Summary
So another action-packed Saturday night of sport, where we scarcely even had time to check out Prince Harry’s wedding cummerbund etc.
The NSW Waratahs finally found redemption for Australian Rugby ending a forty-game Trans-Tasman losing streak that would make the likes of David Campese and the Ella brothers grind their teeth into bloody pap. But it happened. It really happened. A game of rugby was won by a team from Australia.
In the AFL Essendon produced an excellent four-quarter showing to shock Geelong with North Melbourne also surprsing the Giants in Tasmania. Gold Coast Suns won few fans in China, as the Shanghai showpiece played out in front of around 10,000 with Port Adelaide emerging victorious.
Giants Netball edged the Firebirds in a thriller to cement second place in the Super Netball, while the Rabbitohs jagged a thriller at the death against the Cowboys. Big wins for the Sea Eagles and Titans as well, but it was a night that was all about the Waratahs.
Thanks for your company once again! Dare to dream, folks. Super Rugby’s coming home y’all.
Full-time: St Kilda 10.12 (72) lose to Collingwood 15.10 (100)
So a game that finished with a whimper, with a fourth quarter that took 24 minutes to deliver it’s first major.
But in all honesty the damage had already been done in a scintillating third-quarter showing from the Magpies, with six-goal de Goey the sharpest shooter for Collingwood.
A tough watch for Saints fans, whose side led at half-time, only to get badly overrun.
And that’s Sportwatch!
Full-time: Sydney Swans 17.11 (111) defeat Fremantle 7.10 (52)
So a remarkable 11 different goal kickers for the Swans who rarely looked tested against the Dockers. Some wayward kicking very early on from the visitors gifted their hosts a narrow first-quarter lead, but from there on in there was only one team in it.
Josh Kennedy and Buddy Franklin with three each, and Jake Lloyd getting through a power of work with 41 disposals and an impressive 15 marks.
So a comfortable win for Sydney to go 6-3 for the season and capitalise on Geelong’s capitulation against the Bombers.
Full-time: Waratahs 41-12 Highlanders
And the 722-day hoodoo is over! New Zealand, more like Who Zealand? There are two nations in this rivalry once again. They said it would never happen. And we only needed the officials to send off all their players.
The Highlanders were effectively dead in the water when youngster Nabura’s brain explosion (not literally) left the visitors with an almost insurmountable task. And when Aaron Smith joined him on the sideline it was pretty much goodnight nurse.
Credit to the Waratahs though, who played smart and managed the second half well to ensure there were no comeback heroics in consecutive weeks. One to cherish, and for the faithful to, dare I even whisper it, dream again once more?
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Full-time: Melbourne Storm 4-24 Manly Sea Eagles
It was tight and tense for 50 minutes, but Curtis Scott’s send-off really proved the turning point for the Storm.
Two from two for Trent Barrett’s men. Crisis? What crisis!
Not too many sides head to Melbourne and come away with the points. Daly Cherry-Evans was prominent, let’s hope the playing group has put their bust ups behind them and can build from this.
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Well we’ve had a huge blowout in the third quarter over at Etihad Stadium. The hooter has sounded, and it’s the Pies with a seven-goal stanza to just obliterate their opponents. Saints with no answers, and Jordan de Goey - the 22-year-old - has kicked a sixth major, right on the buzzer!
14.7 (91) plays 9.9 (63) - 28 points the difference in a quarter that started with St Kilda in the lead!
Try! Waratahs 41-12 Highlanders (Rona)
Duh duh da da duh da duh da da duh da duh, duh duh da da duh da - my Sha-Curtis Rona!
He’s also born in New Zealand. Fun fact.
Try! Waratahs 36-12 Highlanders (Foketi)
He’d only been on the pitch about 30 seconds but it’s a try for Lalakai Foketi! It’s a simple game when it’s 15 plays 14 - just catch, pass, spread it wide quick and the corner is open all day long.
Foley with a run at the line to make sure of it, and the easiest of tries to the NZ-born centre.
You can hear the champagne corks popping all around Australian Rugby HQ. We’re back, baby. We’re back.
Yikes, and over in the AFL, having got themselves back to a 56-48 lead, St Kilda have been steam-rolled in this third quarter!
Four unanswered goals with de Goey grabbing his fifth of the game as the Pies go on another 25 point scoring spree. They lead by 16 here.
Elsewhere the Swans are in solid control, they’re 50+ up on Fremantle, so I don’t see that one swinging round anytime soon.
