All the results and scorers' details from the 23rd week of the VB NSW Cup.
Warriors 20 (M Niukore 2, M Lino tries; Lino 4 goals) bt Wests Tigers 16 (D Hoeter, C Peni, K Rowe tries; J Drinkwater 2 goals)
SUMMARY: The Warriors hold onto first place on the VB NSW Cup ladder while the Wests Tigers' season hangs by a thread depending on several results in Round 23. The Warriors rallied from an early 10-0 deficit with man-of-the-match Mason Lino steering the side. It's a bitter blow for the Wests Tigers who were the better side in the first half but were left lamenting a lacklustre second-half performance.
Mounties 24 (S Mills, B Lee, M Cornish, M Nicholls, J Hawkins tries; Cornish 2 goals) bt Illawarra Cutters 20 (J Vaivai, K Brennan, B Wallace, E Roberts tries; Wallace 2 goals)
SUMMARY: Mounties hold onto a share of equal first place after a thrilling 24-20 win over the Illawarra Cutters at WIN Stadium. Mounties' right-hand edge terrorised the Illawarra defence all afternoon, with Jeremy Hawkins and Brenko Lee breaking through the line at will, to hand the Cutters their second-straight loss.
Manly Sea Eagles 26 (D Williams, J Littlejohn, M Rudolph, U Baker tries; D Kelly 5 goals) bt Canterbury Bulldogs 12 (J McInally 2, T Phillips tries)
SUMMARY: Jayden Hodges guided the surging Sea Eagles to a comeback victory over the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs at Brookvale Oval. The Bulldogs were made to play catch up in the physically-intense clash as Manly dominated the second stanza with structured attack. The win sees Manly move into the top eight with two rounds left to play.
Wyong Roos 52 (C Centrone 3, O Slaimankhel 2, Y Gordon, A Papalii, J Siejka, M McIlwrik, L Pulu tries; T Cornish 5, Slaimankhel goals) bt Wentworthville Magpies 16 (J Tuitahi 2, C Nelson tries; B Henry 2 goals)
SUMMARY: Wyong Roos turned around last weekend's loss with a crushing 52-16 victory over Wentworthville. All the damage was done in the first half with the Roos scoring five tries to set up the win, including a hat trick to winger Chris Centrone. Wyong kicked on in the second half to hand Wentworthville a 36-point defeat.
North Sydney Bears 52 (J Reddy 3, J Olive 2, D Millard, J Gosiewski, A Crichton, D Nicholls, Latrell Schaumkel tries; Nicholls 6 goals) bt Newcastle Knights 20 (P Mata'utia, C Tuimavave, J Feeney, K Holland tries; Holland 2 goals)
SUMMARY: North Sydney Bears made it four wins in a row after defeating fifth-placed Newcastle Knights 52-20. Bears trio Angus Crichton, Chris Grevsmuhl and Tulsa Saumamoa dominated through the middle, while John Olive was an explosive asset at left centre. The win continues the Bears dominant form heading into the finals.
Penrith Panthers 20 (M Filino 3, S Anderson tries; C Harawira 2 goals) bt Newtown Jets 18 (B Ayshford, N Gardner, T Murphy tries; Murphy 3 goals)
SUMMARY: Penrith stay in the race for the minor premiership with a heart-stopping 20-18 win over a determined Newtown side. Newtown defended their own half for most of the opening 40 minutes but scored before the break to lead 12-6. Penrith came out the stronger early in the second half to take a 16-12 lead before a chip-and-chase try to Todd Murphy appeared to have won the game for the Jets – but Maliko Filino had other ideas scoring his third try for the half in the 79th minute to snatch victory for the Panthers.
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