On Thursday night, the Parramatta Eels defeated the Penrith Panthers 17-16 in a thrilling rugby league match, which saw the game go into golden point. The Eels appeared to have secured victory with a 16-14 lead in the dying seconds of the game, but a penalty awarded to the Panthers after a Junior Paulo tackle resulted in Nathan Cleary converting a stunning two-point field goal from beyond 40 metres to tie the game.

The game was ultimately decided by another sin-binning, this time of Penrith hooker Mitch Kenny in golden point, which gave the Eels the opportunity they needed to secure the win. Mitchell Moses stepped up to kick the winning field goal in front of the posts, securing the Eels’ first win of the year.

Earlier in the game, a try from Brendan Hands in his NRL debut gave the Eels an eight-point advantage, which was extended by a Moses penalty. However, a late converted try to Zac Hosking and Cleary’s two-point field goal sent the game into extra time.

Despite the close win, the Eels can take pride in their impressive 95 percent completion rate, finishing 41 of their 43 sets at CommBank Stadium. The victory also marked a significant milestone for the Eels, as they got one back on the side that defeated them in the 2022 Grand Final almost six months ago, and handed Panthers coach Ivan Cleary his 400th game as an NRL coach in defeat.

The game saw a fast start to the second half, with both teams trading blows before Hands got over and Moses kicked a penalty to restore the Eels’ eight-point lead. The Panthers fought back to force golden point, but were ultimately defeated by Moses’ clutch field goal.

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In a thrilling Round 3 clash at Belmore on Sunday, the Bulldogs held on to a 26-22 victory after surviving a late surge from a desperate Wests Tigers side. Despite leading by 20 points after 66 minutes, Cameron Ciraldo’s side had to weather the storm as the Tigers ran in three tries in four minutes to set up a thrilling finale.

The Bulldogs were fortunate that their early tries from a lethal left edge were enough to hold on to the two points, with Matt Burton laying the platform and Paul Alamoti and Josh Addo-Carr producing the magic. After a disciplined start, the Bulldogs opened their account in the fourth minute when forward Viliame Kikau broke through the line and offloaded to put Hayze Perham through from close range.

Nine minutes later, the home side was in again when 19-year-old Paul Alamoti intercepted an Adam Doueihi pass and raced downfield before finding Josh Addo-Carr, who scored his third try for the season. Kyle Flanagan’s conversion made it 12-0.

The Bulldogs hit back in the 28th minute when Alamoti defused a high ball and burst down the paddock before linking up with Addo-Carr, who handily beat Wests Tigers’ defenders to score a double. Moments before the half-time bell, the Bulldogs were gifted another two points after Wests Tigers skipper Api Koroisau was penalised for being offside and then again for verbal dissent. Flanagan kicked the penalty goal to take a 20-6 lead to the sheds at half-time.

In the second half, pressure continued to mount against the Tigers after some early errors, and the Bulldogs extended their lead through Burton, who danced his way through lacklustre defence to run 40m and score under the posts. Flanagan’s conversion stretched the lead 26-6.

With 13 minutes to play, the Wests Tigers came to life with three spectacular runaway tries in four minutes through halfback Luke Brooks, forward Fonua Pole, and fullback Charlie Staines. Staines’ first try in Wests Tigers colours reduced the deficit to just four points with ten minutes to play. While the visitors tried everything to claim their first win for the season, the home side hung on to bring the Belmore Faithful to their feet at full time.

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On Sunday night at GIO Stadium, the Raiders secured their first win of the 2023 season, extending their winning streak over the Sharks with a 24-20 victory.

Corey Horsburgh’s impressive performance, which included his first double in the NRL, propelled the Raiders to victory against the Sharks who made a strong comeback after trailing by 14 points in the second half. Matt Timoko, the Raiders center, was also instrumental with a try and two assists, while the Sharks were kept in the game mainly due to the efforts of Braydon Trindall.

In humid conditions in Canberra, the Raiders suffered an early setback when Danny Levi was taken to the hospital with a suspected broken jaw after a tackle on Braden Hamlin-Uele just two minutes into the game.

Shortly after, Cronulla struck first on the left edge through Ronaldo Mulitalo, who broke the line and found Will Kennedy in support for his fourth try of the season.

The Raiders responded with tries from Albert Hopoate and Horsburgh, but Kennedy and Mulitalo combined again just before halftime, with the fullback placing a short kick for the Kiwi international to collect and score inside the sideline.

The Sharks’ lacklustre second half, which included four penalties and two errors in eight minutes, allowed the Raiders to score twice before Royce Hunt was sin-binned for lashing out at Horsburgh after a scrum. The Sharks’ loss of Hunt did not hurt them as much as it could have, as Trindall set up Jesse Ramien for a try on the right edge in his 100th NRL match.

Another try to the visitors via Briton Nikora made it a four-point game with 15 minutes left, but the Raiders held firm defensively with some big plays to secure the win.

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The Broncos staged an impressive comeback, scoring four tries in a nine-minute blitz to defeat the Dragons 40-18 at Suncorp Stadium, setting up a mouth-watering top-of-the-table clash with the Dolphins.

The Dragons took an early lead through Mat Feagai’s try, but the Broncos responded with Selwyn Cobbo’s disallowed try and Kotoni Staggs’ try. Tyrell Sloan put the visitors ahead in the 28th minute, with Jayden Sullivan extending their lead with a sensational individual effort.

However, the Broncos’ captain Adam Reynolds scored a two-point field goal on the last play of the first half, reducing the halftime deficit to 16-8.

The second half saw the Broncos come out firing, with Staggs grabbing his second try in the 50th minute, and Mikaele Ravalawa’s effort being denied by Sloan’s try-saving tackle. The Broncos continued to dominate with Zac Lomax’s try being disallowed, and Cobbo, Reece Walsh, and Ezra Mam all crossing for tries.

The Broncos tied the game at 18-18 before going on to secure an emphatic victory, finishing too strong for the Dragons. Walsh scored two tries, while Mam also crossed, sealing the Broncos’ impressive comeback win.

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On a sweltering afternoon on the Gold Coast, the Titans emerged victorious over the Storm with a final score of 38-34, in a high-scoring game that saw a total of 12 tries scored.

At the halftime break, the Titans found themselves trailing 24-18. However, in the second half, they managed to overcome the error-prone Storm with the help of Kieran Foran, their star off-season recruit and chief playmaker. Despite spending 24 minutes on the bench after being substituted in a surprising move by coach Justin Holbrook, Foran made a significant impact by setting up a try and laying on two line breaks, including assisting rookie winger Alofiana Khan-Pereira to score a first-half double.

Both teams made numerous errors throughout the game, with the Storm coughing up the ball 17 times and the Titans 13 times, resulting in a total of 12 penalties conceded between them.

After taking a six-point lead into the halftime break, the Storm had a horror start to the second half, with Jahrome Hughes committing errors that led directly to a pair of Titans tries in the first six minutes. Nevertheless, the Melbourne team fought back with tries to Hughes and Xavier Coates in the final 15 minutes of the game, keeping the final result in the balance until the end.

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