Try! Waratahs 29-12 Highlanders (Dixon)
And just when I was ready to call this, the Highlanders have hit straight back once again! Have the Waratahs gone to sleep immediately after scoring once again?
In fairness a very well-organised line out take and maul, and it’s Ash Dixon, the captain who crosses. No extras from Sopoaga, a bad miss that by his standards.
Try! Waratahs 29-7 Highlanders (Folau)
And it’s the razzle-dazzle from the Tahs with Kepu and Beale throwing quick hands, and they used their man advantage for Folau to cross once again in the corner.
It’s his 50th Super Rugby try, making it a terrific week for Eurovision countries and rugby players called Israel.
And a bad few minutes in the NRL for the Storm, where they’ve had a man sent off, and just moments later have seen their line breached for just the second time! Akuila Uate with too much gas for the corner and it’s 4-10 with twenty to play!
Try! Waratahs 22-7 Highlanders (Dixon)
Uhoh. The South Islanders hitting straight back with an impressive play of their own. The Waratahs getting drawn far too centrally despite their man advantage and a clever kick out wide finds Elliot Dixon in acres of space.
Lima Sopoaga with a perfect kick over the dot, and we’re game-on once again.
Try! Waratahs 22-0 Highlanders (Folau)
And we’re back underway at the SFS in Sydney with Tahs-Landers, and having been held up in goal minutes earlier, the Waratahs weren’t to be denied.
Tom Staniforth will a bullocking run to go just short, but he drew enough attention in the middle of the park that a quick shift left was enough for Israel Folau to glide over.
Foley with the extras. Is this enough points? Is this too many points? It’s hard to tell the psychology of this. Either way home fans will be nervous.
Now we will try and keep an eye on results elsewhere for you.
We have a first try of Sea Eagles v Storm, where it’s a resurgent (in that they won last week, which let’s face it, never looked likely) Manly leading 6-4 thanks to a re(Meghan)markable kick recovery from Matthew Wright:
Stop it!
— NRL (@NRL) May 19, 2018
Wright scores.#TelstraPremiership
#NRLStormManly #NRL pic.twitter.com/MQQrKNOOA5
And in our second AFL game, it’s St Kilda arresting a mid second-quarter slump to go in the sheds 7.7 (49) plays 7.6 (48) against Collingwood. A terrific showing from Saints players with four letter names starting with J, with goals to Jack, Jack, Jack, Jack, Jack, Jack and Jade helping St Kilda to a slender lead.
Half-time: Waratahs 15-0 Highlanders
“That’s one small step for the Waratahs, one giant leap for Australian rugby.”
Now, alright, alright. Let’s not get carried away. But I’ll tell you what I liked about that first half performance. They didn’t score TOO much. A lot of sides, they’d make a two-man advantage really count, and race out to a handy lead. But this Waratahs side? A week older, a week wiser. No, this is good going. It’s basically game management. Just run it to the corner and every time there’s a break in play just go down injured with cramp. All fifteen players at once. C’mon Tahs.
Around the grounds, and we’ve got an arm-wrestle over in the NRL. In the shadow of half-time it’s 2-2 in the Storm v Sea Eagles game. Shades of Rugby League World Cup, NZ v Fiji, anyone?
In Melbourne there’s a Jordan de Goey show happening at Etihad Stadium. The Collingwood young gun has just kicked three majors in five minutes, as the Pies race ahead halfway through the second quarter. A scoring run of 25-2 there, not pretty stuff for Saints fans.
And it’s not much better watching for Freo fans, as the Swans are continuing to pull away. A bit of a suspect Buddy Franklin elbow there that the tribunal might want to look at midweek, but it’s seven majors plays one, nevertheless.
Try! Waratahs 15-0 Highlanders (Naiyaravoro)
Good golly, Miss Molly. It’s bad to worse here, as the Highlanders are reduced to 13 men! Aaron Smith attempting a pass intercept but he’s adjudged to have deliberately knocked the ball to ground.
A harsh one there, but it is the letter of the law.
Don’t start giving us your charity, officials. If this is to happen, let’s do it the right way.
And the Waratahs opt for the scrum when handed a penalty just 5m out. They rightly look to spread it wide, and it’s a double for Naiyaravoro!
Foley adds the extras from the very sideline. Stop me if you’ve seen this movie before, but just quietly - I’m backing the Tahs in here!
