Monday?s Expert League Wrap - Round 24, 2006

With just two rounds remaining before the finals, the Melbourne Storm have wrapped up the NRL minor premiership following ?Sixties Week? in this round of rugby league action.

Friday night kicked off with the Brisbane Broncos thrashing the Canterbury Bulldogs 30-0. Played in front 26,111 people at Telstra Stadium, the match saw the second-placed Bulldogs crash back to reality after riding high in recent weeks. Nevertheless, the Bulldogs are well clear on 34 competition points while the fifth-placed Broncos join a truckload of teams on 28 points.

Saturday footy took us to Toyota Park to see the Penrith Panthers sink the hopes of the Cronulla Sharks. After being down 28-8 in the second half, the ?chocolate soldiers? scored 24 points in 15 minutes to record a thrilling 32-28 victory. The results bring Mad Monday to the Shire two rounds early with the Sharks now no hope of making the finals. With 22 competition points, the 11th-placed Sharks are six points outside of the top eight. The Panthers however will still be clinging to some faint hope. In ninth place and on 24 points, the Panthers are four points shy of the cut. They will need to keep winning against tough opposition while hoping that other results go their way.

Saturday night took us to Townsville to see the North Queensland Cowboys? go down 19-12 to the visiting Newcastle Knights. With 22 competition points and in 12th place, last year?s grand finalists are done with for season 2006. The fortunes are looking up for the sixth-placed Knights, the Novocastrians are on 28 points and vying for a top four spot after taking out the wooden spoon in 2005.

Meanwhile in Melbourne, the first-placed Storm were experiencing a rare defeat in going down to the New Zealand Warriors by 24-20 at Olympic Park. In one of the upsets of the season, the Warriors held their own before coming away with spoils. But with other results not going their way, the Warriors find themselves six points out of the top eight and no chance of making the finals.

Sunday football saw ?Sixties Week? finally get some momentum with three Sydney fixtures being played in glorious Autumn weather.

At Aussie Stadium, the Parramatta Eels continued their winning form in downing the Sydney Roosters by 40-26. The Eels are now enjoying fouth spot on the NRL ladder with 28 points. The 13th-placed Roosters are just making up the numbers.

Meanwhile at Brookvale, the Manly Sea Eagles moved up to 30 points and consolidated outright third position on the ladder following their 38-16 victory over wooden spooners, the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

Round 24 wrapped up at Kogarah Jubilee with the St George Illawarra Dragons thrashing the Wests Tigers 46-16. Playing in a Magpies strip, Wests Tigers were blown off the park early before scoring two late tries. Last year?s premiers, Wests Tigers find themselves on 20 points, in second last spot, and well out of contention in 2006. The Dragons celebrated amidst much fanfare as former St George greats were presented to the crowd as part of the retro promotion. In returning to form, the seventh-placed Dragons ran in nine tries to three to join a log jam of teams on 28 points.

With a two point bye for the round, the Canberra Raiders moved up to 28 points to complete the top eight.

All match results and details are listed below.

LeagueUnlimited.com Player Awards
This year?s LeagueUnlimited.com Player Awards still has Melbourne hooker Cameron Smith coming first on 27 points and Canberra full back Clinton Schifcofske is in second spot with 26 points.

Nathan Hindmarsh (Eels) and Willie Mason (Bulldogs) are on 23 points while previous winner Matt Orford (Sea Eagles) has moved into contention on 22 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:
League Wrap: Round 24, 18 August ? 20 August 2006

Canterbury Bulldogs: 0
Brisbane Broncos: 30
Tries: Shaun Berrigan (2), Tonie Carroll, Darren Lockyer, Brent Tate
Goals: Darren Lockyer 2/2, Corey Parker 3/3
Half time: Broncos 18-0
Venue: Telstra Stadium
Crowd: 26,111
Referee: Steve Clark
Leagueunlimited.com players of the match:
3 - Justin Hodges (Broncos)
2 - Petero Civoniceva (Broncos)
1 - Darren Lockyer (Broncos)

Cronulla Sutherland Sharks: 28
Tries: Paul Gallen (2), Reece Williams, Darren Albert (2)
Goals: Luke Covell 4/5
Penrith Panthers: 32
Tries: Luke Rooney, Rhys Wesser (2), Craig Stapleton, Lee Hookey, Michael Gordon
Goals: Preston Campbell 4/6
Half time: Sharks 10-8
Venue: Toyota Park
Crowd: 7,827
Referee: Jason Robinson
Leagueunlimited.com players of the match:
3 - Rhys Wesser (Panthers)
2 - Craig Stapleton (Panthers)
1 - Adam Dykes (Sharks)

North Queensland Cowboys: 12
Tries: Justin Smith, Neil Sweeney
Goals: Neil Sweeney 1/1, Brent McConnell 1/1
Newcastle Knights: 19
Tries: Anthony Quinn (2), Jarrod Mullen
Goals: Daniel Abraham 3/4
Field Goals: Jarrod Mullen
Half time: Knights 10-6
Venue: Dairy Farmers Stadium
Crowd: 17,898
Referee: Sean Hampstead
Leagueunlimited.com players of the match:
3 - Jarrod Mullen (Knights)
2 - Danny Buderus (Knights)
1 - Carl Webb (Cowboys)

