Add Category
Updated
The Bulldogs have beaten Cronulla Sharks at the Olympic stadium to dent the Sharks' top four hopes.
Earlier, the Panthers edged out the Warriors with a field goal in golden point at Mount Smart Stadium.
More to come.
Bulldogs v Sharks
Canterbury have shaken off the loss of playmaker Kieran Foran to break a four-game NRL losing streak with a thrilling 14-12 upset of a woeful Cronulla.
The Sharks looked set to run over the top of the Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon but Dean Pay's last-placed side showed plenty of courage while Cronulla repeatedly shot themselves in the foot.
Cronulla looked set to steal it when Jack Williams picked up a loose grubber and raced 80-metres before being cut down by Reimis Smith five metres from the line.
The Sharks then threw away possession with Chad Townsend rolling in an ill-advised kick into the in-goal.
John Morris' side had a chance to join a logjam of teams on 18 points inside the bottom half of the the eight, but were once again made to pay for their awful start.
After allowing Canberra to get out to a 20-0 lead in their previous loss, the Sharks once again emerged from the sheds half asleep and found themselves 14-0 down.
But like clockwork, they came steaming back into the contest, scoring the next three tries.
Sosaia Feki's four-pointer in the right corner looked far too easy before Briton Nikora was stripped close to the line by Corey Harawira-Naera and Shaun Johnson dived on the ball to make it 14-8 at the break.
Josh Dugan's try eight minutes after the resumption reduced the deficit to two but they imploded in the final 30 minutes, committing a series of costly errors.
After Foran set up the Bulldogs' opening two tries, he left the field at the 25-minute mark with a hamstring injury and he did not return, continuing his horror run with setbacks.
He missed five weeks earlier in the season with an ankle injury after being restricted to just 12 games in his first season with the Bulldogs due to toe and wrist problems.
Fijian Test playmaker Brandon Wakeham, who was a late inclusion on the bench for back-rower Rhyse Martin, stepped in to guide the Bulldogs to victory by standing in for Foran.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs announced the departure of Martin on Sunday evening after he requested a release to join English Super League club Leeds.
Panthers snatch it in golden point over Warriors
Brent Naden scored a try for the ages and James Maloney had the final say as Penrith snatched a dramatic 19-18 golden point win over the Warriors in Auckland.
The Panthers unleashed one of the gutsiest performances seen on Mt Smart Stadium, overcoming two contentious sin bin rulings and a 10-point deficit to notch their fifth straight win.
Rookie centre Naden was the hero with two tries in the final half-hour, including a memorable 90-metre solo try with three minutes remaining to put his team two points in front.
Maloney was deemed offside from the subsequent Warriors short kick-off and Patrick Herbert held his nerve, levelling the scores with a 35m penalty in the final minute of regular time.
A week after his influential State of Origin performance for NSW and without injured halves partner Nathan Cleary, Maloney capped an exceptional game with the winning field goal, after he and opposite Blake Green had both missed earlier attempts.
Maloney also laid on two of his team's three tries, setting up a leaping Naden with a pinpoint bomb to start the fightback from 16-6 down.
The Warriors appeared destined to end their miserable run of home form when David Fusitu'a crossed after a fuming Penrith had been reduced to 11 players.
Maloney, who had a running battle with referee Gerard Sutton, was firstly enraged by Liam Martin's 10-minute punishment for repeated Panthers offending soon before half-time.
He believed he hadn't been given sufficient warning that a sin bin was looming.
The veteran's blood pressure doubled soon after the break when halves partner Jarome Luai was given his marching orders, reducing the visitors to 11 for three minutes.
Sutton deemed Luai had committed a professional foul for tripping Warriors skipper Roger Tuivasa-Sheck — a questionable ruling on two counts. The contact appeared accidental and Tuivasa-Sheck had already knocked on in the lead-up.
Maloney's men somehow regrouped in the most spectacular win of their mid-season revival, highlighted by 23-year-old Naden's defence shredding run in just his fourth NRL game.
NRL ladder
AAP
Topics: nrl, rugby-league, sport, new-zealand, australia, nsw, penrith-2750, bankstown-2200, cronulla-2230, homebush-2140
First posted