NRL Sunday: St George upset by Bulldogs and miss out on finals

ST GEORGE Illawarra fans, look away now. The Bulldogs pulled off an incredible comeback to destroy the Dragons’ 2017 season.

This is the last thing Dogs fans wanted to see.

• Sharks overcome Knights
• First victim in NRL fire sale
• Mark Carroll roasts Jarryd Hayne

Live: NRL Sunday

Welcome to NRL Sunday, our coverage of today’s matches:

Cronulla Sharks 26 defeated Newcastle Knights 18

Canterbury Bulldogs 26 defeated St George Illawarra Dragons 20

Wests Tigers 28 defeated New Zealand Warriors 16

THAT’S all, folks.

The Bulldogs pulled off a shock upset to end the Dragons’ 2017 season. But they had to do it without Josh Reynolds.

The Dogs veteran ran over for a try in his last game for the side but had to end his game early due to an ankle injury.

Earlier in the day, the Sharks destroyed the Knights to continue their form going into the finals, while the Tigers sent off James Tedesco and Aaron Woods in their last game for the Wests with a solid win over the Warriors.

8pm

Tigers send off Woods, Tedesco in style

The Wests Tigers have sent departing stars Aaron Woods and James Tedesco out as winners following a 28-16 NRL victory over the Warriors on Sunday. In the final game of the NRL regular season, Woods spearheaded a 12-point victory over the listless Warriors in front of 10,231 rowdy fans at Leichhardt Oval.

Woods ran for 212 metres and made 39 tackles in a 73-minute effort ahead of his move to Canterbury next season.

The win allowed the joint-venture to end their tumultuous season, which included the sacking of coach Jason Taylor and the departure of half Mitchell Moses depart mid-year, on a high. They also jumped the Gold Coast into 14th spot on the ladder.

The match never really reached any great heights however the Tigers produced a late contender for try of the year when they went the length of the field through Tui Lolohea in the 33rd minute.

The movement started in their own in-goal when Malakai Watene-Zelezniak split the Warriors’ defensive line before finding Sydney Roosters-bound Tedesco, who sent Lolohea under the posts.

The Warriors were without star halves Kieran Foran and Shaun Johnson, however questions will be asked of coach Stephen Kearney after his side notched just seven wins despite having a squad loaded with international talent. After the Tigers took a 16-6 lead into halftime, the Warriors’ effort was summed up when the ball was allowed to roll several metres across their own tryline following a Luke Brooks loose pass with winger Kevin Naiqama allowed to grab his double.

Warriors skipper Roger Tuivasa-Sheck got a deserved try off a neat set play and the visitors had a chance to reduce the margin to just four. However David Fusitua knocked on trying to ground a Mason Lino grubber.

The Tigers closed out the match, with David Nofoaluma sealing the win in the 74th minute. A consolation Warriors try came in the 78th but it was in vain. The Tigers blooded Jeremy Marshall-King, the half brother of Benji Marshall, who was in the Leichhardt crowd. He is set to return to his former club in 2018.

6pm

Dogs ruin Dragons’ finals hopes

Did that just happen?

St George Illawarra have blown their shot at qualifying for the NRL finals, finishing ninth on the ladder after they threw away a late lead to lose 26-20 to Canterbury.

The result means North Queensland sneak into the finals in eighth place, despite losing five of their last six games.

The Dragons appeared in control when Gareth Widdop slotted a penalty goal with 18 minutes remaining to lead 20-14 at ANZ Stadium.

But the game was back level five minutes later when Will Hopoate broke downfield and put Aiden Tolman over.

Hooker Michael Lichaa then put the Bulldogs in the lead when he ducked and weaved his way over the tryline in the 73rd minute to give Canterbury a lead they never surrendered.

The off-contract rake had one of his best games during his three-year stint at Canterbury, and was particularly dangerous running the ball from dummy-half. The Dragons tried valiantly to hit back in the last seven minutes but an inability to make last passes stick sealed their fate.

The Saints earlier worked their way back into the game after they trailed 14-6 late in the first half.

Winger Jason Nightingale narrowed the margin to two moments before the break, before fullback Matt Dufty lobbed up in support in the 54th minute to give the Dragons an 18-14 lead.

