The Rabbitohs made a bright start to the match with the opening try to of Cody Walker.

But they were down 20-10 at halftime after two controversial decisions from the referees.

Firstly, the Rabbitohs were left seething in the 32nd minute when Warriors prop Sam Lisone was awarded a try on review despite an apparent obstruction.

The on-field referee initially disallowed the try, deeming Warriors forward Isaiah Papali’i had obstructed Adam Reynolds in the lead-up.

But the try was awarded on review after the video referee deemed Reynolds had already committed to tackling Papali’i, and wouldn’t have reached Lisone in any case.

And the Rabbitohs cried foul in the 38th minute when a try to Robert Jennings was disallowed because Walker’s pass was ruled forward.

Just over a minute later, the Warriors scored their fourth try after a brilliant run from Johnson opened the door for David Fusitu’a to cross with just eight seconds remaining in the half.

The Warriors opened the second half with tries to Ken Maumalo and Solome Kata, and it was effectively game over with the scoreboard reading 30-10.

Warriors halfback Shaun Johnson said the victory “felt like we just won the comp” when asked after the game how the mood was among the team.

6.30pm

Tigers stun Roosters in opener

A 79th-minute sideline conversion from Tuimoala Lolohea has given the Wests Tigers a dramatic 10-8 upset of the Sydney Roosters to open their NRL season.

The Roosters were leading 8-4 on Saturday when Tigers winger Corey Thompson fielded a Lolohea long ball that ricocheted off Michael Chee Kam’s head, before grounding one-handed for a try.

It was an impressive performance from the Tigers, who also overcame the 42nd- minute sin-binning of halfback Luke Brooks for a professional foul.

The win steals the thunder of Roosters debutant and key signing Cooper Cronk, who along with winger Blake Ferguson had been two of their team’s best at ANZ Stadium.

It also ruined the club debut of former Tigers star James Tedesco, who bombed a certain first-half try and was incessantly booed by the crowd of 18,243.

Ferguson appeared to have saved his team’s blushes when he finished off a 65th- minute try to give his team an 8-4 lead with 15 minutes to go.

But a Tedesco error gave his old team possession late in the match, paving the way for Thompson’s heroics, which included drawing a penalty for the game-deciding set.

Returning son Benji Marshall was also strong for his former side, winding back the clock with a vintage playmaking performance to celebrate his comeback to the club.

Twice the Roosters should’ve scored inside the opening 15 minutes, including a regulation dropped ball from Tedesco in the 13th minute that drew a bronx cheer from the crowd.

The Tigers’ faithful decided to get stuck into Tedesco from the kickoff, laying into their former fullback for the entire match with every touch of the football.

Cronk showed why the club were ready to give up on long-time halfback Mitchell Pearce, forcing two line dropouts and nailing a 40-20 to give the Roosters plenty of shots in attack.

But the Tigers proved their resilience by turning the premiership favourites away each time to take a 2-0 lead at halftime, with prop Ben Matulino particularly strong in defence.

2.30pm

Crushing blow for Tigers

Josh Reynolds suffered a horror blow.
Josh Reynolds suffered a horror blow.

Wests Tigers have suffered a devastating blow before their season opener against the Roosters with new recruit Josh Reynolds to miss the match after tearing his hamstring at training on Friday.

The joint venture club poached the five-eighth from Canterbury to partner young No. 7 Luke Brooks in the halves but Channel Seven’s Josh Massoud reports the injury may be severe enough to keep Reynolds out of action for a month or more.

His absence will likely pave the way for Benji Marshall — who returned to his former club in 2018 after stints in rugby and with St George and Brisbane — to move from the bench to starting pivot.

Reynolds spoke prior to the game getting underway and believes he’ll miss around four games and labelled the injury as a “devastating” blow.

2.15pm

Teenage freak lights up the league

Kalyn Ponga is a superstar in waiting.
Kalyn Ponga is a superstar in waiting.

Mitchell Pearce stole the headlines by kicking a field goal to propel Newcastle to a 19-18 win over Manly in his first appearance for the Knights since leaving the Roosters, but another new signing was just as impressive.

The Knights scooped up 19-year-old Kalyn Ponga as they continue their rebuild following a dismal few seasons and he didn’t disappoint. The talented fullback has earnt plenty of raps since debuting for the Cowboys and big things are expected of him after inking a five-year deal with Newcastle worth a reported $3.6 million, making him the richest teenager in rugby league history.

He didn’t take long to win over the Newcastle faithful. Just a few minutes into the match he skipped past back-rower Curtis Sironen with some clever footwork and barged over for the opening try.

He was solid for the rest of the game too showed there’s a real chance he’ll live up to his price tag. His defence was as likeable as his work with the ball, saving a try with a desperate tackle near the line.

Former Bulldogs captain Andrew Ryan was full of praise for the young gun.

“A massive tick for that one. Watching him last night, he scored the first try, he got a little bit of space and showed what he could do,” Ryan told Fox Sports News.

“He is going to get better and better and better as the year goes on and as the five-year deal goes on as well.

“He’s a deadset superstar. You watch his footwork there — Curtis Sironen — a little one-on-one, that’s the last thing you want as a back-rower on the edge like that seeing someone like this guy coming at you.

“He took the kicking duties on as well. Just cool, calm and collected — what a player.”

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/nrl-saturday-live-coverage-of-todays-games/news-story/7157477654a63d456eadd4f9ec55eab4