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Fri April 3 2009, 7:30PM AEDT GMT+11Fri: Sydney Roosters 24 d. Parramatta Eels 6 at
Sydney Football Stadium, Driver Ave, Moore Park, Sydney (NSW)Crowd: 11,231
Fri April 3 2009, 6:30PM AEST GMT+10Fri: Brisbane Broncos 12 l. St George Illawarra Dragons 25 at
Suncorp Stadium, Castlemaine Street, Milton, Brisbane (QLD)Crowd: 42,435
Sat April 4 2009, 5:30PM AEDT GMT+11Sat: Penrith Panthers 42 d. Wests Tigers 22 at
Penrith Stadium, Mulgoa Road, Penrith, Sydney (NSW)Crowd: 15,813
Sat April 4 2009, 7:30PM AEDT GMT+11Sat: Melbourne Storm 6 l. Gold Coast Titans 18 at
Olympic Park, Melbourne (VIC)Crowd: 11,698
Sun April 5 2009, 2:00PM NZST GMT+12Sun: New Zealand Warriors 16 l. South Sydney Rabbitohs 22 at
Mt Smart Stadium, Penrose, Auckland (NZ)Crowd: 19,386
Sun April 5 2009, 2:00PM AEST GMT+10Sun: Bulldogs 24 d. Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 12 at
ANZ Stadium (Sydney), Homebush Bay, Sydney (NSW)Crowd: 15,520
Sun April 5 2009, 3:00PM AEST GMT+10Sun: Newcastle Knights 26 d. Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 12 at
Energy Australia Stadium, New Lambton, Newcastle (NSW)Crowd: 15,324
Mon April 6 2009, 7:00PM AEST GMT+10Mon: Canberra Raiders 23 d. North Queensland Cowboys 18 at
Canberra Stadium, Bruce, Canberra (ACT)Crowd: 12,198
Tue April 7, 2009
Source: www.titans.com.auIt was a four-pointer that arguably meant more than the 71 others he has amassed in his 11 years at the top.
But as far as Jetstar Gold Coast Titans coach John Cartwright is concerned - it was Chris Walker's efforts in defence which were a highlight of his performance in Saturday night's spirited 18-6 upset win over Melbourne.
After 19 months on the sidelines fighting his way back from consecutive achilles tendon injuries, the prolific try scorer was reminded of the satisfaction he receives from scoring tries when he crossed the white stripe against the Storm.
It was the first time since 2007 Walker had been able to scratch that itch.
For Cartwright though, it was the other aspect to the winger's game which was most pleasing just two matches into his comeback from injury.
"He played well - the best thing about Chris on the weekend was his defence,'' said Cartwright.
"He sniffed out a couple of opportunities there, when Melbourne looked very dangerous he made some really good decisions in his defence.
"It's probably something he has been working very hard on.
"Especially after the Dogs game he was a bit disappointed with some of his efforts, but against the Storm he was fantastic.''
Walker said it was pleasing to score his first try since 2007, his 72nd in 132 NRL appearances since his debut for Brisbane in 1999.
But sporting a new found maturity, he said he wasn't putting pressure on himself to perform as he continues to find his feet since being promoted back into the top grade.
"It's been a while since I touched down in the NRL so I was very pleased to get over the line,'' he said.
"But I'm not going out there to put expectations on myself to have blinders every week.
"I've been around the game for a long time now so it's just about getting a little bit of confidence back each week and building on things that I'm doing at training and with the boys.
"I'm working on my combination with Brett Delaney and all that sort of stuff at the moment.
"I guess you'd say it's more minute-by-minute more than week-by-week for me at the moment.''
Sat April 4, 2009
Source: www.melbournestorm.com.auThe Melbourne Storm has suffered a shock 18-6 loss to the Gold Coast Titans, only the Storm's fourth loss at the 'Graveyard' in their last 45 games.
The Storm had their chances but made too many errors, were penalised at crucial times and were stifled by the Titans defence.
Billy Slater and the wingers, Steve Turner and Anthony Quinn, all got close but were denied tries either by skill errors or Titans' defence.
The Titans capitalised on penalties against the Storm and spent most of the first half on the attack.
Titans prop Luke Bailey went over for a try in the 26th minute after a knock-on from Greg Inglis gave the Titans a set of six just 20 metres out, and Matt Rogers converted the resultant two penalty kicks.
Even without their playmaker, Scott Prince, and a dismal away record to think about, the Titans were creative in attack and difficult to contain.
On the other hand, the highlights for the Storm were few and far between.
A try-saving tackle by Cooper Cronk, and Dallas Johnson's tally of 36 tackles for the half were impressive.
Young centre Will Chambers found a few gaps and made some handy metres but was often without support.
At half-time, the Storm were down 10-0, with the penalty count and the run of play against them.
The second half didn't start any better for the Storm.
Brett Delaney took advantage of an overlap out wide and ran down the wing, committing Slater to the tackle, before offloading to Chris Walker for an easy try.
Young gun Joseph Tomane gave the Storm fans something to celebrate, running over for a try in the 51st minute to get the Storm on the board.
Slater picked a gap in the Titans line before offloading to Tomane 30 metres out.
Tomane's fancy footwork and blistering speed saw him over the line. Willie Isa may be hard-pressed to regain his place in the side after Tomane's performances in the last two games.
Cam Smith made the difficult conversion to have the Storm within reach of the Titans, and while Ryan Hoffman returned from an earlier head clash, it was not to be.
The Storm's 14 errors often halted attacking moves and resulted in a completion rate of only 67% compared to the Titans 86%.
Kevin Proctor, Jeff Lima and Slater all tried hard but couldn't break the line and the last tackle kicks from Cronk or Smith just didn't bounce the right way.
Next week's game against the Panthers takes on even greater importance for the Storm, as two home losses in a row may dent "The Graveyard's" reputation.
Storm 6 (Try: Tomane; Goal: Smith) def. by Titans 18 (Tries: Bailey, Walker; Goals: Rogers 4) at Olympic Park.
Crowd: 11,698.
NRL Stats: Storm v Titans
NYC Stats: Storm v Titans
Panthers v Wests Tigers Discussion Thread
Round 4
Melbourne Storm 6 l. Gold Coast Titans 18
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