Australia

Lachlan Lewis’s brain snap hurts Bulldogs in loss to Rabbitohs


A bizarre incident triggered by Lachlan Lewis has spoiled Canterbury’s shot at a shock upset win over South Sydney, with the Bulldogs going down 32-24 in Robina.

After the last-placed Bulldogs had claimed the most unlikely 12-10 lead at half-time, Lewis found himself in trouble for tackling Cody Walker as they walked from the ground.

Walker and Lewis had words as the players were exiting the arena, before the Bulldogs five-eighth took his opposite number to the ground and sparked a melee.

Lewis was then called back onto the field by referee Ben Cummins and sin-binned for the start of the second half.

The incident took place during the third and final match played in south-east Queensland on Sunday, with Penrith and the Wests Tigers emerging as winners in an earlier double header in Brisbane.

Walker was not affected by Lewis’s behaviour when play resumed in the second half, as he touched the ball twice in one play to put Alex Johnston over for his second try of the match.

Johnston’s second try took his tally for the season to 24 and top of the charts, but he was hurt in the act of scoring and was immediately ruled out of the remainder of the match.

The Rabbitohs also kicked a penalty goal in the time Lewis was in the sin-bin, with the eight points they scored while the Bulldogs were down a player ending up being the difference.

Lewis did help Canterbury level the score at 18-18 in the second half, before three more Rabbitohs tries gave them control.

On top of Johnston’s injury, the Rabbitohs also lost Liam Knight and Campbell Graham to concussions early.

Wayne Bennett also made the call to rest Latrell Mitchell, but still, the 24 points they conceded was the second-most scored by the Bulldogs all year.

They scored twice in the first 20 minutes but lost their way as they bombed two more tries in the opening half and completed at 74 per cent for the night.

Canterbury’s Jack Hetherington (centre) is wrapped up by the South Sydney defence.(

AAP: Jason O’Brien

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Their defence was also picked apart when Bailey Biondi-Odo split their line from dummy half for Aaron Schoupp’s maiden four-pointer, while Corey Allan also bagged his first try in Bulldogs colours.

Biondi-Odo also scored one of his own in the second half off a Rabbitohs error, when a Jacob Host fumble from a poor Damien Cook pass landed in the Bulldogs’ lap and gave them a faint hope at 28-24.

Panthers subdue Warriors

Two Penrith NRL players embrace as they celebrate a try against the Warriors.
The Panthers scored six tries in their 14-point win over the Warriors.(

AAP: Glenn Hunt

)

A brave Warriors side has been ground down by Penrith in a 30-16 defeat after four separate first-half injuries left them without a fit player on the bench.

The Panthers scored in the first minute but were slow to exploit the incredible sequence of injuries, conceding two close-range tries to trail 10-6 before eventually running away with victory at Lang Park.

The win kept the Panthers equal on premiership points with the first-placed Melbourne Storm, while the Warriors (5-12) are now two wins outside the top eight.

The Warriors first lost forward Tohu Harris (knee) in his return from a shoulder injury, before five-eighth and captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (concussion) copped an accidental knock making a tackle.

They soldiered on with tries off short balls to Wayde Egan and Rocco Berry, before both players also left the field with shoulder and hamstring injuries respectively.

Before the Warriors were hit by injuries, Viliame Kikau opened the scoring for the Panthers, charging down a Chad Townsend kick in the first minute before notching a first-half double when he barged over to regain the lead after Brian To’o had also scored.

The Warriors had the better of the early stages of the second half but could not find points despite some uncharacteristic Panthers errors.

Their defence remained solid but the tired legs slowly showed, with Panthers winger Charlie Staines crossing after his side had twice threatened to score long-range tries.

Panthers halfback Tyrone May stretched the Warriors again, going right to the dominant Isaah Yeo, who set up Liam Martin to create a 16-point buffer with 15 minutes to play.

May’s looping pass over the heads of three Warriors was then beautifully roped in one-handed by a reaching Staines, before probing Warriors fullback Reece Walsh — battling cramps in the final minutes — was rewarded with a late try.

Wests Tigers beat Broncos

A Wests Tigers NRL player grounds the ball as he slides in to score a try against the Broncos.
Tommy Talau (left) crossed the stripe for a double for the West Tigers.(

AAP: Glenn Hunt

)

The Wests Tigers are still alive in the NRL finals race after a 42-24 victory over Brisbane that snapped a three-match losing streak.

The Tigers ran home with four tries in 18 minutes to breathe new hope into their finals chances and are now just one win out of the top eight despite just six wins this season.

Defence was fragile from both sides but Adam Doueihi and Daine Laurie lit up the Tigers attack in their resumed partnership in the spine at Lang Park.

Doueihi set up five tries in his return to five-eighth after a six-week stint in the centres.

Although the game was scrappy, the Tigers had plenty to celebrate.

A flying leap and offload from new winger Ken Maumalo handed centre Junior Pauga a try on debut, while winger David Nofoaluma also reached an important milestone.

With the first of two tries he became the club’s highest try scorer with 86 four-pointers across his career, overtaking club legends Benji Marshall (84) and Chris Lawrence (84).

His second was an ugly scramble for a loose ball in goal that got the Tigers ahead by four points with 11 minutes to go, but the Broncos had already started to unravel.

The Broncos were chasing back-to-back wins for the first time since round two last year but poor defence and discipline let them down.

But barnstorming prop Payne Haas showed again why he is worth a 10-year contract to the Broncos with another colossal performance.

Haas had to be dragged from the field after 50 minutes and 141 metres after striding out 127 metres in 38 minutes for NSW in Wednesday night’s State of Origin III loss to Queensland.

Once again, the Broncos dropped off noticeably in the middle without Haas on the field, but his return with 15 minutes to go was not enough to swing momentum.

The Broncos were ahead 18-10 at half-time and 24-10 with half an hour to play before it all fell apart.

The challenge gets harder for the Broncos next week as they face Penrith, while the Tigers will play a near full-strength Manly.

AAP



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