Rugby League-NRL Round 17 Weekend in Summary

Sailor Stranded but Dragons Post Seventh Straight Win

NEWCASTLE—St George Illawarra continued breathing fire with a 24-16 win over Newcastle, but star winger Wendell Sailor ran out of puff with the chance to score a remarkable try in his first full NRL game in seven years.

Sailor was denied what would have been a brilliant 70m try in the 34th minute when he was gunned down by Knights halfback Jarrod Mullen just one metre short of the tryline.

The dual international's obvious loss of pace didn't cost the Dragons, however, as they raced to a 24-0 lead to set up their seventh straight victory before a late rally by the gallant Knights.

Making his second comeback to the NRL after his return four weeks ago ended with a fractured cheekbone, Sailor almost turned the clock back to his heyday with a wonderful intercept of Mullen's cross-field bomb to race clear.

But the 70m run to the line was simply too far for the 33-year-old who was dragged over the sideline by Mullen before he could add to the 110 tries he scored for Brisbane before defecting to rugby union seven years ago.

Sailor wasn't the only motivated Dragon to fall agonising short of scoring in the opening half tonight as former Knight Kirk Reynoldson, who was virtually booted out of Newcastle last year, tripped over his own shoe laces with the tryline beckoning in the 24th minute.

Despite the near misses the Dragons still raced to a comfortable 14-0 halftime lead with tries to Chase Stanley and Josh Morris.

Stanley's was a benefit of the doubt decision by the video referee after he had grounded the ball on Mullen's foot.

Morris completed an 80m play in the 39th minute to sink Newcastle hearts after the Knights had gallantly held on against a weight of possession and penalties to the Dragons.

Dragons star Jamie Soward put on a double left foot step to swerve his way over four minutes after the break as he hauled in 12 points for the night, while workaholic prop Jason Ryles barged over in the 53rd minute.

Buoyed by 22,348 fans the Knights fought back with two tries within five minutes to late replacement Junior Sau to reduce the deficit to 24-10 with 18 minutes to go.

Named in place of injured skipper Danny Buderus, Sau's strength and speed helped him score his second double in just three NRL games.

But Newcastle's surging finish was thwarted as much by the Dragons as referee Sean Hampstead who ruled several questionable forward passes against the home side, one which denied James McManus a try in the 64th minute.

Tireless Newcastle utility Kurt Gidley capped his outstanding effort on NSW State of Origin duty by adding a consolation try and conversion with just seconds left on the clock.

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Inglis Proves he's Really the Man

Greg Inglis of the Storm. (Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

MELBOURNE—Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy said star five-eighth Greg Inglis took his game to a whole new level today, and he wasn't talking about his two-try effort.

Inglis scored a double as the Storm, bolstered by the return of eight Origin representatives, resurrected their NRL premiership defence with a 30-14 win over Canberra at Olympic Park.

The Raiders held the home side to 4-4 until the 33rd minute, when Melbourne raced in three tries in seven minutes for a 16-4 halftime lead to take control of the match.

Inglis' two tries came in the second half, after a suffered a knock to the hip which almost forced him from the field.

Bellamy said it was a testimony of the 21-year-old's growing maturity that he backed up to play with his troublesome knee problem after Wednesday's torrid Origin encounter.

Michael Crocker was the only Origin player missing as he recovered from concussion.

"I thought Greg went to another level," he said.

"He doesn't usually back up after Origin so well and I thought he played really strong.

"He came out of the baby stage today and matured into a first grade footy player for us.

"We're really happy to see that and we're really happy for him."

The Queenslander's first try came from the simplest of moves with Dallas Johnson peeling off the back of the scrum 10 metres from the tryline to find the five-eighth lurking.

The second, in the 52nd minute, was more spectacular and even had the usually reserved Bellamy cheering from the stands.

Hooker Cameron Smith found in-form Billy Slater who chipped the ball ahead and then chased and kicked it into the in-goal soccer style.

Canberra halfback Todd Carney appeared to have the ball covered but he didn't count on the pace and poise of Inglis, who came from behind to pounce.

Carney, who was among the Raiders two tryscorers, said after the match he was "embarrassed".

He won't be the last.

Smith said it was Inglis' defence rather than attack which impressed him the most.

"He's matured as a player -- having that exceptional game in game II (of Origin) has helped him a lot and given him a lot of confidence," the captain said.

