2024 NRL: Round 23 Recap and Key Stats

Check out what happened in round 23 of the National Rugby League competition.

Final Scores

STORM 28 d RABBITOHS 16
SHARKS 44 d TITANS 0
PANTHERS 36 d EELS 34
SEA EAGLES 46 d RAIDERS 24
BRONCOS 42 d COWBOYS 18
BULLDOGS 28 d DRAGONS 10
DOLPHINS 34 d WARRIORS 32 (Golden Point)
KNIGHTS 34 d TIGERS 18

Current Ladder

Melbourne Storm (Position: 1) 38 pts (169), Penrith Panthers (Position: 2) 36 pts (164), Sydney Roosters (Position: 3) 32 pts (219), Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks (Position: 4) 32 pts (175), Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs (Position: 5) 30 pts (110), Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles (Position: 6) 29 pts (115), North Queensland Cowboys (Position: 7) 28 pts (5), Dolphins (Position: 8) 26 pts (35), St George-Illawarra Dragons (Position: 9) 26 pts (-108), Newcastle Knights (Position: 10) 24 pts (-89), Canberra Raiders (Position: 11) 24 pts (-97), Brisbane Broncos (Position: 12) 22 pts (-4), Gold Coast Titans (Position: 13) 22 pts (-98), New Zealand Warriors (Position: 14) 21 pts (-34), South Sydney Rabbitohs (Position: 15) 20 pts (-136), Parramatta Eels (Position: 16) 16 pts (-163), Wests Tigers (Position: 17) 12 pts (-263).

Review

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Melbourne and Penrith have set up a blockbuster minor premiership clash next Thursday night. While Melbourne are still first after round 23, they’re only two points ahead of the Panthers. The Sydney Roosters and Cronulla-Sutherland round out the top four.

Melbourne stayed in first with a win over South Sydney at Accor Stadium. Though Craig Bellamy wouldn’t have been happy with the second half: with Melbourne leading 22-4 at half-time (a double to Will Warbrick), Souths cut the margin to 26-16 with 10 minutes left (a double to Fletcher Myers).

Penrith pulled off another amazing comeback win, this time over Parramatta at CommBank Stadium. Parramatta led 34-20 with 12 minutes left when Clinton Gutherson scored his second try. But Penrith – after regaining Liam Martin from the sin bin – scored three tries in three minutes, with Nathan Cleary’s sixth goal giving the Panthers a 36-34 lead with three minutes left. Gutherson (who’d kicked five goals up to this point) had a penalty shot to tie the game but missed it.

Cronulla showed their top four hopes aren’t over yet after belting the Gold Coast at Cbus Super Stadium. Samuel Stonestreet scored a double as the Sharks ran in eight tries, with six goals to Daniel Atkinson.

Canterbury stayed in top four contention with a comfortable win over St George Illawarra at Nestrata Jubilee Stadium. Two Bronson Xerri tries in four minutes gave the Bulldogs a 20-6 lead, and while Tyrell Sloan got the Dragons within 10 by half-time, a Kurt Mann try (with six goals from six for Matt Burton) sealed the Bulldogs’ win.

Manly Warringah also stayed in the top four race, belting Canberra at GIO Stadium. The game turned late in the first half (After Josh Papalii celebrated his 301st game with the opening try): Adam Cook appeared to have fumbled Hudson Young’s pass, but replays showed Cook kicked it and followed through to score. But the play was blown early, so the try was disallowed. Then, right on the break, Ethan Bullemor scored – despite a possible obstruction – giving Manly an 18-12 half-time lead. That momentum shift was enough, with the Sea Eagles scoring 28 unanswered points after the break, before a couple of late Raiders tries. It was a huge day at Canberra, with the Raiders’ Jersey Flegg, NRLW, NRL, and NSW Cup sides all playing, finishing with two wins (Flegg and Cup) and two losses (NRLW and NRL).

While Brisbane’s season may be over, they showed they could still turn it on, beating North Queensland at Queensland Country Bank Stadium. With the Cowboys leading 18-6, Deine Marine scored close to half-time to keep the Broncos in touch. Brisbane won the second half 30-0, with a double to Kotoni Staggs and seven goals from seven for Adam Reynolds.

The Dolphins moved back into the eight after a thrilling Golden Point win over the NZ Warriors at Suncorp Stadium. It was 32-32 at full-time after a late penalty try to Mitchell Barnett tied the scores. Sean O’Sullivan kicked the match-winning two-point field goal in the 82nd minute. Herbie Farnworth scored a double as the Dolphins led 26-12 after 55 minutes.

Fletcher Sharpe scored four tries as Newcastle kept their season alive by beating the Wests Tigers at McDonald Jones Stadium. Fletcher’s fourth try (in the 55th minute) sealed the game after Jahream Bula outleapt Kalyn Ponga to cut Newcastle’s lead to 28-18.

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Key Stats

• Fletcher Myers scored his first NRL career try when playing for the South Sydney Rabbitohs against Melbourne Storm.
• Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 44-0 victory over the Gold Coast Titans was their biggest victory against the current Gold Coast franchise.
• Parramatta’s 34 points in defeat to the Penrith Panthers was their highrst losing score in the past decade (previous 30 points against Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles on March 16, 2023)
• Clint Gutherson’s 18 points (2 tries, 5 goals) equalled his most individual point scored in a game (18 points vs Cowboys, April 28, 2017)
• Tom Trbojevic scored his 100th NRL career try when playing for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles against Canberra Raiders.
• Luke Brooks scored his 50th NRL career try when playing for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles against Canberra Raiders.
• Brisbane Broncos have won their past four matches against North Queensland Cowboys
• Corey Jensen scored his first NRL career try in 2,604 days (last try was for the Cowboys when they beat Penrith in round 16, 2017 at 1300 Smiles Stadium (24/6/2017).
• Josh Rogers scored his first NRL career try when playing for the Brisbane Broncos against North Queensland Cowboys.
• Kotoni Staggs scored his 50th NRL career try when playing for the Brisbane Broncos against North Queensland Cowboys.
• Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs recorded their first win at Jubilee Stadium since 2018 (won 38-0, August 26 2018).
• Matt Burton passed 500 NRL career points when playing for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs against St George-Illawarra Dragons.

Upcoming Milestones

• 500 NRL points: Corey Oates (484 career points).
• 1000 NRL points: Zac Lomax (793), Alex Johnston (780), Nick Meaney (758).
• 50 NRL tries: David Fifita (49 career tries), Luke Keary (48), Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow (48), Marcelo Montoya (47), Kurt Mann (47), Zac Lomax (47).
• 100 NRL tries: Maika Sivo (98), Cody Walker (98), Dallin Watene-Zelezniak (97), Clint Gutherson (96).
• 150 NRL tries: Kyle Feldt (144), Josh Addo-Carr (137), James Tedesco (131).
• 200 NRL tries: Alex Johnston (195).