NRL champions South Sydney suffer third straight defeat
Sunday 26 April 2015 14:24, UK
Defending NRL champions South Sydney slumped to their third straight defeat on Sunday as Canberra staged a second-half comeback to claim a 30-22 win in Cairns.
Ricky Stuart's Raiders made it three straight wins on the road for the first time since the end of the 2012 season as they overcame a 16-4 half-time deficit.
Back-to-back tries from Josh Papalii and Blake Austin sealed the win for the Raiders as the Rabbitohs lost three matches in a row for the first time under former Wigan coach Michael Maguire.
Wayne Bennett's Brisbane Broncos lead the NRL after eight rounds following a 28-16 win over Parramatta on Saturday.
A stellar 95-metre try by stand-off Anthony Milford crowned Brisbane's sixth win in seven games in front of a 34,398 Anzac Day crowd at Suncorp Stadium.
St George Illawarra maintained their superb run of form with a sixth successive victory, seeing off the Sydney Roosters 14-12 in a dramatic encounter at Allianz Stadium.
Match officials were forced to take the players off the field amid lightning and hail, with the Dragons leading 10-0 after tries from Peter Mata'utia and Mitch Rein.
When the two teams returned after a 30-minute break, the Roosters fought their way back in a gripping second half.
But Paul McGregor's Dragons showed their mettle with steely defence to inflict a fourth straight loss on the Roosters for the first time in Trent Robinson's tenure.
The Gold Coast Titans racked up their third successive victory with a narrow 32-38 win over New Zealand Warriors in Auckland.
The visitors did not lead until the 51st minute but three unanswered tries from James Roberts, Kane Elgey and Ryan James lifted the Titans into seventh place in the table.
Last-placed Manly Sea Eagles upset the Melbourne Storm 12-10 at AAMI Park. The Sea Eagles hit the front in the 71st minute after man-of-the-match scrum-half Daly Cherry-Evans threw a long cut-out pass for winger David Williams to dive across in the corner.
It proved to be the winning play as the Storm were unable to find the points to pick up their fourth consecutive win.
North Queensland held out a fast-finishing Newcastle Knights 26-24 at Hunter Stadium. The Cowboys stretched their winning streak to five despite losing back-rower Jason Taumalolo (knee) and hooker Jake Granville (concussion) inside the first seven minutes.
They led 26-12 in the 62nd minute but the Knights came home strongly against a tiring defence to set up a thrilling finish.
Wests Tigers returned to winning ways in style with a comprehensive 38-14 victory over an under-par Canterbury at ANZ Stadium.
Two tries apiece from Luke Brooks, James Tedesco and Pat Richards banished memories of last week's collapse against Canberra.
