Monday?s Expert League Wrap - Round 17, 2006

Round 17 of the NRL was preceded by the Great Britain v New Zealand Rugby League Test match in the UK. The Lions proved too good in downing the Kiwis 46-14 at Knowsley Road, St Helens.

With the State of Origin decider looming, a shortened NRL round kicked off on Friday night, the Newcastle Knights travelling to Brookvale to defeat the Manly Sea Eagles 26-12. Saturday afternoon took us to Auckland where the New Zealand Warriors continued their good form in downing the Penrith Panthers 28-22. Meanwhile the Parramatta Eels were getting a much needed win in overcoming the Canberra Raiders by 18-12 in Canberra. The same evening we headed to Far North Queensland with the NQ Cowboys pipping the South Sydney Rabbitohs 16-14 in Townsville.

On Sunday we saw just two matches, kicking off in Brisbane where the Broncos outclassed the Cronulla Sharks 26-12 at old Lang Park. The round concluded with the Canterbury Bulldogs giving Wests Tigers a footballing lesson and thrashing the reigning premiers 32-10.

Melbourne Storm, Sydney Roosters, and St George Illawarra Dragons all had the bye.

With nine rounds to play before the finals, the NRL ladder has the Storm riding high on 28 competition points. The Broncos and the Dragons are next on 24 points while the Bulldogs and the Sharks are not far away on 22 points. The Knights are in sixth spot on 20 points. Eighth spot sees three teams jockeying for position with the Cowboys, Sea Eagles and Raiders all on 18 points. The Tigers and Panthers are one win away on 16 points while the Warriors, Roosters and Eels are still in contention on 14 points. In last spot are the Rabbitohs on four points, virtually guaranteeing them the wooden spoon for 2006.

All match results and details are listed below.

LeagueUnlimited.com Player Awards Raiders full back Clinton Schifcofske still heads up the leader board on 21 points in this year?s LeagueUnlimited.com Player Awards. Melbourne?s Greg Inglis is running second on 20 points while Cameron Smith (Storm) and Johnathan Thurston (Cowboys) are on 17 points. Matt Orford (Sea Eagles) is still well in contention on 16 points.

The full leader board is below.

The Leagueunlimited.com players of the match are decided by our live score updaters and tallied here each week on Monday?s Expert League wrap.

Want to be a live score updater? For further enquiries, email us

MATCH RESULTS:

GB vs NZ Test Match International fixture: Tue 27 Jun (GMT), Wed 28 Jun (NZ and AUST) Great Britain Lions: 46 Tries: Keith Senior, Danny McGuire(2), James Graham(2), Ade Gardner, Sean Long(2) Goals: Paul Sculthorpe 1/1, Sean Long 6/7 New Zealand Kiwis: 14 Tries: Henry Fa'afili, Iafeta Paleaaesina, Lesley Vainikolo Goals: Stacey Jones 1/1 Half time: Great Britain 18-4 Venue: Knowsley Road, St Helens Referee: Steve Clark

League Wrap: Round 17, 30 June ? 2 July 2006 NRL fixtures

Manly Sea Eagles: 12 Tries: Brett Stewart, Anthony Watmough Goals: Michael Witt 2/2 Newcastle Knights: 26 Tries: George Carmont, Jarrod Mullen, Brian Carney, Nathan Hinton Goals: Andrew Johns 5/6 Half time: Knights 12-6 Venue: Brookvale Oval Crowd: 13,284 Referee: Sean Hampstead Leagueunlimited.com players of the match: 3 - Nathan Hinton (Knights) 2 - Clint Newton (Knights) 1 - Todd Lowrie (Knights)

New Zealand Warriors: 28 Tries: Simon Mannering(2), Tony Martin, Brent Webb, Ruben Wiki Goals: Tony Martin 4/5 Penrith Panthers: 22 Tries: Danny Galea, Luke Priddis, Lee Hookey Goals: Preston Campbell 5/5 Half time: Panthers 14-10 Venue: Ericsson Stadium Crowd: 8,723 Referee: Ben Cummins Leagueunlimited.com players of the match: 3 - Simon Mannering (Warriors) 2 - Jerome Ropati (Warriors) 1 - Ruben Wiki (Warriors)