Try! Waratahs 8-0 Highlanders (Naiyaravoro)
Look out! We’re 16 minutes gone and it’s first blood, Tahs. A bust midfield and they swing it wide left, where the one-man wrecking ball is there to carry defenders like backpacks, over the line and in the corner, a ninth try of the season for the Fijian-born man-monster, Taqele Naiyaravoro.
Foley from the touchline but he’s got neither direction nor distance. It’s okay, Bernard. It almost certainly won’t come to haunt the Tahs.
Oh wow. And a big talking point now! RED CARD Tevita Nabura, and the Highlanders will play the last 62 minutes a man down!
He’s leapt to catch the ball; seen a Tahs defender closing in, and he’s struck out with his leg in what’s been deemed a ‘deliberate action’, kung fu kicking his opposite number in the chops! Wow.
Only his third ever Super Rugby game, Nabura, and he’s gone Cantona-meets-Roy O’Donovan (for those of you who like a retro Premier League with an incredibly recent A-League crossover reference).
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And we’ll try and keep a close eye on the Waratahs-Highlanders game for you tonight; just because I’ve got a really strong feeling tonight’s the night for Australian Rugby.
39-0 (consecutive matches lost by Australian sides against New Zealand sides) speaks otherwise, but hey. Glass half-full, me.
We’re ten minutes in and it’s already the Tahs in a commanding position. 3-0 via the trustworthy boot of Bernard Foley. They won’t throw this away. It’s only if it gets out to 27-0 or so that we’ll start getting nervous.
Highlanders with a try rightly disallowed. They love scoring game-winners from offside positions don’t they, these Kiwi sides? Not that we’re still salty over Moody-gate.
Quarter-time in the AFL, where remarkably we’ve seen FIVE behinds from shots that have hit the post! The Swans leveling the ledger a little in that department with two late efforts of their own after Fremantle notched three-straight.
3.3 (21) leads 0.4 (4) where it’s been pretty evenly matched, except for that major difference in chance-conversion.
And it’s evens-stevens in Melbourne where St Kilda lead Collingwood 3.5 (23) to 3.2 (20).
And we’re also underway in both Super Rugby and NRL action, where Waratahs v Highlanders and Melbourne Storm v Manly Sea Eagles are your evening fare.
And just for giggles, a THIRD consecutive behind for Fremantle who are just in love with that goal-post. Remarkable start for the Dockers sharp-shooters. Missed it by that much!
And we’ve had duel bounces in Sydney and Melbourne respectively, as the Swans host the Dockers and the Saints face the Magpies.
First blood to the two homesides, Will Hayward and Jack Lonie kicking the first majors of their two teams respectively.
We’ll keep our eyes across these two keenly. (When not flicking across to see what millinery magic is happening at that do in Windsor, naturally).
Consecutive behinds to Fremantle as both Walters and McCarthy strike the post in as many minutes!
And a shout out to our unofficial Swans-cum-Windsor correspondent, Paul Karp, who’s taking it all in (so you don’t have to):
Ainslie Football club - where you can watch the #RoyalWedding side by side with #aflswansfreo can you name anywhere more magical?
— Paul Karp (@Paul_Karp) May 19, 2018
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Full-time: North Queensland 19-20 South Sydney
Oh no! They missed two late field goal attempts, but a last minute penalty has proved enough - and after that heroic NQ comeback, it’s the Bunnies who snatch it at the death!
Adam Reynolds saving his side’s blushes with 6/6 from the boot.
What a dramatic finish, and the Rabbitohs do jump to third on the ladder!
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Oooh, some big news coming out of North Queensland. We asked the question - can JT lead the Cowboys back, after they trailed 18-10 with twenty to play against the Rabbitohs, and guess who, don’t sue.
Ten minutes to play, and a training paddock special, with JT running the run-around to send Winterstein to the corner for his second of the night. All pressure on the kick, and do you reckon JT could slot it?
JT nails it!#NRLCowboysSouths 18-18 with 8 minutes to go.#NRL pic.twitter.com/sn2nDyWD07
— NRL (@NRL) May 19, 2018
How many times have you seen that?!
Michael Morgan with a field goal with six to play, it remarkably its the Cowboys leading 19-18 at the death!
Full-time: Essendon 12.12 (84) defeat Geelong 7.8 (50)
Well they made it slightly more respectable at the death, but gee whiz, the Cats just had no answers to that Bomb-slaught!
Four final quarter goals, three from Tom Hawkins, and 25 points coming in the final fifteen minutes to save some face.
But take nothing away from Essendon, who have hopefully laid down a real marker tonight to kickstart their spluttering season.
