Tuesday's Expert - NRL 2013 Round 3

We look back at the Round 3 of the 2013 NRL Telstra Premiership, and take a look at the leaderboard for the 2013 LeagueUnlimited.com Player of the Year.

The Melbourne Storm were challenged for the first time this season but still finish the round on top, while South Sydney continued their winning form, disposing of Penrith in a high-scoring contest. The St. George Illawarra Dragons' hoodoo in the nation's capital continued as they continued their poor start to the season, and the Wests Tigers furthered their turnaround by defeating the Parramatta Eels at Leichhardt Oval.

Below you'll find the results, player of the match points and match details for each Round 3 fixture.

MELBOURNE STORM 22 defeated CANTERBURY-BANKSTOWN BULLDOGS 18
National Rugby League - Round 3 - Thursday 21 March 2013, 8:05pm
Venue: Melbourne Rectangular Stadium (AAMI Park)
Crowd: 11,923
Halftime: Melbourne Storm 10 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 0

REPORT: "Storm hold off determined Bulldogs"

LeagueUnlimited.com Players of the Match:
3 Points - Cooper Cronk
2 Points - Billy Slater
1 Point - Josh Reynolds

MELBOURNE STORM 22
Tries: Ryan Hinchcliffe, Mahe Fonua, Matt Duffie, Lagi Setu
Goals: Cameron Smith 3/4

CANTERBURY-BANKSTOWN BULLDOGS 18
Tries: Krisnan Inu, Kris Keating, Sam Perrett
Goals: Krisnan Inu 3/3

Holden Cup: Melbourne Storm 30-16

WESTS TIGERS 31 defeated PARRAMATTA EELS 18
National Rugby League - Round 3 - Friday 22 March 2013, 8:05pm
Venue: Leichhardt Oval
Crowd: 18,326
Halftime: Wests Tigers 18 Parramatta Eels 0

LeagueUnlimited.com Players of the Match:
3 Points - Chris Lawrence (2 tries)
2 Points - Marika Koroibete
1 Point - Chris Sandow

WESTS TIGERS 31
Tries: Chris Lawrence (2), Benji Marshall, Blake Ayshford, Tim Moltzen
Goals: Benji Marshall 5/6
Field Goal: Benji Marshall 1

PARRAMATTA EELS 18
Tries: Ryan Morgan, Jacob Loko, Vai Toutai
Goals: Chris Sandow 3/3

Holden Cup: Wests Tigers 40-6

GOLD COAST TITANS 16 defeated MANLY-WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES 14
National Rugby League - Round 3 - Saturday 23 March 2013, 5:30pm AEDT
Venue: Skilled Park
Crowd: 13168
Halftime: Sydney Roosters 6 New Zealand Warriors 0

REPORT: "Gold Coast tough it out against Manly"

LeagueUnlimited.com Players of the Match:
3 Points - Aidan Sezer (4 goals)
2 Points - Albert Kelly
1 Point - Jorge Taufua (2 tries)

GOLD COAST TITANS 16
Tries: Ryan James, David Mead
Goals: Aidan Sezer 4/4

MANLY-WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES 14
Tries: Jorge Taufua 2, Tom Symonds
Goals: Jamie Lyon 1/3

Holden Cup: Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 26-18

SYDNEY ROOSTERS 8 defeated BRISBANE BRONCOS 0
National Rugby League - Round 3 - Saturday 23 March 2013, 7:30pm
Venue: Sydney Football Stadium (Allianz Stadium)
Crowd: 13,047
Halftime: Sydney Roosters 6 Brisbane Broncos 0

REPORT: "Roosters outmuscle Broncos in low-scoring contest"

LeagueUnlimited.com Players of the Match:
3 Points - Michael Jennings
2 Points - James Maloney (1 try, 2 goals)
1 Point - Jared Waerea-Hargreaves

SYDNEY ROOSTERS 8
Tries: James Maloney
Goals: James Maloney 2/2

BRISBANE BRONCOS 0
Tries: None
Goals: None

Holden Cup: Brisbane Broncos 40-22

CRONULLA-SUTHERLAND SHARKS 28 defeated NEW ZEALAND WARRIORS 4
National Rugby League - Round 3 - Sunday 24 March 2013, 2:00pm
Venue: Endeavour Field (Sharks Stadium)
Crowd: 12,183
Halftime: Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 18 New Zealand Warriors 0

REPORT: "Sharks down Warriors on Flanagan's return"

LeagueUnlimited.com Players of the Match:
3 Points - Todd Carney
2 Points - Andrew Fifita
1 Point - Anthony Tupou

CRONULLA-SUTHERLAND SHARKS 28
Tries: John Morris, Michael Gordon, Beau Ryan, Sam Tagataese, Jeff Robson
Goals: Michael Gordon 4/5