Melbourne Storm: 20
Tries: Matt Geyer, Greg Inglis, Matt King, Steve Turner
Goals: Cameron Smith 2/4
New Zealand Warriors: 24
Tries: Simon Mannering, Manu Vatuvei, Brent Webb (2)
Goals: Lance Hohaia 4/5
Half time: Storm 14-12
Venue: Olympic Park, Melbourne
Crowd: 13,477
Referee: Tony Archer
Leagueunlimited.com players of the match:
3 - Grant Rovelli (Warriors)
2 - Brent Webb (Warriors)
1 - Greg Inglis (Storm)

Sydney Roosters: 26
Tries: Ryan Cross (2), Craig Fitzgibbon, Chris Flannery, Amos Roberts
Goals: Craig Fitzgibbon 3/4
Parramatta Eels: 40
Tries: Eric Grothe, Peter-John Marsh, Luke O'Dwyer (2), Ben Smith , Dean Widders, Jarryd Hayne
Goals: Luke Burt 6/8
Half time: Eels 26-14
Venue: Aussie Stadium
Crowd: 15,142
Referee: Paul Simpkins
Leagueunlimited.com players of the match:
3 - Jarryd Hayne (Eels)
2 - Luke O?Dwyer (Eels)
1 - John Morris (Eels)

Manly Sea Eagles: 38
Tries: Shayne Dunley, Steve Menzies, Brett Stewart (3), Steve Matai (2)
Goals: Matt Orford 5/7
South Sydney Rabbitohs: 16
Tries: Nathan Merritt, Paul Mellor, Joe Galuvao
Goals: Beau Champion 2/3
Half time: Rabbitohs 12-10
Venue: Brookvale Oval
Crowd: 19,253
Referee: Russell Smith
Leagueunlimited.com players of the match:
3 - Brett Stewart (Sea Eagles)
2 - Matt Orford (Sea Eagles)
1 - Steve Matai (Sea Eagles)

St George Illawarra Dragons: 46
Tries: Mark Gasnier (3), Aaron Gorrell, Clint Greenshields, Wes Naiqama, Matthew Bickerstaff, Brett Morris (2)
Goals: Aaron Gorrell 3/5, Wes Naiqama 2/4
Wests Tigers: 16
Tries: Robert Farah, Chris Heighington, Chris Lawrence
Goals: Scott Prince 2/3
Half time: Dragons 20-4
Venue: OKI Jubilee Stadium, Kogarah
Crowd: 14,211
Referee: Shayne Hayne
Leagueunlimited.com players of the match:
3 - Jason Ryles (Dragons)
2 - Mark Gasnier (Dragons)
1 - Trent Barrett (Dragons)

Canberra Raiders v Bye

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

UPCOMING MATCHES:
Round 25, 25-27 August 2006
Fri 7:30 SEA EAGLES v BULLDOGS - Brookvale Oval
Sat 5:30 RAIDERS v STORM - Canberra Stadium
Sat 7:30 KNIGHTS v PANTHERS - EnergyAustralia Stadium
Sat 7:30 DRAGONS v SHARKS - WIN Stadium
Sun 2:00 (12:00) WARRIORS v ROOSTERS - Mt Smart (Ericsson) Stadium
Sun 3:00 RABBITOHS v COWBOYS - Telstra Stadium
Sun 3:00 EELS v BRONCOS - Parramatta Stadium
TIGERS v BYE

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.

27 points
Cameron Smith (Storm)

26 points
Clinton Schifcofske (Raiders)

23 points
Nathan Hindmarsh (Eels), Willie Mason (Bulldogs)

22 points
Matt Orford (Sea Eagles)

21 points
Preston Campbell (Panthers), Greg Inglis (Storm)

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

18 points
Danny Buderus (Knights)

17 points
Cooper Cronk (Storm), Johnathan Thurston (Cowboys)

16 points
Mark Gasnier (Dragons),

14 points
Matthew Bowen (Cowboys), Adam Dykes (Sharks), Darren Lockyer (Broncos), Steve Price (Warriors), Scott Prince (Tigers)

13 points
Hazem El Masri (Bulldogs)

12 points
Petero Civoniceva (Broncos), Jason Smith (Raiders), Sonny Bill Williams (Bulldogs)

11 points
Roy Asotasi (Bulldogs), Craig Fitzgibbon (Roosters), Paul Gallen (Sharks), Karmichael Hunt (Broncos), Grant Rovelli (Warriors), Rhys Wesser (Panthers)

10 points
Robert Farah (Tigers), Justin Hodges (Broncos), Alan Tongue (Raiders)

9 points
Mathew Head (Dragons), Brett Hodgson (Tigers), Brett Stewart (Sea Eagles)

8 points
Brett Kimmorley (Sharks), Jarryd Hayne (Eels), Corey Parker (Broncos), Ruben Wiki (Warriors), Dean Young (Dragons)

