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 Archive > Year > 2007 > Nrl Telstra Premiership
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Round 5
Bulldogs 14 l. Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 16 |
 
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 Click the match link for full match details including teams, scoring details, articles and more Fri April 13 2007, 7:30PM AEST GMT+10 Fri: Penrith Panthers 14 l. Parramatta Eels 27 at Penrith Stadium, Mulgoa Road, Penrith, Sydney (NSW) Crowd: 18,746 Fri April 13 2007, 7:30PM AEST GMT+10 Fri: Gold Coast Titans 28 d. Brisbane Broncos 16 at Suncorp Stadium, Castlemaine Street, Milton, Brisbane (QLD) Crowd: 47,686 Sat April 14 2007, 5:30PM AEST GMT+10 Sat: St.George-Illawarra Dragons 10 l. Melbourne Storm 24 at OKI Jubilee Stadium, Kogarah, Sydney (NSW) Crowd: 9,011 Sat April 14 2007, 7:30PM AEST GMT+10 Sat: Bulldogs 14 l. Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 16 at Telstra Stadium, Homebush Bay, Sydney (NSW) Crowd: 20,269 Sun April 15 2007, 2:00PM NZST GMT+12 Sun: New Zealand Warriors 34 d. North Queensland Cowboys 14 at Mt Smart Stadium, Penrose, Auckland (NZ) Crowd: 11,260 Sun April 15 2007, 2:00PM AEST GMT+10 Sun: South Sydney Rabbitohs 22 l. Newcastle Knights 23 at Telstra Stadium, Homebush Bay, Sydney (NSW) Crowd: 18,321 Sun April 15 2007, 3:00PM AEST GMT+10 Sun: Wests Tigers 14 d. Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 12 at Campbelltown Stadium, Leumeah, Sydney (NSW) Crowd: 17,566 Mon April 16 2007, 7:30PM AEST GMT+10 Mon: Canberra Raiders 37 d. Sydney Roosters 28 at Canberra Stadium, Bruce, Canberra (ACT) Crowd: 15,862  Sea Eagles remain unbeaten toppling disappointing Bulldogs Sat April 14, 2007 Manly is back as a major Premiership force and they have continued their unbeaten start to the season defeating a disappointing Bulldogs outfit 16-14 tonight at Telstra Stadium. It was a match where the Sea Eagles trailed for most of the match, but one they were never going to lose. The Bulldogs made too many fundamental errors to hold onto the lead they had with the Sea Eagles superior speed, skill and defence proving the difference on top of the Bulldogs mistakes. Manly scored first through Michael Robertson when they caught out the Bulldogs right side defence. The Sea Eagles gained the upper hand following handling mistakes from Mark O'Meley and Sonny Bill Williams on the first tackle in successive sets. Manly were too good not to miss the opportunity to post the points. Jamie Lyon's conversion attempt from the sideline hit the posts. The Sea Eagles bombed a certain try soon after and twice gave a penalty when in possession as they were attacking the line, first one for an incorrect play the ball and the second one for an obstruction. Dallas McIlwain scored the Bulldogs only try of the first half with a strong effort and Hazem El Masri playing in his 250th first grade match added the extras. It was a surprise considering Manly's first half domination that the Bulldogs led 6-4 at the break and they extended that lead short after half-time when O'Meley found Williams in space from a nice short ball and Williams beat the tackle of Brett Stewart to score. El Masri converted the try for the Bulldogs to all the sudden lead 12-4. Unfortunately it was an unhappy night for El Masri in his landmark match when he fumbled an elementry grubber kick from Travis Burns with Chris Hicks on the spot to score. Lyon slotted over the conversion for the Sea Eagles to come within two points. The turning point in the match came when the Bulldogs received a penalty deep on the attack in the 67th minute. The Bulldogs opted for the easy two points and it only backfired on them in a big way. Manly scored two minutes later when Michael Monaghan put in a nice chip and chase and found Steve Bell in support to score the try. Lyon landed the pressure conversion to put the Sea Eagles ahead by two points. From there Manly were never headed as they defended their way to an impressive victory. Any doubters of the Sea Eagles must now surely be put the bed as Manly and Melbourne are by far the two standout teams in the Premiership. The Sea Eagles out paced, out defended and tactically out played the Bulldogs. As for the Bulldogs they are fast shaping up as a side who can't maintain the intensity for successive weeks and that is a worry. Their attacking options were also disappointing and if they are fair dinkum about being a force in the Premiership this year than Brent Sherwin must be recalled to the top grade quicker than you know it. Ben Roberts is a fine individual player, but Sherwin is an outstanding organiser, his kicking game is second to none and he provides options that others simply don't. The Bulldogs face Parramatta next week and one must be thinking who Eels coach and former Bulldogs premiership-winner Michael Hagan would be preferring his former team-mate Steve Folkes to select in the No.7 jersey. There's little doubt that the Eels would prefer to face Roberts than Sherwin and that provides the answer on who should be halfback. Roberts has a place in the 17, but not as halfback before Sherwin. An unlikely recall for Sherwin is not going to solve all the problems that were on display tonight