The fourth round of the 2023 season had everything, two-point field goals, golden point battles, 40-20s and a new rivalry in Brisbane emerged to finally challenge the legendary rivalries between the Sydney sides.
The Edge of the Crowd writers have come together to review each match and have submitted their votes for the Dally M predictor for the 2023 season.
Parramatta Eels 17 Penrith Panthers 16
3 - Mitchell Moses Parramatta Eels(6)
2 - Reagan Campbell-Gillard Parramatta Eels(3)
1 - Nathan Cleary Penrith Panthers(1)
The Parramatta Eels finally got their season back on track in a golden point win over the Penrith Panthers. While all fans could talk about following the match was Nathan Cleary's monster two-point field goal, Parramatta seemed to shake off the bad energy from its rough start to the season.
Bryce Cartwright opened the scoring with a try in the 14th minute and Mitch Moses had a return to form with his kicking, converting at 100 per cent for the night. Dylan Edwards brought the Panthers back into the match, scoring a try in the 33rd minute, followed up by a penalty goal on halftime from Cleary to level the scores.
Evenly matched in the second half both sides put an extra try on the board while Moses gave the Eels a leg up with another penalty goal. With the match on a knife's edge, it was up to Cleary to do what only a handful of players can do and launch a kick towards goal from 40 metres out, sending the match to golden point.
However, it was over just on the 82-minute mark with Mitch Moses kicking a field goal to give the Eels the first win of the season.
Melbourne Storm 24 Wests Tigers 12
3 - Harry Grant Melbourne Storm(9)
2 - Trent Loiero Melbourne Storm(2)
1 - Cameron Munster Melbourne Storm(1)
With both sides desperate for a win the match between the Melbourne Storm and Wests Tigers shouldn't have felt like a David and Goliath affair, however despite still missing players due to injury Storm almost flattened the Tigers in the first half.
With four separate try scorers, Storm led 22-6 at halftime, with Nick Meaney's conversion rate looking like one of the only major flaws in Storm's game.
However, the Tigers came back hard in the second half putting up an impressive defensive performance in the second half keeping Storm tryless, with the home team's only scoring opportunity coming from a penalty goal in the 66th minute. It wasn't enough to come away with a win but it was one of the better performances from the Tigers since their last win in Round 20 in 2022.
Dolphins 12 Brisbane Broncos 18
3 - Payne Haas Brisbane Broncos(7)
2 - Reece Walsh Brisbane Broncos(6)
1 - Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow Dolphins(5)
There was plenty of hype around the inaugural Battle of Brisbane and the Dolphins and Brisbane Broncos did not let down the packed crowd at Suncorp Stadium.
It was a quiet first half with the lone try coming from the Bronco's Jesse Arthars in the 22nd minute. However, the match could have been far less interesting had Adam Reynolds kicked accurately, only hitting one conversion for the match.
It was a close to-and-fro in the second half with four tries scored within 20 minutes putting the scoreline at 12-14 in the Bronco's favour. Kotoni Staggs turned the game on its head in the 79th minute, when all momentum was going the Dolphins' way, scoring a 100-metre try, cleanly collecting a grubber kick and outpacing five Dolphins players on his way to the try line.
North Queensland Cowboys 24 Gold Coast Titans 12
3 - Tom Dearden North Queensland Cowboys(3)
2 - Tino Fa'asuamaleaui Gold Coast Titans(2)
1 - Valentine Holmes North Queensland Cowboys (1)
After back-to-back losses, the North Queensland Cowboys were ready to strike and an all-Queensland affair was the perfect place to do it, taking down the Gold Coast Titans in Townsville.
Alofiana Khan-Pereira drew first blood four minutes into the match exposing the Cowboys with their quick right edge. However, the celebrations didn't last for the Titans losing AJ Brimson and Kieran Foran in the first half, forcing a reshuffle for the side.
The Cowboys took the opportunity and hit the board in the 35th minute going into halftime just two points down. With a depleted bench, the Titans lacked energy in the second, with the Cowboys repeatedly exploiting holes in their defence to put away three tries in the second half and grab their second win of the season.