7 points
Steve Bell (Sea Eagles), Nathan Merritt (Rabbitohs), Mark O?Meley (Bulldogs), Aaron Payne (Cowboys), David Peachey (Rabbitohs), Amos Roberts (Roosters), Andrew Ryan (Bulldogs), Steve Simpson (Knights), Brent Webb (Warriors)

6 points
Trent Barrett (Dragons), Nathan Cayless (Eels), Craig Gower (Panthers), Nathan Fien (Warriors), Ryan Hoffman (Storm), Luke Lewis (Panthers), Steve Menzies (Sea Eagles), Lance Thompson (Sharks)

5 points
Dean Collis (Tigers), Peter Cusack (Rabbitohs), Brett Finch (Roosters), Aaron Gorrell (Dragons), Wade McKinnon (Eels), Luke O'Donnell (Cowboys), Luke O?Dwyer (Eels), Simon Mannering (Warriors), Luke Priddis (Panthers), Brad Thorn (Broncos)

4 points
Darren Albert (Sharks), Greg Bird (Sharks), Brian Carney (Knights), Todd Carney (Raiders), Matt Cooper (Dragons), Sione Faumuina (Warriors), Phillip Graham (Raiders), David Kidwell (Storm), Scott Hill (Storm), Ben Hornby (Dragons), Anthony Laffranchi (Tigers), Adam MacDougall (Rabbitohs), Fuifui Moimoi (Eels), John Morris (Eels), Clint Newton (Knights), Josh Perry (Knights), Brent Sherwin (Bulldogs), David Simmons (Sharks), Billy Slater (Storm), Jamie Soward (Roosters), John Sutton (Rabbitohs), Milton Thaiday (Knights), Anthony Tupou (Roosters), Paul Whatuira (Tigers), Lincoln Withers (Raiders)

3 points
Luke Bailey (Dragons), Travis Burns (Sea Eagles), Luke Burt (Eels), Joel Clinton (Panthers), Darius Boyd (Broncos), Luke Covell (Sharks), Michael Crocker (Storm), Greg Eastwood (Broncos), Matthew Gidley (Knights), Michael Gordon (Panthers), Clint Greenshields (Dragons), Nathan Hinton (Knights), Lance Hohaia (Warriors), Brett Kearney (Sharks), Luke MacDougall (Rabbitohs), Reni Maitua (Bulldogs), Manase Manuokafoa (Rabbitohs), Adam Mogg (Raiders), Jarrod Mullen (Knights), Sam Perrett (Roosters), Michael Robertson (Sea Eagles), Jerome Ropati (Warriors), Jason Ryles (Dragons), Matt Sing (Cowboys), Tame Tupou (Broncos), Steve Turner (Storm), Matthew Utai (Bulldogs), Anthony Watmough (Sea Eagles), Jake Webster (Storm), Joe Williams (Rabbitohs)

2 points
Brenton Bowen (Cowboys), George Carmont (Knights), Daniel Fitzhenry (Tigers), Keith Galloway (Tigers), Awen Guttenbeil (Warriors), Ashley Harrison (Roosters), Wairangi Koopu (Warriors), Tom Learoyd-Lahrs (Raiders), Tony Martin (Warriors), Anthony Minichiello (Roosters), Mark O'Meley (Bulldogs), Peter-John Marsh (Eels), Benji Marshall (Tigers), Steve Matai (Sea Eagles), Luke Patten (Bulldogs), Todd Polglase (Rabbitohs), Luke Rooney (Panthers), John Skandalis (Tigers), Craig Smith (Knights), Tim Smith (Eels), Iosia Soliola (Roosters), Steven Southern (Cowboys), Craig Stapleton (Panthers), Timana Tahu (Eels), Clinton Toopi (Warriors), Evarn Tuimavave (Warriors), Nigel Vagana (Sharks), Trent Waterhouse (Panthers), Shane Webcke (Broncos), Michael Weyman (Raiders), Craig Wing (Roosters)

1 point
Paul Bowman (Cowboys), Ben Creagh (Dragons), Shayne Dunley (Sea Eagles), Michael Ennis (Broncos), Shaun Foley (Roosters), Nathan Friend (Storm), Matt Geyer (Storm), Kurt Gidley (Knights), Tony Grimaldi (Bulldogs), Chris Hicks (Sea Eagles), Daniel Holdsworth (Bulldogs), Lee Hookey (Panthers), Matt King (Storm), Josh Lewis (Roosters), Todd Lowrie (Knights), Daryl Millard (Dragons), Ryan O'Hara (Tigers), Shannon McDonnell (Tigers), Sam Rapira (Warriors), Mark Riddell (Eels), Shane Rodney (Panthers), David Shillington (Roosters), Brent Tate (Broncos), Sam Thaiday (Broncos), Willie Tonga (Bulldogs), Shane Tronc (Cowboys), Taniela Tuiaki (Tigers), Ben Walker (Rabbitohs), Carl Webb (Cowboys), Simon Woolford (Raiders), William Zillman (Raiders)