at Telstra Stadium. However, it will be a start in a positive direction as Sherwin will provide more options and variety for them in attack. Issues such as handling, week-to-week intensity, a lack of speed and positive decision making also has to be address. Manly's defence keeps on getting better and Des Hasler has done a brilliant job with them this season. Hasler's dedication to fitness and his game as player was up there with the best and he's taken those outstanding characteristics into his coaching and the Sea Eagles are reaping the benefits. All of this with captain Matt Orford and Internationals Steve Menzies and Steve Matai on the sidelines. Manly will be there when the whips are cracking deserve to be second favourites for the Premiership after the Storm. El Masri's 250 Achievement Fri April 13, 2007 Hazem El Masri on Saturday night will become just the 3rd player in Canterbury's 73 season history to reach 250 first grade games following in the footsteps of Rugby League legends Steve Mortimer and Terry Lamb. El Masri has been one of great success stories in Rugby League where he came over to Australia from Lebanon as a youngster. He didn't start Rugby League until later in his teenage years and through his natural ability and sheer hard work he quickly made into the lower grades at the Bulldogs. El Masri was graded by the Bulldogs in 1995 where he played 18 matches in the Presidents Cup competition and four Reserve Grade matches. An injury at training to Matthew Ryan gave El Masri his chance to make his first grade debut in 1996 and he played 15 matches in the top grade as well as six in reserves. El Masri enjoyed an outstanding 1997 season scoring 16 tries in 19 Super League matches as well as seven tries in the ill-fated World Club Challenge. Unfortunately he didn't have the best of years in 1998 where he lost his position to Gavin Lester after 10 matches and played the remainder of the season in Reserve Grade. El Masri was a member of the Premiership-winning reserves outfit that season with his contribution being 15 tries in 18 matches at fullback. Oddly enough it was Brent Sherwin selected in the team as a goal kicking winger and not El Masri doing the kicking that season with Sherwin's boot being the difference in the Grand Final. How things would change, yet both players would form a fantastic partnership at NRL level. El Masri regained his first grade position in 1999 following a freak injury to Daryl Halligan who fractured his cheekbone following a collision with Newcastle's Greg Smith's in his one and only first grade match. El Masri kicked nine goals in four matches in Halligan's absence, but his form was good enough to force Gavin Lester back to the reserves and El Masri didn't miss a first grade match until late in the 2005 season. El Masri's 174 successive first grade matches smashed the previous Bulldogs mark of 95 set by Paul Langmack in the 1980's. El Masri finished the 1999 season with 14 tries from 24 matches and the next season played in all 26 matches and was a shining light in a bleak season. El Masri won the Player of the Year Award in 2000 and resumed the fullback position for the second half of the year. It is strange to look back now and believe that El Masri only landed nine goals in his first 94 matches. The presence of Halligan meant that El Masri's goal kicking abilities was a talent that hadn't yet been fully discovered. The retirement of Halligan was meant to spell a black period for the Bulldogs and they were expected to struggle not having a player converting four points into six. It was a close call between Sherwin and El Masri for the kicking duties with El Masri getting the nod due to his on-field position being one of lesser pressure than Sherwin's. El Masri enjoyed a stellar 2001 season where he equalled Chris Anderson's 18 season try-scoring record with 19 and landed 97 goals. He wasn't the best of kickers to start off with in 2001, but his hard work ethic and his ability under pressure stood him tall. By the 2002 season El Masri had emerged as the best goal kicker in the competition and all the sudden he was being ranked above Halligan and goal kicking masters Jason Taylor and Matthew Ridge. In such a short rise El Masri went from a good solid winger to the best kicker of all-time. His goal after full-time against Newcastle at a packed EnergyAustralia Stadium is one that legends is made of and showed El Masri's incredible ability under pressure. El Masri finally gained full Test honours in 2002 when he was selected in the Australian team for the one-off end of season Test against New Zealand where he landed four goals. El Masri who played for the Enfield Federals became just the 5th Canterbury-Bankstown Junior to play for Australia when at the Bulldogs following Ron Willey 1948 (Club Unknown), George Peponis 1978 (St George), Steve Folkes 1986 (Bankstown Sports) and Terry Lamb 1986 (Chester Hill). El Masri broke Ivan Cleary's 1998 point scoring record in 2003 finishing with an amazing 294 points with nine tries and 129 goals and in 2004 he smashed past the 300 point barrier ending the season with 342 points scoring 16 tries and slotting over 139 goals. El Masri scored what ultimately proved to be the match-winning try in the Bulldogs 