Jake Stringer back to his best, Shaun McKernan with a mixed bag but nevertheless 4.4 in front of goal, with David Zaharakis with 33 disposals, eight marks and six tackles.
Not a poor player in red and black, and what a well-deserved victory for the Bombers!
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And in the NRL, South Sydney’s chances of moving to third on the ladder look to be firming as they lead the Cowboys 18-10 with just over 20 minutes to play.
Damien Cook with a terrific scurry from dummy half to propel his side outside a converted try ahead:
Jet. Boots!#TelstraPremiership#NRLCowboysSouths#NRL pic.twitter.com/TCrAiGr3BR
— NRL (@NRL) May 19, 2018
Still, you’d never write off a side with JT among it’s number. Can the home side lift here?
And that result at the MCG just continues to get more and more remarkable. There’s been no let up from Essendon as edge past 50 in front - yes, 50 in FRONT - against Geelong.
Jake Stringer with the kind of speccy that earned him his moniker “the Package” - and finally, a performance to match that reputation in black and red.
11.11 (77) plays 3.6 (24) at the start of the 4th quarter. Remarkable.
What a night for the true believers - they haven’t had much to cheer lately, Bombers fans, but those that trudged out tonight have witnessed something very special indeed. They’ve just put the crowd figure up - 50,000+ in tonight. What a night for them.
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We’re approaching half-time in the all-NZ clash in the Super Rugby where Crusaders lead the Blues 22-12. We started amid torrential rain in Auckland, but it was the South Islanders with the better hands early on, with the impressive George Bridge crossing after less than two minutes.
A late try to All Black Rieko Ioane has brought some respectability to this scoreline though, but you don’t sense the Crusaders have really been tested too much. Let’s see how this unfolds in the second stanza.
Full-time: Gold Coast 6.6 (42) lose to Port Adelaide 11.16 (82)
They kicked the first goal of the game but that was as good as it got for the Suns, who haven’t won over too many international fans in Shanghai today.
Sam Powell-Pepper continuing to burnish his reputation (on the field at least), kicking 2.1 with 26 disposals with Travis Boak and Darcy Byrne-Jones also prominent for the Power.
Port moving temporarily to fourth on the ladder, just under their cross-town rivals Crows who sit third thanks to their win over Western Bulldogs last night.
Meanwhile, in Townsville, we’re underway in the NRL clash between the Cowboys and the Rabbitohs.
A bright start for the visitors, who took the lead with George Burgess crashing over inside four minutes. Adam Reynolds adding six from the boot to grow the lead to ten. But a try to Antonio Winterstein with just shy of twenty gone has arrested the momentum for North Queensland, 6-10 the score.
Welly, well. Let’s keep an eye on this one - it’s half-time in the AFL clash between Essendon and Geelong, where it appears the quarter-time score was not an anomaly.
The Bombers have picked up where they left off, adding four goals unanswered during this second quarter to lead the Cats 9.5 (59) to 2.3 (15)!
They’ve really answered their critics after last week’s horrorshow against Carlton; but let’s remember it’s only a job half-done at this stage.
Still, they’ve shown endeavour all over the pitch, they’re tackling hard, they’re winning the contest and they’re shooting straight.
Could be about to witness a massive upset here?!
Full-time: Sunwolves 26-23 Stormers
Wowee! Well, this goes a little bit of the way to making Reds fans feel a bit better. The Sunwolves - whipping boys of the Super Rugby - have gone back-to-back with a shock win over South Africa’s Stormers.
With the Sunwolves having taken the lead for the first time all game in the 65th minute it was the boot that did the talking thereafter, with both sides trading penalties and a share of the lead.
Four minutes after the siren a remarkable drop goal effort from over 40m out and Hayden Parker landed it! What a result!
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And a huge result in the AFL!
If we stopped the clock after one quarter that is..
It’s been almost a perfect first 22 minutes for the Bombers, who suffered the ignominy of a loss to Carlton last week, and they’ve taken their pent-up training ground frustration out on the Cats here.
It was 32-2, with Shaun McKernan firing 3.1 to spark Essendon. Only late goals to Stewart Crameri and who else - Patrick Dangerfield - have the Cats even in this. 32-14 at quarter time.
Full-time: Titans 33-26 Knights
And a lively end to this one on the Gold Coast, where the Titans have grabbed it at the death for just their fourth win of the season!
The Titans had to come from behind twice, and with the scores locked at 26 a piece it was the full gamut of emotions for home fans.
