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Fri July 3 2009, 7:30PM AEST GMT+10Fri: St George Illawarra Dragons 34 d. Sydney Roosters 12 at
Kogarah Jubilee Oval, Kogarah, Sydney (NSW)Crowd: 12,472
Fri July 3 2009, 7:30PM AEST GMT+10Fri: Brisbane Broncos 28 d. New Zealand Warriors 14 at
Suncorp Stadium, Castlemaine Street, Milton, Brisbane (QLD)Crowd: 32,456
Sat July 4 2009, 5:30PM AEST GMT+10Sat: South Sydney Rabbitohs 20 l. Wests Tigers 54 at
ANZ Stadium (Sydney), Homebush Bay, Sydney (NSW)Crowd: 14,586
Sat July 4 2009, 7:30PM AEST GMT+10Sat: Melbourne Storm 18 d. Newcastle Knights 14 at
Olympic Park, Melbourne (VIC)Crowd: 9,041
Sat July 4 2009, 7:30PM AEST GMT+10Sat: North Queensland Cowboys 24 d. Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 4 at
Dairy Farmers Stadium, Kirwan, Townsville (QLD)Crowd: 17,283
Sun July 5 2009, 2:00PM AEST GMT+10Sun: Canberra Raiders 34 d. Gold Coast Titans 28 at
Canberra Stadium, Bruce, Canberra (ACT)Crowd: 9,800
Sun July 5 2009, 3:00PM AEST GMT+10Sun: Penrith Panthers 38 d. Parramatta Eels 34 at
Penrith Stadium, Mulgoa Road, Penrith, Sydney (NSW)Crowd: 16,845
Mon July 6 2009, 7:00PM AEST GMT+10Mon: Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 19 d. Bulldogs 12 at
Brookvale Oval, Brookvale, Sydney (NSW)Crowd: 15,501
Mon July 6, 2009
Source: www.abc.net.auTwo errors in the final five minutes from Ben Roberts has robbed the Bulldogs of an opportunity to snatch victory at Brookvale Oval as Manly hang on for a stunning 19-12 win.
Josh Perry celebrated his return to the State of Origin fold after a six-year hiatus with a bullocking try in the penultimate minute that sealed the match after the visitors threatened Manly's one-point lead.
Perry reflected on a thrilling game of rugby league and a surprise call-up to the New South Wales side to earn his second Origin cap in Game II.
"We always knew it was going to be close. We've had a long lay-off and we really enjoyed that," he told Fox Sports.
"We've still got some work to do but we've definitely got a roll on and we're going to give this a shake."
The Sea Eagles' fourth successive victory has lifted them into sixth spot on the NRL ladder and revived their premiership defence after a horrendous run of losses earlier in the year.
A cheeky field goal from Matt Orford before half-time ultimately played a pivotal part in proceedings as it gave the Sea Eagles a psychological advantage for the final 11 minutes.
Orford's boot also provided a decisive sideline kick to convert David Williams's try in the 69th minute to restore Manly's lead at 13-12 after the Bulldogs went ahead 11 minutes into the second half.
From that point on, the visitors' tough-as-nails defence successfully repelled the Sea Eagles' further advances as they regained the momentum and threatened to steal victory.
But that momentum was lost as the ball twice fell to Roberts with the Bulldogs on the attack in the 75th and 77th minutes respectively, and he gave up possession both times with terrible passes.
With the ball back in their hands the Sea Eagles were carried up-field by some Orford magic from the scrum-base, and Perry barged over later in the set with a powerful run that left Daniel Holdsworth clutching at air.
Bulldogs schemers Brett Kimmorley and Michael Ennis did all they could to get the visitors home, with the former screaming for the ball on their last attacking set as he plotted a game-tying field goal.
They told Fox Sports they were disappointed to fall off at the end but admitted their delight at being paired together in the Blues side for Origin III.
"That's obviously a good reward for the solid form we've had," Kimmorley said.
"I think we've come together well... we give each other a fair bit of freedom - I think we both play a similar game plan we play very direct."
Kimmorley took responsibility for not controlling the side in a frantic final 10 minutes.
"We shot ourselves in the foot a bit and it's disappointing. We had plenty of chances," he added.
"We knew it was going to be a great arm wrestle. We struggled a bit for composure - it got a bit fast and frantic."
Bulldogs duo Greg Eastwood and Bryson Goodwin will likely have cases to answer after being put on report for separate incidents, as will Manly's Heath L'Estrange.
Sea Eagles: 19 (G Stewart, T Williams, J Perry tries; M Orford 3/3 goals, field goal)
Bulldogs: 12 (J Morris 2 tries; H El Masri 2/3 goals)
Source:
ABC NewsRelated Story:
Blues axe Wallace, Farah for Game IIIMon July 6, 2009
Source: RleagueBetting.comBoth teams will be laying their premiership credentials on the line tonight in a match which shapes up as a 'take your pick' affair.
As such, there's more value in taking the Bulldogs, with the top odds being $2.25 from
Sportingbet. If you're leaning towards Manly, the best odds you'll get are $1.73 from
Pinnacle Sports.
If you're expecting a tough battle like most people, the following odds look interesting:
$7.25 for a Bulldogs/Manly
Half Time Full Time Double from
Sportingbet, or $8 for Manly/Bulldogs (top odds also from Sportingbet).
$3 for either team to win by less than 7 points in the
TriBets market, top odds also from
Sportingbet$1.91 for 42 or less points to be scored in the game from
BetEzy$3.15 for Manly 1-12, or $3.95 for Bulldogs 1-12 in the
Margin Betting market - top odds again from
Sportingbet.
In the
1st Scoring Play market, consider the parochial Manly supporters earning their team a penalty and the 2 points to be taken at odds of $9 from
Sportingbet.
Sportingbet have top odds on the favourites for
1st Try Scorer, with Bryson Goodwin paying $11, and Josh Morris $12. But we can't go past the excellent value in
Centrebet's quotes of $34 for Ennis or Ballin to burrow their way over from dummy half to start the scoring.
NRL Live Scores & Stats: Sea Eagles v BulldogsNYC Live Scores & Stats: Sea Eagles v Bulldogs
Round 17
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 19 d. Bulldogs 12
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