The Intrust Super Premiership NSW returned to normal transmission for the weekend in Round 14, with a full round of six games taking place. Nail-biters between the Panthers and Mounties, Knights and Jets and Bears and Magpies were decided late, while the remaining contests had much bigger final margins.
No team was more impressive than the Bulldogs, who kept the opposition tryless across both senior grades in Round 14. Two days before conceding just two points agains the Dragons in the NRL, the Intrust Super Premiership NSW side ran rampant to defeat Illawarra 38-0 at Belmore Sports Ground. With 58 per cent of possession, Steve Georgallis’s men were forced to make the fewest tackles of the weekend (259) and therefore the fewest missed tackles (20), running 60 metres more than Illawarra and letting in just one line-break.
Elsewhere, the Panthers edged out Mounties 18-12 despite having the most tackles (380) and errors (15) of the weekend. Their opposition were unable to capitalise, missing more tackles than any other team (40) - but this was not the fault of hooker Adam Clydsdale, who made a huge 61 tackles for just one miss.
A big second half from the Knights was unable to deliver them two points, falling just short of the Jets 18-16, while it was a high-scoring, closer-than-expected game at Campbelltown Sports Stadium between the Wests Tigers and Wyong Roos. While the ladder leaders pulled away late, scoring three tries in the final 15 minutes to finish 42-22 victors, they conceded the week’s most penalties (10) along with the Sea Eagles. They also made the most line-breaks (8), however, with a round-high 1,729 metres dominating the Tigers’ 1,127 metres - the fewest of Round 14.
Possibly the upset of the year took place at HE Laybutt Fields, with the 11th-placed Sea Eagles overcoming the second-placed Warriors 30-12. Finally, the Bears defeated the Magpies 16-8 thanks to an Abbas Miski double; the winger topped the individual running metres count with 212 metres, closely followed by the Knights’ Thomas Cronan and Roos’ Johnny Tuivasa-Sheck (209 each).
View the full stats reports from each of the games below - and stay tuned for the Round 14 Team of the Week, to be released on NSWRL.com.au later this week.