The loss means the Dragons are just the third team since the top-eight system was introduced to miss the finals after leading at the end of the seventh round. They also have the highest for-and-against (+83) of any team to miss the finals in the 2000s.

Josh Reynolds’ Canterbury farewell was short-lived after he injured his ankle in scoring the team’s opening try.

“Can you believe it?!” commentator Warren Smith said over and over after the win.

He limped from the field in the 18th minute, and did not return. Hopoate was also immense for the Bulldogs. He scored once and set up two others, and also held up Josh Dugan at a crucial moment midway through the second half. The victory ensured the Bulldogs finish the season with three straight wins, and means Manly play Penrith and Cronulla face North Queensland in next week’s elimination finals.

5:20pm

Bulldogs set up gigantic upset

The Dragons were ahead of the Bulldogs midway through the second half after fullback Matt Dufty went over for a try in the 54th minute.

Gareth Widdop converted and put the away side in front by four points.

But their finals charge took a hit 10 minutes later as Bulldog Aiden Tolman broke through the Dragons’ defensive line after an offload and helped level the score.

The Bulldogs continued their late-game surge in the final 10 minutes after Michael Lichaa ran over for a try. The Canterbury hooker saw an opening from dummy-half and plonked the ball over the line before the Dragons defensive line could recuperate.

4.15pm

Dragons start finals push, Reynolds’ heartbreaking swansong

Canterbury opened the scoring when a clever grubber from centre Brenko Lee found Josh Morris. But Josh Reynolds — playing his final game for the Bulldogs after signing on with the Tigers from next year — aggravated his troublesome ankle and started limping.

The Dragons hit back after 15 minutes with a try of their own to level things up at 6-6, but Reynolds was unable to carry on and left the field, heading up the tunnel to be assessed by the medical staff.

It was later confirmed the Canterbury veteran would not be returning to the field, completing his heartbreaking farewell to Belmore in the worst way possible.

“When I went over the line, it felt terrible,” he told Brad Fittler at halftime. “I was trying to hang in there but it just wasn’t meant to be.

“I’m gutted but I’m not going to let this moment wreck all the other moments I’ve had in a Bulldogs jumper.”

This is the last thing Dogs fans wanted to see.

4pm

Sharks prevail over valiant Knights

Paul Gallen was the Sharks’ best.

Cronulla has work to do leading into next week’s elimination NRL final after slogging its way to an unconvincing 26-18 final-round win over Newcastle in the Hunter.

Despite racing out to an 18-0 lead, the Sharks were pushed all the way on Sunday but eventually prevailed for a hard-fought second win in three weeks. Shane Flanagan’s fifth-placed side now awaits the winner of the St George Illawarra and Canterbury game to decide whether it faces the Dragons or North Queensland in week one of the finals.

Sharks skipper Paul Gallen was easily his team’s best, warming up for the business end of the season with a trademark 249m and seven offloads. Knights forward Lachlan Fitzgibbon impressed with two tries, although he suffered a compound finger fracture in the second half and failed to return.

His efforts also weren’t enough to stop the Knights from finishing with their third straight wooden spoon in front of a healthy crowd of 20,535 on their annual old boys day.

The visitors were leading by six when James Maloney slotted over a penalty in the 44th minute, before Gallen offloaded for Jesse Ramien to score on debut. Danny Levi responded in the 61st minute but that was as close as the Knights got as they finished the year with three straight defeats.

Cronulla was set for a cruisy afternoon when it shot out to an 18-0 lead inside 20 minutes. Valentine Holmes started the surge when he caught defenders napping out of dummy half in the sixth minute, before Chad Townsend sliced through some poor defence in the 16th.

Jayden Brailey made it a three-try advantage four minutes later but the Knights made it a contest with consecutive Fitzgibbon tries to finish the half. First the lanky second-rower hit a hole off a short ball from debutant Tyrone Amey, and then he cut the deficit to six when Danny Levi found him minutes before the break.

His two tries lifted him to eight for the season — the most by a Knights forward since Danny Buderus in 2003.

