Tuesday's Expert Wrap - NRL Round 8

It's rep break time - we've arrived at the end of the Round 8 of the 2014 National Rugby League Telstra Premiership! Check out all the results, reports and player of the year points right here.

The traditional ANZAC Day clashes were all great - while the Roosters eventually romped home over the Dragons at Allianz, the Storm and Warriors clash in Melbourne was tight, and the see-sawing lead in the Broncos-Rabbitohs event in Brisbane also provided a tense finish. Saturday saw the Sharks upset the Panthers, the Cowboys played back into form by a surprisingly poor Eels outfit, and the Bulldogs grind out a fourth-straight victory over Newcastle, despite the presence for the visitors of Alex McKinnon in the sheds and coaches box.

Sunday rounded out a shortened weekend of footy in atrocious Sydney weather, with low-drawing crowds attending soggy games at Brookvale (Manly smashed Canberra) and Leichhardt, where the Titans outplayed the Tigers. The results leave Canterbury, Manly and the Gold Coast leading the competition after eight rounds, a huge logjam in the middle, with the Knights and Sharks sitting last on four points. Scroll to the bottom of this article for a link to the full ladder.

Below we have a look at how Round Eight played out...

St. George Illawarra Dragons 14 Sydney Roosters 34
Venue: Allianz Stadium
Date: Friday 25 April 2014 at 4:00pm
Crowd: 38784
Halftime Score: St. George Illawarra Dragons 8 Sydney Roosters 18

LeagueUnlimited.com Players of the Match:
3 points - Mitchell Pearce
2 points - Jake Friend
1 point - Aidan Guerra

ST. GEORGE ILLAWARRA DRAGONS (14)
Tries: Ben Creagh, Nathan Green, Gerard Beale
Field Goals:
Conversions: Gareth Widdop (1/3)
Penalty Goals:

SYDNEY ROOSTERS (34)
Tries: Aidan Guerra, Daniel Tupou, Anthony Minichiello, Jake Friend, Boyd Cordner, Shaun Kenny-Dowall
Field Goals:
Conversions: James Maloney (5/5), Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (0/1)
Penalty Goals:

Match Report: Roosters claim 13th ANZAC Cup - Aaron Thomas

Melbourne Storm 10 New Zealand Warriors 16
Venue: AAMI Park
Date: Friday 25 April 2014 at 6:00pm
Crowd: 28716
Halftime Score: Melbourne Storm 6 New Zealand Warriors 12

LeagueUnlimited.com Players of the Match:
3 points - Sam Tomkins
2 points - Shaun Johnson
1 point - Jayson Bukuya

MELBOURNE STORM (10)
Tries: Kevin Proctor, Young Tonumaipea
Field Goals:
Conversions: Cameron Smith (1/2)
Penalty Goals:

NEW ZEALAND WARRIORS (16)
Tries: David Fusitua, Shaun Johnson, Feleti Mateo
Field Goals: Shaun Johnson (0/2)
Conversions: Shaun Johnson (1/3)
Penalty Goals: Shaun Johnson (1/1)

Match Report: Missed opportunities aplenty as Warriors tough out win - Josh Robertson

Brisbane Broncos 26 South Sydney Rabbitohs 28
Venue: Suncorp Stadium
Date: Friday 25 April 2014 at 8:00pm
Crowd: 44122
Halftime Score: Brisbane Broncos 16 South Sydney Rabbitohs 14

LeagueUnlimited.com Players of the Match:
3 points - George Burgess
2 points - Adam Reynolds
1 point - Ben Hannant

BRISBANE BRONCOS (26)
Tries: Andrew McCullough (2), Lachlan Maranta, Matt Gillett, Jack Reed
Field Goals:
Conversions: Corey Parker (1/3), Ben Hunt (2/2)
Penalty Goals:

SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS (28)
Tries: Apisai Koroisau, Alex Johnston, Greg Inglis, George Burgess, Kirisome Auva'a
Field Goals:
Conversions: Adam Reynolds (3/5)
Penalty Goals: Adam Reynolds (1/1)

Match Report: Rabbitohs sneak home in Anzac Day thriller - Paul Jobber

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 24 Penrith Panthers 20
Venue: Remondis Stadium
Date: Saturday 26 April 2014 at 3:00pm
Crowd: 13669
Halftime Score: Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 10 Penrith Panthers 12

LeagueUnlimited.com Players of the Match:
3 points - Jeff Robson
2 points - Ricky Leutele
1 point - Michael Gordon

