A stellar display from Mounties halfback Mitch Cornish guided his side back into the winner’s circle with a thumping 58-18 victory over Canterbury at GIO Stadium on Saturday.
Out to make amends after dropping their first game of the season last round against Penrith, the hosts were in control for the entire 80 minutes as they put the sword to the hapless Bulldogs.
Mounties 58 (J Hawkins 2, S Duggan 2, B Tupou, J Lynch, M Cronin, G Aiga, M Cornish, M Barnett, R Kennedy, D Shillington tries; Cornish 4, L Page goal) bt Canterbury Bulldogs 18 (J Graham, J McInally, B Clark tries; L Dodd 3 goals)
New Zealand Warriors 36 (D Fusitua 2, N Peteru 2, M Niukore, J Tua, M Lino tries; Lino 3, Pewhairangi goals) bt Manly Sea Eagles 22 (D Reardon, D Berryman, B Fritz, J Hasson tries; K Aldridge 3 goals)
SUMMARY: Despite trailing at half time, the New Zealand Warriors put in a strong second-half performance to beat the Manly Sea Eagles by 14 points at Henson Park. It was a high quality game of football with Mason Lino being instrumental for the Warriors side, with David Fusitu’a also a standout.
Newtown Jets 26 (J Gagan 2, N Mataitonga, B Ayshford, D Abou-Sleiman tries; T Murphy 3 goals) bt Illawarra Cutters 10 (J Hunt, K Glymin tries; S Crook goal)
SUMMARY: An outstanding defensive first-half performance set the platform for the Newtown Jets to run away with a 26-10 victory over the Illawarra Cutters. Todd Murphy was a standout performer for the Jets, as well as Jacob Gagan who scored two tries in three minutes when the game was in the balance.
Penrith Panthers 16 (E Aiona, J Tangitau, N Akeripa tries; W Smith 2 goals) bt Wentworthville Magpies 4 (J Folau try)
SUMMARY: In a clash which didn’t reach any great heights, it was Penrith who prevailed in the extremely windy conditions, 16-4 against Wentworthville. The Panthers have now won five games in a row to maintain second spot on the ladder.
Wests Tigers 28 (J Sila, J Grant, L Liolevave, K Lulia, D Nofoaluma, tries; J Drinkwater 4 goals) bt Wyong Roos 24 (O Slaimankhel, L Setu, A Papalii, B Elliot, S Langi tries; T Cornish 2 goals)
SUMMARY: The Wests Tigers have won an absolute thriller that saw David Nofoaluma score a try in the final minute to steal the game from the Wyong Roos. It was a battle of the halfbacks at Morry Breen Oval, with Josh Drinkwater from the Tigers and Tyler Cornish from the Roos being the two standout players.
Newcastle Knights 26 (C Mata'utai 2, J Mamo, N Ross, L Fitzgibbon tries; C Redman 2, D Kerr goals) bt North Sydney Bears 22 (C Walker 3, J Olive tries; D Nicholls 3 goals)
SUMMARY: Newcastle Knights defeated North Sydney Bears 26-22 at No2 Sports Ground in the Hunter Valley. It took a while for Newcastle to kick into gear as they did not really take advantage of a strong wind in the first half. However a double from Chanel Mata'utia and an excellent individual try by Jake Mamo proved the difference with the Knights just having that little bit more in attack.
This article first appeared on www.nswrl.com.au