NEW ZEALAND WARRIORS 4
Tries: Konrad Hurrell
Goals: Shaun Johnson 0/1

Holden Cup: New Zealand Warriors 24-20

SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS 44 defeated PENRITH PANTHERS 32
National Rugby League - Round 3 - Sunday 24 March 2013, 3:00pm
Venue: Penrith Stadium (Centrebet Stadium Penrith)
Crowd: 12,940
Halftime: South Sydney Rabbitohs 34 Penrith Panthers 16

REPORT: "Rabbitohs topple Panthers in hot, high-scoring affair"

LeagueUnlimited.com Players of the Match:
3 Points - Greg Inglis (1 try)
2 Points - Nathan Merritt (3 tries)
1 Point - David Simmons (2 tries)

SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS 44
Tries: Nathan Merritt 3, John Sutton, Andrew Everingham, Bryson Goodwin, Ben Te'o, Greg Inglis
Goals: Adam Reynolds 6/8

PENRITH PANTHERS 32
Tries: David Simmons 2, Sam McKendry, Brad Tighe, James Segeyaro, Wes Naiqama
Goals: Luke Walsh 4/6

Holden Cup: Penrith Panthers 32-14

CANBERRA RAIDERS 30 defeated ST. GEORGE ILLAWARRA DRAGONS 17
National Rugby League - Round 3 - Sunday 24 March 2013, 6:30pm
Venue: Canberra Stadium
Crowd: 12,115
Halftime: Canberra Raiders 6 St. George Illawarra Dragons 5

REPORT: "Raiders extend Dragons' hoodoo in Canberra"

LeagueUnlimited.com Players of the Match:
3 Points - Jarrod Croker (2 tries, 5 goals)
2 Points - Reece Robinson (2 tries)
1 Point - Sam Williams

CANBERRA RAIDERS 30
Tries: Jarrod Croker 2, Reece Robinson 2, Sandor Earl
Goals: Jarrod Croker 5/5

ST. GEORGE ILLAWARRA DRAGONS 17
Tries: Brett Morris, Daniel Vidot, Nathan Fien
Goals: Jamie Soward 2/3
Field Goal: Jamie Soward 1

Holden Cup: Canberra Raiders 44-22

NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS 34 defeated NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 6
National Rugby League - Round 3 - Monday 25 March 2013, 7:00pm
Venue: Newcastle International Sports Centre (Hunter Stadium)
Crowd: 15,758
Halftime: Newcastle Knights 14 North Queensland Cowboys 6

REPORT: "Knights trample listless Cowboys"

LeagueUnlimited.com Players of the Match:
3 Points - Jarrod Mullen (1 goal)
2 Points - Tyrone Roberts (1 try, 4 goals)
1 Point - Akuila Uate (2 tries)

NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS 34
Tries: Akuila Uate 2, Tyrone Roberts, Alex McKinnon, James McManus, Darius Boyd
Goals: Tyrone Roberts 4/6, Jarrod Mullen 1/1

NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 6
Tries: Gavin Cooper
Goals: Johnathan Thurston 1/1

Holden Cup: North Queensland Cowboys 26-20

2013 LEAGUEUNLIMITED.COM Player of the Year leaderboard
Updated after Round 3

9 Points
Cooper Cronk (Storm)

5 Points
Paul Gallen (Sharks), Chris Sandow (Eels), James Maloney (Roosters), Albert Kelly (Titans), Todd Carney (Sharks)

4 Points
Josh Reynolds (Bulldogs), Greg Inglis (Rabbitohs), Jarrod Mullen (Knights)

3 Points
George Burgess (Rabbitohs), Daly Cherry-Evans (Sea Eagles), Johnathan Thurston (Cowboys), James Segeyaro (Panthers), Darius Boyd (Knights), Peter Wallace (Broncos), Benji Marshall (Tigers), Jamie Lyon (Sea Eagles), Issac Luke (Rabbitohs), Akuila Uate (Knights), Billy Slater (Storm), Andrew Fifita (Sharks), Chris Lawrence (Tigers), Aidan Sezer (Titans), Michael Jennings (Roosters), Jarrod Croker (Raiders)

2 Points
Sam Burgess (Rabbitohs), Steve Matai (Sea Eagles), Jarryd Hayne (Eels), Brent Tate (Cowboys), Matt McIlwrick (Raiders), Jesse Bromwich (Storm), Michael Ennis (Bulldogs), Justin Hodges (Broncos), Shaun Johnson (Warriors), Ryan Hoffman (Storm), Greg Bird (Titans), Aaron Woods (Tigers), Brett Stewart (Sea Eagles), Jorge Taufua (Sea Eagles), Marika Koroibete (Tigers), Nathan Merritt (Rabbitohs), Reece Robinson (Raiders), Tyrone Roberts (Knights)

1 Point
Brent Kite (Sea Eagles), Ken Sio (Eels), Drury Low (Bulldogs), Luke Walsh (Panthers), Justin O'Neill (Storm), Trent Merrin (Dragons), Anthony Minichiello (Roosters), Matt Srama (Titans), Robbie Farah (Tigers), Michael Gordon (Sharks), Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (Roosters), Anthony Tupou (Sharks), David Simmons (Panthers), Sam Williams (Raiders)

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