1.45pm

Big name casualty in NRL fire sale

James Graham will be wearing the Red V next year.

James Graham has become the first victim of what was predicted to be an NRL fire sale as the Bulldogs look to offload players and remain under the salary cap in 2018.

Canterbury signed Aaron Woods and Kieran Foran to the club for next season, but reports suggested its recruitment strategy was based on an anticipated salary cap of $10 million next year. The cap will likely be $500,000 less than that, meaning the Dogs needed to convince other players to leave to accommodate the new arrivals.

Bulldogs captain Graham has said multiple times during the year he wanted to stay at Belmore, but his wishes have fallen on deaf ears with the Daily Telegraph reporting he has signed a three-year deal with St George.

1.30pm

Carroll roasts Jarryd Hayne

Jarryd Hayne has had a year to forget.

Former NRL enforcer Mark Carroll has lashed Jarryd Hayne for his ordinary showing in the Titans’ 20-16 loss to the Roosters on Friday night.

Gold Coast was up 16-8 with 10 minutes to play but conceded two late tries to end what’s been a horrible season on a low. Hayne has been an easy target this season because of his poor form and feud with coach Neil Henry (who was recently sacked), and former Manly and Souths star Carroll continued to use him as a punching bag.

“You don’t lose games like that. Seriously, the last 10 minutes I thought I was watching a reserve grade game,” Carroll said on Fox Sports’ Gameday Live on Sunday.

“My main culprit is Jarryd Hayne. Seriously, we needed someone to stand up in that game. (Halfback) Ash Taylor got taken off for a concussion test, we needed someone to stand up and take control of the game, or didn’t he want to be there?

“Jarryd has got to hear this, I guarantee you … I wasn’t the greatest player, I wasn’t gifted with natural talent, I had to work bloody hard for what I achieved.

“I want to drag him into the forwards and he can understand what hard work is. My advice to you is pull your head in, look at yourself in the mirror and have a reality check. If you don’t want to play our game … leave, go and try another sport because it hurts me seeing natural talent like yourself (wasted).”

1pm

Wannabe $1 million man must stand up

Josh Dugan is under pressure.

Josh Dugan will be a dangerous force in St George Illawarra’s season-defining clash with Canterbury, Dragons coach Paul McGregor has warned. Just a week after he dropped the NSW State of Origin star for missing the team bus, McGregor insisted the incident had been forgotten and the team had moved on from the matter.

But in the lead up to Sunday’s match, which the Dragons must win to make the NRL finals, McGregor said the centre had been particularly driven.

“He is real focused and determined,” McGregor said. “And that is dangerous to the opposition.”

McGregor reaffirmed his position that a line had to be drawn in the sand at the club, after senior player Jason Nightingale revealed earlier this week tardiness had become a club issue in the latter half of the season.

“Going into finals footy, the most disciplined sides win close games of footy and right now our discipline needs to be at its best,” McGregor said. “It was game day and someone overstepped the mark so he was stood down.”

Dugan has made it clear he wants to be part of the NRL’s $1 million earners club, previously indicating he was unhappy at being offered centre money when he believes he’s a world class fullback. A strong showing today can go some way towards convincing people he’s worth the extra cash.

McGregor is adamant his side deserve to be playing in these finals — and the equation for Sunday’s game couldn’t be any clearer. A win will put them in the finals, while a loss means their high-flying start to the season goes to waste.

Can he make things right with his coach and teammates?

The Dragons’ for-and-against of +89 is the third highest in the competition — and better than any side that has missed the playoffs in the 2000s.

“Our for-and-against is exceptional,” McGregor said. “It shows where we have improved as a football team. But we’ve lost some games that we needed to win.

“But we’re still where we need to be. The key to finals footy is in our hands, we just need to go out there and win. We’re ready to do that.”

In their way though stands a Bulldogs side that they have beaten just once in their past 11 attempts.

They’re also wary of a Canterbury side determined to send Josh Reynolds and Sam Kasiano out winners in their final games for the club.

McGregor said only so much could be read into prior form.

“Obviously as a coach and as players you look at different formats defensively on why they have shut you down in the past and you come up with strategies to overcome that,” McGregor said.

— AAP