Five-eighth AJ Brimson scurringly over for the winner with just five to play, with Ash Taylor slotting a field goal for some late security.
Worryingly, a third consecutive loss for the Knights, with both sides just outside the eight early in the season.
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Full-time: Giants 53-51 Firebirds
And that’s all she wrote!
Former Diamonds skipper Laura Geitz powerless in the end to stop England’s Jo Harten, who fired home some clutch goals at the death to win this for the Giants, locking in second place on the table, behind the West Coast Fever.
Kristina Brice off the bench for Susan Pettitt in quarter two, and didn’t she make the most of that, shooting 27/31 (87%). Another all-action effort from Kim Green at wing attack, with a hand (literally) in almost everything.
Big result for the Sydney side!
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Okay, let’s pick up back at the netball where it’s on an absolute knife-edge.
We’ve about three minutes to play, and it’s currently locked at 51-all.
Trailing 44-42 it was Firebirds’ Jamaican sharp-shooter Romelda Aiken looking to spark her side; with two consecutive scoring shots to square the ledger. For the hosts Jo Harten and Kristina Brice have been sharing the work, with Kim Green running the floors with 28 goal assists.
With six minutes to play, the Firebirds pulled out to a two-point lead, but it’s been a remarkable last few minutes from the Giants.
England’s Harten and Brice putting on four consecutive goals to pull away to a 53-51 lead. Surely they can’t be caught from here? Less than a minute to play!
Full-time: Kangaroos 17.10 (112) defeat Giants 9.15 (69)
An interesting result from the early AFL game this afternoon in Tasmania, with Ben Brown firing the Roos to a big third-quarter revival.
Trailing by five at half-time the local boy wowed his home crowd, banging five goals, to make it 31 for the season so far, with the win helping the Roos leapfrog above the stuttering Giants on the table.
Jarrad Waite with four key goals for the ‘home’ side as well, with only Jeremy Cameron boasting more than one goal for a disappointing Giants.
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We’re deep in the third quarter in the Quaycentre in Sydney, where it’s all ebb and plenty of flow between the Giants and the Firebirds.
Having leap out to a 15-12 lead in the first quarter the Firebirds, spearheaded by the redoubtable Romelda Aiken and Gretel Tippett, then found themselves staring at a fair reversal in quarter two, as the Giants fired back with a 16-11 response. It’s a more even affair in the third, where we’re locked up 12-12, with the Giants leading by two goals overall, and both sides splitting the bonus points (remember, under the new scoring system each quarter won garners a point).
Tippett with 100% accuracy thus far, boasting 17/17 from GA.
So, let’s head round the grounds and see what’s underway:
In the NRL, its Titans and Knights getting us underway, where we’ve played about ten minutes in the second half where the home side just shade their visitors by 18-14 on the Gold Coast. A brace of tries to Phillip Sami leading the way, but there’s plenty more to run in this one you’d imagine.
We’ve another Gold Coast team in action in the AFL, but in remote Shanghai, as the Suns take on the Power. We’re in the second quarter there were a goal to Charlie Dixon has seen the victors of last weekend’s Showdown pull ahead - 5.5 (35) leads 4.2 (26) in that one.
And fresh from their first victory of the season, Super Rugby’s Sunwolves have once again got the taste for it against South Africa’s Stormers. They’re trailing 10-17 at the beginning of the second half, but there may yet be a sting in the tail in that one as well.
But let’s head to the Super Netball - where there’s a real battle underway as 2nd and 3rd placed Giants and Firebirds lock talons.
(Ed: do Firebirds have talons? What even are Firebirds? Let me know if you do, and we can all be richer for the experience).
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Welcome
Hi all! It’s another huge Saturday’s action ahead of us, with the non-spherical shaped ball sports again dominating. We’ve got four games of Super Rugby, including the Waratahs’ redemption mission on NZ soil against the Highlanders. There are three NRL clashes, with the Cowboys looking to continue their resurgence against the Rabbitohs. And in the AFL we’ve got five live games, with the pick of the bunch perhaps Sydney Swans’ battle with Fremantle.
There’s also a big match underway in the Super Netball where the Giants are taking on the Firebirds. And as always, we’ll be round the grounds keeping an eye on all sports news for you.
Including developments like this:
Niiice, Gary.
Your immediate thoughts on that appointment? As always please do join the conversation with your quips, insights or conspiracy theories. Drop us a line on email or tweet @rrjparkin to enrich the evening of your fellow readers!
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