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**truebluefan** · 08-09-2008, 12:48 PM

Manly give Storm a scare a Brooky

Melbourne might just have given Manly a major psychological blow ahead of the NRL Top 8 finals, grinding out an incredibly gutsy 16-10 win over a gallant Sea Eagles at Brookvale Oval. It was an intense match, a high quality and full of feeling - as Manly turned the blow torch on to Melbourne in much the same way the St George Illawarra Dragons did only a few short weeks ago.

Manly more than matched the defending premiers for much of the torrid clash, but two pieces of individual brilliance tipped the balance of power Melbourne’s way.

The Sea Eagles were unable to shut down a Cooper Cronk inside ball to Billy Slater, and the Origin star did the rest, producing a stunning one-arm offload to a flying Matt Geyer to open the scoring in the eighth minute.

Slater looked to have gone from hero to villain in an instant shortly after when he butchered an Orford bomb and Brett Stewart was on the spot to dive over, but the video ref saw it differently, penalising Stewart for pushing Anthony Quinn in the lead up.

[url=http://www.nrlnews.com/2008/08/09/manly-give-storm-a-scare-a-brooky/[Source[/url]

**truebluefan** · 08-09-2008, 12:49 PM

The Wests Tigers have managed to pull-off a smash and grab raid at WIN Stadium, hanging tough for the latter portion of the match and getting a tough win against the Dragons in their own backyard.

Tigers coach Tim Sheens nominated defence as the key to victory and was happy to see his traditionally free-flowing side exercise some caution, including opting for shots at goal.

“Semi-final football is about taking kicks at goal when you get it dead centre and you tackle your backside off, simple as that,” Sheens said.

“Play it tough when you have to play it tough, which is what they did. We’ve got to play that footy otherwise we’re going to be sunk.”

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**truebluefan** · 08-09-2008, 12:50 PM

While Sonny Bill Williams might feel safe in the confines of his French surroundings, his contempt of court in NSW is set to cost him his Carringbah 1.2m home and various other local assets he still has in place.

The NSW courts might not have the power of jurisdiction over his French soil, but it seems SBW’s decision to not send a representative to court could cost him in terms of assets and on-going fines locally.

It’s not not a question of forcing Sonny Bill Williams to play Rugby League or rejoining the Bulldogs; it’s a case of a contracted person breaking his agreement without communication to his employer, exiting the country and refusing to adhere to a court attendance request.

In another interesting twist, the Bulldogs are continuing to pay wages to Sonny Bill Williams in the hope of forcing the star player to see out the remaining four years of his contract despite fleeing to France.

Source

**truebluefan** · 08-09-2008, 12:51 PM

North Queensland finally dumped the gorilla from their back after ending a club record 13-game losing streak with a 36-12 demolition of a toothless Bulldogs.

The Cowboys gave themselves hope of avoiding the wooden spoon after emerging triumphant from the battle of the NRL’s bottom clubs, with the loss adding further to the Dogs’ embarrassing run of results since Sonny Bill Williams fled their Belmore kennel two weeks ago to play rugby union in France.

The Cowboys led 14-0 at halftime with their only moment of concern throughout the match coming when exciting Dogs fullback Ben Barba scored his maiden NRL try early in the second half.

It was an absolute beauty - teammate Lee Te Maari serving up a lovely short ball for Barba, who showed wonderful footwork and balance to bamboozle Cowboys fullback Ashley Graham with his swerve and pace.

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**truebluefan** · 08-09-2008, 12:52 PM

Wade McKinnon marked his return to the New Zealand Warriors with a try as his team kept their NRL playoff hopes alive with 16-12 victory over the Brisbane Broncos at Mount Smart Stadium.

McKinnon looked sharp after missing all of the season to date through injury as his team made hard work of a mountain of possession before beating the Broncos.

The win put the Warriors on 24 competition points, keeping them in a race for the last of the eight playoff spots.

The Warriors had most of the ball and field position in the first half but failed to take advantage of it.

A rare foray into the Warriors half earned the Broncos the lead through an 11th minute Corey Parker penalty, and after Ben Matulino forced his way over for the Warriors midway through the half, the Broncos struck straight back with an excellent try.

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