Canberra Raiders: 12 Tries: Todd Carney, Marshall Chalk Goals: Todd Carney 2/2 Parramatta Eels: 18 Tries: Glenn Morrison, Jarryd Hayne(2) Goals: Brett Delaney 3/5 Half time: Eels 10-6 Venue: Canberra Stadium Crowd: 8,824 Referee: Russell Smith Leagueunlimited.com players of the match: 3 - Wade McKinnon (Eels) 2 - Todd Carney (Raiders) 1 - Fuifui Moimoi (Eels)

North Queensland Cowboys: 16 Tries: Aaron Payne(2), Brent McConnell Goals: Justin Smith 2/3 South Sydney Rabbitohs: 14 Tries: Mark Minichello, David Peachey, Jermaine Paulson Goals: Ben Walker 1/3 Half time: Rabbitohs 10-6 Venue: Dairy Farmers Stadium Crowd: 17,506 Referee: Tony Archer Leagueunlimited.com players of the match: 3 - Aaron Payne (Cowboys) 2 - Manase Manuokafoa (Rabbitohs) 1 - Peter Cusack (Rabbitohs)

Brisbane Broncos: 26 Tries: Corey Parker, Brett Seymour, Tame Tupou, Shane Webcke, Darius Boyd Goals: Corey Parker 3/9 Cronulla Sutherland Sharks: 12 Tries: Greg Bird, Brett Kearney Goals: Luke Covell 2/2 Half time: Broncos 16-6 Venue: Suncorp Stadium Crowd: 25,863 Referee: Shayne Hayne Leagueunlimited.com players of the match: 3 - Darius Boyd (Broncos) 2 - Shane Webcke (Broncos) 1 - Brad Thorn (Broncos)

Wests Tigers: 10 Tries: Taniela Tuiaki, Rangi Chase Goals: Scott Prince 1/2 Canterbury Bulldogs: 32 Tries: Hazem El Masri, Luke Patten, Andrew Ryan, Willie Tonga, Jarrad Hickey Goals: Hazem El Masri 6/6 Half time: Bulldogs 20-0 Venue: Telstra Stadium Crowd: 22,511 Referee: Paul Simpkins Leagueunlimited.com players of the match: 3 - Sonny Bill Williams (Bulldogs) 2 - Andrew Ryan (Bulldogs) 1 - Hazem El Masri (Bulldogs)

SYDNEY ROOSTERS v BYE ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA DRAGONS v BYE MELBOURNE STORM v BYE

FULL DRAW, RESULTS & LINKS TO LIVE SCORES ? CLICK HERE

Upcoming matches: State of Origin III - 5 July 2005 Wed 8:00 NSW BLUES v QLD MAROONS - Telstra Dome, Melbourne

Round 18, 7-9 July 2006 Fri 7:30 STORM v BRONCOS - Olympic Park, Melbourne Sat 5:30 ROOSTERS v SEA EAGLES - Aussie Stadium Sat 7:30 PANTHERS v RAIDERS - CUA Stadium, Penrith Sat 7:30 EELS v KNIGHTS - Parramatta Stadium Sun 2:30 BULLDOGS v WARRIORS - Telstra Stadium Sun 3:00 SHARKS v TIGERS - Toyota Park Sun 3:00 DRAGONS v RABBITOHS - OKI Jubilee Stadium, Kogarah COWBOYS v BYE

FOR LATEST CENTREBET ODDS CLICK HERE

LEAGUEUNLIMITED.COM PLAYER AWARDS 2006 LEADER BOARD The Leagueunlimited.com players awards are decided by our live score updaters. Want to be a live score updater? For further enquiries, email us.

21 points Clinton Schifcofske (Raiders)

20 points Greg Inglis (Storm)

17 points Cameron Smith (Storm), Johnathan Thurston (Cowboys)

16 points Matt Orford (Sea Eagles)

15 points Andrew Johns (Knights), Ben Kennedy (Sea Eagles)

14 points Nathan Hindmarsh (Eels)

13 points Adam Dykes (Sharks), Hazem El Masri (Bulldogs), Darren Lockyer (Broncos)

12 points Mark Gasnier (Dragons), Willie Mason (Bulldogs)

11 points Cooper Cronk (Storm), Danny Buderus (Knights), Karmichael Hunt (Broncos)

10 points Matthew Bowen (Cowboys), Preston Campbell (Panthers), Petero Civoniceva (Broncos)

9 points Robert Farah (Tigers), Paul Gallen (Sharks)

8 points Brett Kimmorley (Sharks), Corey Parker (Broncos), Steve Price (Warriors), Ruben Wiki (Warriors), Dean Young (Dragons)