CRONULLA-SUTHERLAND SHARKS (24)
Tries: Todd Carney, Michael Gordon, Ricky Leutele, Jeff Robson
Field Goals:
Conversions: Michael Gordon (3/4)
Penalty Goals: Michael Gordon (1/1)

PENRITH PANTHERS (20)
Tries: Josh Mansour, David Simmons, Peter Wallace
Field Goals:
Conversions: Jamie Soward (3/3)
Penalty Goals: Jamie Soward (1/1)

Match Report: Sharks Hold On In Gutsy Win - LeagueUnlimited Team

North Queensland Cowboys 42 Parramatta Eels 14
Venue: 1300SMILES Stadium
Date: Saturday 26 April 2014 at 5:30pm
Crowd: 13285
Halftime Score: North Queensland Cowboys 18 Parramatta Eels 14

LeagueUnlimited.com Players of the Match:
3 points - Jason Taumalolo
2 points - James Tamou
1 point - Kane Linnett

NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS (42)
Tries: Johnathan Thurston, Matthew Scott, Kane Linnett (2), Curtis Rona (2), Michael Morgan
Field Goals:
Conversions: Johnathan Thurston (7/7)
Penalty Goals:

PARRAMATTA EELS (14)
Tries: Ken Sio, Pauli Pauli
Field Goals:
Conversions: Chris Sandow (2/2)
Penalty Goals: Chris Sandow (1/1)

Match Report: Cowboys romp home to convincing win over in form Eels - Kevin Bertao

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 16 Newcastle Knights 12
Venue: ANZ Stadium
Date: Saturday 26 April 2014 at 7:30pm
Crowd: 15286
Halftime Score: Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 10 Newcastle Knights 4

LeagueUnlimited.com Players of the Match:
3 points - Josh Reynolds
2 points - James McManus
1 point - Aiden Tolman

CANTERBURY-BANKSTOWN BULLDOGS (16)
Tries: Mitch Brown, Sam Kasiano, Aiden Tolman
Field Goals:
Conversions: Trent Hodkinson (2/3)
Penalty Goals:

NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS (12)
Tries: James McManus, Robbie Rochow
Field Goals:
Conversions: Tyrone Roberts (1/2)
Penalty Goals: Tyrone Roberts (1/1)

Match Report: Halves dominate as Bulldogs scrape past Newcastle - Joshua Wells

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 54 Canberra Raiders 18
Venue: Brookvale Oval
Date: Sunday 27 April 2014 at 2:00pm
Crowd: 8817
Halftime Score: Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 42 Canberra Raiders 4

LeagueUnlimited.com Players of the Match:
3 points - Daly Cherry-Evans
2 points - Brenton Lawrence
1 point - Peta Hiku

MANLY-WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES (54)
Tries: Peta Hiku (4), Jamie Lyon, Brenton Lawrence, Anthony Watmough, Brett Stewart, Jorge Taufua
Field Goals:
Conversions: Jamie Lyon (7/7), Steve Matai (2/2)
Penalty Goals:

CANBERRA RAIDERS (18)
Tries: Reece Robinson, Jarrod Croker, Jack Wighton, Josh McCrone
Field Goals:
Conversions: Jarrod Croker (1/2), Anthony Milford (0/2)
Penalty Goals:

Match Report: Cherry-Evans provides the magic as Eagles rout Raiders - Paul Jobber

Wests Tigers 6 Gold Coast Titans 22
Venue: Leichhardt Oval
Date: Sunday 27 April 2014 at 3:00pm
Crowd: 8929
Halftime Score: Wests Tigers 0 Gold Coast Titans 16

LeagueUnlimited.com Players of the Match:
3 points - Aidan Sezer
2 points - Greg Bird
1 point - David Mead

WESTS TIGERS (6)
Tries: Tim Simona
Field Goals:
Conversions: Pat Richards (1/1)
Penalty Goals:

GOLD COAST TITANS (22)
Tries: Aidan Sezer, Greg Bird, Anthony Don
Field Goals:
Conversions: Aidan Sezer (1/1), Greg Bird (2/2)
Penalty Goals: Aidan Sezer (1/2), Greg Bird (1/2)

Match Report: Industrious Titans engineer win over timid Tigers - Justin Davies

NRL 2014 - looking back:

TUESDAYS EXPERT: Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round 6 | Round 7

DRAW & RESULTS: Click here

FULL NRL LADDER: Click here