"He knows what's expected of him now.

"In the past he's strung a couple of good games together and then had weeks off and when he's had niggling injuries he's opted not to play.

"Now he's a bit tougher in the head and that's what we expect down here."

The only downside from the Storm's six-try display was when centre Israel Folau was placed on report for a 72nd minute tackle on Raiders lock Joe Picker, who replaced injured skipper Alan Tongue (rib cartilage).

"To me he landed on his back," Bellamy said.

"I don't know whether it was because his legs were in the air and that's why the referee put it on report ... but I'd be surprised if he's got anything to worry about."

Canberra coach Neil Henry said his side lacked the consistency to challenge Melbourne.

"We drift in and out of games and get some momentum and then get some adversity and go away from it a little bit, and they're a good enough side to take advantage of that," he said.

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Penrith back on Prowl with Win to Move into Top Eight

Frank Pritchard of the Panthers makes a line break and looks for support. (Mark Nolan/Getty Images)

SYDNEY—Penrith charged back into the NRL top eight with a 22-16 upset of fierce rivals Parramatta at Parramatta Stadium.

The Panthers scored a four tries to three victory in front of a disappointing crowd of just 14,012 for the western Sydney derby to overtake the Eels and move into eighth place on the table on 19 competition points.

It was Penrith's first win in over a month after a string of three successive losses, two of them by two points or less, and a 12-all draw to Brisbane last week.

Skipper Petero Civoniceva led the way with a tireless performance for the Panthers just four days after inspiring Queensland to a third State of Origin series win.

However it was the Panthers young trio of Lachlan Coote, Wade Graham and Masada Iosefa who were the real stars along with halfback Luke Lewis.

Coote was outstanding at fullback and booted three of four conversion attempts, Masada barged across for a brilliant solo try in the 30th minute and five-eighth Graham provided superb direction and set up their first two tries with boot and hand.

Lewis scored the Panthers opening try in the ninth minute and then made the pivotal linebreak in the second half to put Frank Pritchard across in the 58th minute which gave Penrith a match-winning 22-12 lead.

Rhys Wesser was the Panthers other tryscorer while the Eels had solo tries either side of halftime to replacement hooker Matthew Keating and five-eighth Feleti Mateo that gave Parramatta a sniff of snatching victory by reducing the deficit to 16-12 with 25 minutes to play.

But as has been the case for much of 2008, the Eels failed to kick on because of a mixture of poor handling and decision making despite a whopping 12-4 penalty count in their favour.

Winger Taulima Tautai had a chance to pull the Eels back within a try but was tackled into the corner post before he could ground it in the corner in the 68th minute.

He made amends in the 77th minute by touching down in the same corner but by then it was too late for the Eels to complete a miracle comeback despite their flashy efforts.

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NRL Collated Results and Standings-Round 17

Manly Sea Eagles 34 – Gold Coast Titans 14

MANLY 34 (B Stewart 2 S Bell J Lyon S Menzies D Williams tries M Orford 5 goals) bt GOLD COAST 14 (A Laffranchi 2 tries M Rogers 3 goals) at Skilled Park. Referee: J Maxwell. Crowd: 21,374.

St George Illawarra Dragons 24 – Newcastle Knights 16

ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA 24 (J Morris J Ryles J Soward C Stanley tries J Soward 4 goals) bt NEWCASTLE 16 (J Sau 2 K Gidley tries K Gidley 2 goals) at EnergyAustralia Stdm. Referee: S Hampstead. Crowd: 22,348.

Melbourne Storm 30 – Canberra Raiders 14

MELBOURNE 30 (G Inglis 2 S Manu A Quinn B Slater S Turner tries C Smith 3 goals) bt CANBERRA 14 (T Carney M Chalk J Monaghan tries T Carney goal) at Olympic Park. Referee: B Cummins. Crowd: 11,719.

Penrith Panthers 22 – Parramatta Eels 16

PENRITH 22 (M Iosefa L Lewis F Pritchard R Wesser tries L Coote 3 goals) bt PARRAMATTA 16 (M Keating F Mateo T Tautai tries L Burt 2 goals) at Parramatta Stadium. Referee: S Hayne. Crowd: 14,012.

Bye: Brisbane, North Queensland, Sydney Roosters, Cronulla, Wests Tigers, NZ Warriors.

Playing Monday – South Sydney v Sydney Bulldogs

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