7 points Roy Asotasi (Bulldogs), Steve Bell (Sea Eagles), Mark O?Meley (Bulldogs), Scott Prince (Tigers), Amos Roberts (Roosters), Jason Smith (Raiders), Sonny Bill Williams (Bulldogs)

6 points Craig Gower (Panthers), Nathan Fien (Warriors), Mathew Head (Dragons), Brett Hodgson (Tigers), Luke Lewis (Panthers), Steve Menzies (Sea Eagles), Grant Rovelli (Warriors), Lance Thompson (Sharks), Alan Tongue (Raiders)

5 points Trent Barrett (Dragons), Peter Cusack (Rabbitohs), Aaron Gorrell (Dragons), Justin Hodges (Broncos), Wade McKinnon (Eels), Luke O'Donnell (Cowboys), Aaron Payne (Cowboys), Brad Thorn (Broncos), Brent Webb (Warriors), Rhys Wesser (Panthers)

4 points Darren Albert (Sharks), Brian Carney (Knights), Sione Faumuina (Warriors), David Kidwell (Storm), Ben Hornby (Dragons), Anthony Laffranchi (Tigers), Adam MacDougall (Rabbitohs), Fuifui Moimoi (Eels), Luke Priddis (Panthers), David Simmons (Sharks), Steve Simpson (Knights), Jamie Soward (Roosters), Anthony Tupou (Roosters), Paul Whatuira (Tigers), Lincoln Withers (Raiders)

3 points Luke Bailey (Dragons), Greg Bird (Sharks), Darius Boyd (Broncos), Dean Collis (Tigers), Matt Cooper (Dragons), Luke Covell (Sharks), Michael Crocker (Storm), Greg Eastwood (Broncos), Brett Finch (Roosters), Craig Fitzgibbon (Roosters), Phillip Graham (Raiders), Clint Greenshields (Dragons), Nathan Hinton (Knights), Ryan Hoffman (Storm), Brett Kearney (Sharks), Luke MacDougall (Rabbitohs), Reni Maitua (Bulldogs), Simon Mannering (Warriors), Manase Manuokafoa (Rabbitohs), David Peachey (Rabbitohs), Jerome Ropati (Warriors), Brett Stewart (Sea Eagles), Milton Thaiday (Knights), Tame Tupou (Broncos), Matthew Utai (Bulldogs), Anthony Watmough (Sea Eagles)

2 points Brenton Bowen (Cowboys), George Carmont (Knights), Todd Carney (Raiders), Daniel Fitzhenry (Tigers), Awen Guttenbeil (Warriors), Ashley Harrison (Roosters), Scott Hill (Storm), Wairangi Koopu (Warriors), Tom Learoyd-Lahrs (Raiders), Tony Martin (Warriors), Anthony Minichiello (Roosters), Clint Newton (Knights), Mark O'Meley (Bulldogs), Benji Marshall (Tigers), Luke Patten (Bulldogs), Josh Perry (Knights), Todd Polglase (Rabbitohs), Luke Rooney (Panthers), Andrew Ryan (Bulldogs), John Skandalis (Tigers), Matt Sing (Cowboys), Craig Smith (Knights), Iosia Soliola (Roosters), Steven Southern (Cowboys), John Sutton (Rabbitohs), Timana Tahu (Eels), Clinton Toopi (Warriors), Evarn Tuimavave (Warriors), Trent Waterhouse (Panthers), Shane Webcke (Broncos), Michael Weyman (Raiders), Craig Wing (Roosters)

1 point Paul Bowman (Cowboys), Nathan Cayless (Eels), Ben Creagh (Dragons), Shayne Dunley (Sea Eagles), Michael Ennis (Broncos), Nathan Friend (Storm), Matt Geyer (Storm), Kurt Gidley (Knights), Matthew Gidley (Knights), Tony Grimaldi (Bulldogs), Daniel Holdsworth (Bulldogs), Lee Hookey (Panthers), Matt King (Storm), Todd Lowrie (Knights), Daryl Millard (Dragons), Ryan O'Hara (Tigers), Shannon McDonnell (Tigers), Mark Riddell (Eels), Shane Rodney (Panthers), Brent Sherwin (Bulldogs), Billy Slater (Storm), Tim Smith (Eels), Brent Tate (Broncos), Shane Tronc (Cowboys), Ben Walker (Rabbitohs), Simon Woolford (Raiders), William Zillman (Raiders)