2004 Grand Final success against the Roosters where he scored incredible strength and awareness of where the try line was to score. It was no surprise that Sherwin was creator of the try, this time it was on the end of fantastic Triple-X play. To top it all off it was his 100th try for the Bulldogs in first grade. El Masri's run of first grade matches ended in 2005 when he was injured with six rounds remaining in the season. The most durable and reliable player in the game caught the Bulldogs injury curse of that season and his run as leading point scorer also ended with Wests Tigers fullback Brett Hodgson becoming the second player after El Masri to pass 300 points in a season. El Masri returned to being the leading point-scorer in the 2006 season scoring 17 tries and landing 114 goals for 296 points. The 17 try haul by El Masri was his best since 2001 proving that he's still got plenty of good football left in him and along the way he passed Lamb's record for most tries in first grade for the Bulldogs. Currently El Masri holds the record for most Tries and Points in First and All Grades for the Bulldogs. He's now within 22 matches of passing Mortimer's record of 272 first grade games and this weekend will be his 305th game in all grades, closing in on the mark set by Steve Folkes of 311. El Masri who is almost certain to remain with the Bulldogs will by the end of his career hold just about every record in the Bulldogs club and even though he narrowly missed out on the 70-year team in 2004 would now be one of the first four players picked. Yes, El Masri deserves the same legend status at the Bulldogs alongside Lamb, Mortimer and Les Johns and his value as a clubman is up there with Folkes. El Masri in the 2004 Grand Final became just the 4th player after Lamb, Greg Alexander and Ryan Girdler to achieve the 100 tries and 1000 points double. Darren Lockyer became the 5th player last year. Even though Lamb, Alexander and Girdler had stints with other clubs, they still all achieved the double with the one club and in their careers. Following the retirement of Andrew Johns, El Masri is now within 304 points of the all-time point scoring record and it will be a fitting achievement for one of the most under-rated players in our game to have. El Masri has time and time again proved that he's much more than just a goal kicker as evidenced by landing just nine goals in his first 94 matches. It's one of the great disappointments that El Masri has missed out on State of Origin selection because of the selection stereotypes in our game today. El Masri has been a far superior winger to many selected for the Blues this decade and has constantly been over looked because of perceptions that he's too small. El Masri oddly enough has rarely been beaten in a bomb contest and his strength is under-estimated. El Masri has been one of the great ambassadors in our great game and to achieve 250 first grade games from his humble beginnings is a great inspiration to anyone wanting to make a go of playing the game of Rugby League or in any walk of life. For a breakdown of El Masri's career achievements, click here to read his profile on the Bulldogs Official Website. Below is a joint press release issued by Bulldogs captain Andrew Ryan, coach Steve Folkes and CEO Malcolm Noad, on El Masri's 250 game achievement: "There are certain times in a Club's history when every fan should come out and see a game live. This Saturday night is one of those times. "Hazem El Masri, the game's best ever goal kicker and record holder of nearly every point-scoring record in the NRL, will play his 250th first grade game for the Bulldogs. Only two other players in Bulldogs history have played more first grade games for the Club - Terry Lamb (261) and Steve Mortimer (272). "So every fan who has been amazed and entertained by the kicking wizardry of "El Magic", everyone who has witnessed his try scoring ability, this is your chance to say 'thank you' to a man who has given the Club and all of you so many happy memories. "Hazem will be presented with his playing jumper by Club Chairman Dr George Peponis at half time of the Premier League match between the Bulldogs and the Sea Eagles. At 7.30pm he will lead the first grade side team out for his 250th game. "This type of honour deserves a big crowd. "Given the unbeaten form of the Sea Eagles, it may be the kicking skills of Hazem El Masri that get the Bulldogs a win on Saturday night. "The Club always talks up the passion and fantastic support that our fans give us. We hope to see that same passion and support for Hazem on Saturday night at Telstra Stadium. "Regards "Andrew Ryan (Captain), Steve Folkes (Coach), Malcolm Noad (CEO)." MOST FIRST GRADES FOR BULLDOGS 272 Steve Mortimer 261 Terry Lamb 249 Hazem El Masri* 245 Steve Folkes 232 Chris Anderson 232 Eddie Burns 222 Steve Price 201 Fred Anderson 200 Ray Gartner 192 Chris Mortimer 192 Craig Polla-Mounter 190 Peter Mortimer 185 Andrew Farrar 185 Darren Smith 178 Glen Hughes 177 Mark Hughes 175 Paul Langmack 170 Brent Sherwin* 169 Corey Hughes* 168 Darren Britt 166 Daryl Halligan 164 Steve Reardon 163 Garry Hughes 161 Simon Gillies 160 Roy Kirkaldy 156 Henry Porter 150 Luke Patten*
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