Latest news with #JubileeStadium
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Verran stars for Sharks, Warriors and Knights win
The talents of returning dual international Emma Verran has ensured Cronulla grabbed their third win of the NRLW season with a 20-6 victory over St George Illawarra at Jubilee Stadium. In other Saturday results, an upset seemed on the cards as the winless Wests Tigers trailed by only four (10-6) at halftime against high-flying Newcastle before the Knights machine rolled into gear for a 30-6 victory. The Warriors, meanwhile, are heading towards the top-six in their comeback season after an upset 34-6 win over the Canterbury Bulldogs at Accor Stadium. Verran was not named midweek but ran out as fullback in the No.22 jersey on her back and Sharks fans were pleased she did. She scored Cronulla's first try and set up three others, handing wingers Cassie Staples and Georgia Ravics doubles for the afternoon. The Sharks led 12-0 at halftime and would have won by a larger margin had goal-kicker Chantay Kiria-Ratu not missed all five conversions. "We were really happy to have her back and weren't quite sure until later in the week," Sharks coach Tony Herman said of Verran, who made three line-break assists, seven tackle busts and 20 runs for 174 metres alongside her three try assists. "The way she stood up today, with the footy she presented, I'm very proud of her." It took the Dragons 62 minutes to put points on the board, but winger Maria Paseka made it a memorable one by running 75 metres and brushing off several tacklers to cross over. Working against the Dragons was the fact eight players were non-starters through suspension or injury, including fullback Teagan Berry alongside skipper and halfback Raecene McGregor. "We've got to get our season back on track next week," Dragons coach Nathan Cross said. "No excuses. I know everyone loves to talk about the people we didn't have today but I'd like to focus on the ones we did have. From a coach's point of view we have to be better." Herman is also searching for consistency with five rounds left to the finals with the Sharks yet to find back-to-back wins this season. "It's been hard to get that consistency as we've had a lot of players in and out. From here we're hopeful of getting a few back and if we don't lose any more, we think we'll make a real charge at it." McEwen finds her way to the line 👊 — NRLW (@NRLWomens) August 9, 2025 At McDonald Jones Stadium, Jesse Southwell's streak of not missing a goal in five rounds came to an end on 22. She converted the Knights' first try but missed two of the next five. Doubles to winger Sheridan Gallagher and backrower Evah McEwen underpinned the hosts' six-tries-to-one win - their fifth in a row. Ikenasio on the chase in the Westpac Red Zone 🤯 — NRLW (@NRLWomens) August 9, 2025 Warriors five-eighth Patricia Maliepo had a personal tally of 18 points from two tries and five goals to steer the Auckland side to their second win on the road. The Warriors, who left the NRLW in 2020 but returned in 2025, moved from 10th to seventh on the ladder with their third win of the season, with Tysha Ikenasio scoring a great try. The Bulldogs' loss came at a cost with skipper and halfback Tayla Preston (knee) taken from the field via medicab, while forward Tegan Dymock (foot) left the ground in a moonboot.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Sharks hit back after NRL fixture uproar as Broncos carnage rocks finals race
Craig Fitzgibbon says it's 'disrespectful' to suggest the Sharks have a soft draw to finish the regular season and reminded critics about his side's brutal fixture schedule earlier in the year. It comes after Thursday night's triple-injury carnage for the Broncos that has thrown the NRL finals race wide open, and left the Sharks in a position to pounce. Fitzgibbon's men come up against St George Illawarra in a local derby at Jubilee Stadium on Saturday, and the Sharks could leapfrog the Broncos, Panthers and Warriors into fourth spot if other results go their way. Cronulla would need the Knights to spring an upset at home to reigning premiers Penrith on Friday night and for the Bulldogs to take care of the Warriors in the final game on Saturday night. But regardless of what transpires this weekend, Cronulla's fixtures in the run home have them earmarked as a genuine contender to finish the season in the top-four. Across their final five games of the regular season, the Sharks won't have to travel outside of Sydney once. They also have a guaranteed two competition points from an upcoming bye and play only one other current top-eight team - the Bulldogs - in round 27. Cronulla's seemingly favourable run of fixtures comes after years of accusations that the Sharks often benefit from 'soft' draws. And after hearing fresh rumblings around their end-of-season schedule, a frustrated Fitzgibbon hit back at the criticism. He pointed out their brutal start to the season, which included the equal-most games against last year's top eight and tricky road trips to Las Vegas, Townsville, Perth and Melbourne. Sharks coach slams 'disrespectful' claims about 'soft' draw "With all due respect to that getting spat out, we've had one of the hardest draws in recent history (this year)," the Sharks coach. And Fitzgibbon says a number of recent upsets should be enough proof that there is no such thing as a 'soft' draw in the NRL. Cellar dwellers the Titans shocked the fourth-placed Warriors a couple of weeks ago in round 21, and almost sprang another upset against Penrith last week. The Eels also stunned the Broncos in round 21, while the Tigers belted the third-placed Bulldogs last week to jump into 11th spot on a congested NRL ladder. "The bottom teams are beating the top teams at the moment so how do we sit there and say the draw is favourable, when one slip and you're in trouble? The competition is so tight, it's so close," Fitzgibbon added. "I think it's disrespectful to your opponents sometimes. Look at the Titans in the last couple of weeks. There's been a lot of teams playing really good footy across the whole competition." It's why Fitzgibbon is approaching Saturday's match against the Dragons with extra caution, following the Red V's own upset victory over ladder-leaders Canberra last week. But with top-four rivals the Warriors and Broncos both ravaged by injuries to key players, it's opened the door for Cronulla to take advantage. Triple injury blow rocks Brisbane's finals hopes Brisbane's finals hopes were dealt a crushing blow in Thursday night's 22-2 loss to the Storm, with halves Adam Reynolds and Ezra Mam, and winger Selwyn Cobbo all suffering hamstring injuries. Viewers were left in disbelief as Reynolds and Mam both went down in the same play during the first half as Storm winger Xavier Coates took an intercept and raced downfield. RELATED: Billy Slater's warning to Titans about star's future amid dramas at club Teammate detail behind Eels grand final star's fresh push to leave club Penrith's finals charge hits major hurdle after worrying Isaah Yeo news Cobbo became the third Broncos star to leave the game with a hamstring injury after being helped from the field in the second half. All three are having scans to determine the extent of their injuries, but the trio will almost certainly face multiple weeks on the sidelines in a massive blow to Brisbane's hopes of remaining in the top-eight. Unbelievable scenes with both Adam Reynolds & Ezra Mam suffering hamstring injuries on the one play - a turn & chase on Xavier high speed mechanisms & noticeably limping - likely multi-week recoveries incoming & as we've seen with other similar cases recently could… — NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) August 7, 2025 Selwyn Cobbo also left the field after suffering a hamstring injury - the 3rd one of the game for the minor hamstring strains often result in a 2-4 week return to play, so another likely looking at a multi-week recovery. A brutal night for Broncos hamstrings. — NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) August 7, 2025
