2024 NRL: Round 15 Recap and Key Stats

Check out what happened in round 15 of the National Rugby League competition.

Final Scores

DOLPHINS 30 d SHARKS 28
COWBOYS 34 d RAIDERS 16
RABBITOHS 22 d BRONCOS 12
TIGERS 18 d TITANS 10
STORM 38 d WARRIORS 24
ROOSTERS 28 d EELS 18
SEA EAGLES 30 d DRAGONS 14
PANTHERS 26 d KNIGHTS 18

Current Ladder

Melbourne Storm (Position: 1) 24 pts (97), Penrith Panthers (Position: 2) 22 pts (118), Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks (Position: 3) 22 pts (78), Dolphins (Position: 4) 20 pts (66), Sydney Roosters (Position: 5) 18 pts (143), Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs (Position: 6) 18 pts (81), Canberra Raiders (Position: 7) 18 pts (-55), Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles (Position: 8) 17 pts (42), Brisbane Broncos (Position: 9) 16 pts (37), North Queensland Cowboys (Position: 10) 16 pts (-8), St George-Illawarra Dragons (Position: 11) 16 pts (-50), New Zealand Warriors (Position: 12) 15 pts (13), Newcastle Knights (Position: 13) 14 pts (-55), South Sydney Rabbitohs (Position: 14) 12 pts (-126), Parramatta Eels (Position: 15) 10 pts (-121), Wests Tigers (Position: 16) 10 pts (-129), Gold Coast Titans (Position: 17) 10 pts (-131).

Review

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Melbourne are in outright first at the end of round 15 (Beanies for Brain Cancer Round).

The Storm extended their winning streak against the Warriors to 15 games after beating them at Go Media Stadium. The Warriors led 14-0 after 17 minutes, but Melbourne dominated from there, leading 20-14 at half-time and scoring another three tries in the second half. Sualauvi Faalogo scored two tries while Nick Meaney scored 14 points (a try and five goals). Marcelo Montoya scored two tries for the Warriors.

Penrith are back in second place after beating Newcastle at McDonald Jones Stadium. The Panthers led 20-6 at half-time (tries to Scott Sorensen, Brian To’o, Jarome Luai, and Lindsay Smith) and weathered a second half Knights comeback. Dylan Lucas and Bradman Best scored two tries in five minutes as Newcastle cut Penrith’s lead to 20-18 with 20 minutes left. But a Dylan Edwards try five minutes later gave Penrith enough breathing space.

The Dolphins won a high-scoring game against Cronulla-Sutherland at PointsBet Stadium. On a rare trip to Sydney, the Dolphins led 22-0 after 25 minutes, before the Sharks scored four tries either side of half-time to lead 24-22. A length-of-the-field try from Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow gave the Dolphins the lead back. Then Sione Katoa scored in the final minute to set up a possible Golden Point finish, but Nicho Hynes (who’d kicked four from four so far) missed the sideline conversion.

North Queensland defied the Canberra cold to defeat the Raiders at GIO Stadium. The Raiders suffered another disappointing home loss (their third in a row), and the game was over by half-time. Kyle Feldt scored two tries as the Cowboys led 22-0 at the break. Valentine Holmes scored 14 points (a try and five goals) as the Cowboys pushed their lead to 34-6 after 66 minutes.

South Sydney continued their resurgence, beating Brisbane at Accor Stadium. Like the Raiders-Cowboys game a couple of hours earlier, this game was over at half-time, with Souths leading 18-0 (tries to Damien Cook, Keaon Koloamatangi, Latrell Mitchell, and Alex Johnston). Deine Mariner scored both of Brisbane’s tries late in the second half.

The Wests Tigers finally broke their nine-game losing streak, beating the Titans at Leichhardt Oval. The Tigers didn’t give in despite trailing 10-6 at half-time. Justin Olam’s second try gave them a 12-10 lead, then Fonua Pole sealed the win with three minutes left.

The Sydney Roosters continued their rise to the top four with a win over Parramatta at CommBank Stadium. While the Roosters led 16-6 at halftime, that lead vanished quickly vanished, with Dylan Brown and Blaize Talagi giving Parramatta an 18-16 lead after 49 minutes. But tries to Daniel Tupou (his second) and Angus Crichton ensured a comfortable Roosters win.

Manly are in the top eight after beating St George Illawarra at 4 Pines Park. The game was tied 14-14 early in the second half before Manly put their foot down. Ben Trbojevic, Jake Trbojevic, and Jason Saab scored as the Sea Eagles raced away to a comfortable win.

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Players Making Their NRL Debut

Jordan Miller (Tigers) vs Titans, June 15 (19 years, 4 months, 8 days)
Heath Mason (Tigers) vs Titans, June 15

Key Stats

• North Queensland Cowboys have won 4 of their last 5 in Canberra.
• Valentine Holmes scored his 100th NRL career try in his 193th appearance.
• Alex Johnston moves into second place in the overall try scoring list for the NSWRL, ARL, Super League (AU) and NRL competitions.
• Wests Tigers ended a nine game losing streak which dated back to Easter Monday when they beat Parramatta Eels 17-16.
• Gold Coast Titans have lost their last 7 matches at New South Wales venues.
• Melbourne Storm extended their winning streak against New Zealand Warriors to 16 games.
• Dean Ieremia scored his first NRL try in 693 days (vs Rabbitohs, round 19 in 2022)
• Sydney Roosters have won 8 of their last 10 matches at CommBank Stadium.
• Dylan Edwards scored his 50th NRL career try.

Upcoming Milestones

• Jamayne Isaako requires 57 points for 1,000 NRL career points.
• Alex Johnston is 9 tries away from 200 NRL career tries.
• Kyle Feldt is 13 tries away from 150 NRL career tries.
• David Fifita is one try away from 50 NRL career tries.
• Maika Sivo requires 2 tries for 100 NRL career tries.