South Sydney Rabbitohs 13 Manly Sea Eagles 12
3 - Cody Walker South Sydney Rabbitohs(3)
2 - Daly Cherry-Evans Manly Sea Eagles(6)
1 - Jake Trbojevic Manly Sea Eagles(1)
The Manly Sea Eagles were handed their first loss of the season, losing in golden point in a tight low-scoring affair, with the South Sydney Rabbitohs rising to the occasion in honour of club legend John Sattler.
Cody Walker opened the scoring for the match in the 22nd minute after a review from the bunker declared there was space between the ball and the touchline when Walker got a hand down on it. Manly was quick to fire back with Haumole Olakau'atu scoring after a total breakdown of South Sydney's defence.
Daly Cherry-Evans then bested the Rabbitohs' defence in the final minute of the half to put Manly 6-12 up. It was up to Cody Walker to put Souths within shooting distance, scoring his second try for the match in the 49th minute. A 67th-minute penalty goal from Latrell Mitchell levelled the score but his field goal attempt in the final minute of regular time was struck poorly, and Cherry-Evans' attempt at the opposite end moments later was charged down by Damian Cook and sent the match to golden point.
Josh Aloiai will be kicking himself following a drop ball in Manly's first set giving Souths the first real chance at taking the match and it was Lachlan Ilias who demanded the ball and kicked his first career field goal to give the bunnies the win.
New Zealand Warriors 16 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs 14
3 - Shaun Johnson New Zealand Warriors(6)
2 - Jackson Ford New Zealand Warriors(2)
1 - Jazz Tevaga New Zealand Warriors()
Happy to be back home the New Zealand Warriors continued with their disciplined form to take down the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs by two points on Sunday.
Jacob Kiraz combined with Kyle Flanagan and Jake Averillo in the opening minutes to score the first try of the match and the Bulldogs looked even more dangerous when Reed Mahoney executed a brilliant 40-20, but the Warriors were saved by an intercept from Edward Kosi. Viliami Valieva kept the Warriors in it in the first half sending the sides into the break with the Bulldogs just up at 6-8.
With star Lock Tohu Harris out early in the second half, the Warriors were facing their first loss at home for 2023 following a try from Josh Addo-Carr early in the half but Marcelo Montoya and Shaun Johnson saved the day each scoring a try in the final 25 minutes for the Warriors to win the match.
Newcastle Knights 24 Canberra Raiders 14
3 - Dane Gagai Newcastle Knights(6)
2 - Lachlan Miller Newcastle Knights(2)
1 - Tyson Gamble Newcastle Knights(1)
A composed Newcastle Knights were in total command against the Canberra Raiders to claim their second win of the season.
The Raiders' looked in control in the first half with Hudson Young and Jack Wighton scoring early in the half, and Matt Frawley kicking his first two-point field goal to close out the half and send the Raiders into the sheds 8-14 up.
The Knights came out in the second half firing scoring three tries in the first ten minutes in the half to put the side 24-14 up. A Jack Wighton sin bin only made matters worse for the Raiders, with the side missing 45 tackles for the match and coughing up 12 errors by full time to squash any hope of a comeback.
St George Illawarra Dragons 8 Cronulla Sharks 40
3 - Nicho Hynes Cronulla Sharks (3)
2 - Blake Lawrie Cronulla Sharks (4)
1 - Briton Nikora Cronulla Sharks (1)
The lone demolition for the round occurred in its final match when the Cronulla Sharks cracked the 40-point barrier for the first time this season, keeping the St George Illawarra Dragons to just eight points.
Back from injury, Nicholas Hynes made his presence known from the jump, proving to be instrumental as the Sharks ran riot putting seven tries on the board for the match. William Kennedy opened the scoring seven minutes into the match, with the Dragons' Ben Hunt firing back 12 minutes later.
However, it was the second half when the Sharks really took control scoring five tries for the half, with Ronaldo Mulitalo scoring two for the half. The Sharks hardly put a foot wrong dominating every area of the stats sheet running 500 metres further than the Dragons for the match.
Leaderboard
Harry Grant (9)
Payne Haas (7)
=Shaun Johnson (6)
=Dane Gagai (6)
=Daly Cherry-Evans (6)
=Reece Walsh (6)
=Tohu Harris (6)
=Adam Reynolds (6)
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