From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Round 1 saw quite a number of upsets, and most games were very closely contested.
- Many records were broken in this round. The Cowboy's Matt Sing scores his 150th try in first-grade, the sixth player to do so. Canterbury's Hazem El Masri scored 34 points, a club record; and Andrew Johns broke his own club record with 30 points for Newcastle.
- The extremely hot conditions on the Sunday afternoon of this round affected two games in particular. In Wollongong, a slow-moving, somewhat sloppy game saw St George Illawarra in their first ever period of golden point extra time, going down to Penrith by the narrowest of margins. On the other hand, at Canberra, an all-time premiership record 102 points were scored between Newcastle and Canberra. This surpasses the previous record of 97 points scored in St. George's 91-6 defeat of Canterbury in 1935.
Surprisingly, many of the scores from this round were quite one-sided.
| Winning team |
Winning team score |
Win. Tries |
Win. Goals |
Def. team |
Def. team score |
Def. Tries |
Def. Goals |
Ground |
Date |
Referee |
Crowd |
| Newcastle Knights |
46 |
Thaiday 3, Carney, Buderus, M Gidley, Lowrie |
Johns 9/10 |
Canterbury Bulldogs |
22 |
El Masri, Emelio, Mason, Hughes |
El Masri 3/4 |
EnergyAustralia Stadium |
Friday, 24th March |
Steve Clark |
25,504 |
| New Zealand Warriors |
26 |
Ropati, Webb, Toopi, Vatuvei, Guttenbiel |
Martin 3/5 |
Wests Tigers |
10 |
Crockett, Fitzhenry |
Hodgson 1/2 |
Jade Stadium |
Saturday, 25th March |
Russell Smith |
21,346 |
| Manly Sea Eagles |
20 |
B.Stewart, Burns, Bell |
Orford 4/4 |
Cronulla Sharks |
18 |
Dykes, Albert, Bailey |
Covell 3/4 |
Brookvale Oval |
Saturday, 25th March |
Sean Hampstead |
13,114 |
| North Queensland Cowboys |
40 |
Thurston 2, Sweeney, O'Donnell, Williams, Bowman |
Thurston 8/8 |
Melbourne Storm |
8 |
Geyer, Webster |
Smith 0/2 |
Dairy Farmers Stadium |
Saturday, 25th March |
Paul Simpkins |
14,675 |
| St George Illawarra Dragons |
44 |
Gasnier 3, Best. Millard, Gorrell, Hornby |
Gorrell 8/8 |
South Sydney Rabbitohs |
14 |
Gordon, Rigon, Merritt |
Merritt 1/3 |
Telstra Stadium |
Sunday, 26th March |
Jason Robinson |
16,049 |
| Brisbane Broncos |
30 |
Tupou 2, Lockyer, Hodges, Hunt, Stagg |
Ennis 2/5, Parker 1/1 |
Parramatta Eels |
10 |
Vella, B Smith |
Burt 1/2 |
Suncorp Stadium |
Sunday, 26th March |
Tony Archer |
25,525 |
| Sydney Roosters |
56 |
Roberts 2, Minichiello 2, Tupou 2, Soliola, Finch, Cross, Harrison |
Fitzgibbon 6/8, Roberts 2/2 |
Canberra Raiders |
20 |
Tongue 2, Howell, Withers |
Schifcofske 2/4 |
Aussie Stadium |
Sunday, 26th March |
Shayne Hayne |
9,826 |
The second golden point game of the season occurred on the Saturday of this round. Penrith were once again level with their opponents after 80 minutes, however this time their opponents (Canberra) were the first to score in extra time.
| Winning team |
Winning team score |
Win. Tries |
Win. Goals |
Def. team |
Def. team score |
Def. Tries |
Def. Goals |
Ground |
Date |
Referee |
Crowd |
| North Queensland Cowboys |
26 |
Sing 2, Scott, Faiumu |
Thurston 5/6 |
Parramatta Eels |
18 |
McKinnon 2, Grothe |
Riddell 2/3, Delaney 1/1 |
Parramatta Stadium |
Friday 31st March |
Paul Simpkins |
14,131 |
| Cronulla Sharks |
24 |
Scott, Douglas, Latu, Thompson, Bailey |
Covell 2/5 |
South Sydney Rabbitohs |
22 |
Polglase, Sutton, Mellor ,Merritt |
Merritt 1/2, Williams 2/2 |
Toyota Park |
Saturday 1st April |
Shayne Hayne |
12,274 |
| Manly Sea Eagles |
30 |
B.Stewart, Matai, Bell, Orford, Burns |
Orford 5/5 |
Sydney Roosters |
22 |
Soward, Morley, Minichiello. |
Fitzgibbon 3/3, Roberts 2/2 |
Brookvale Oval |
Saturday 1st April |
Tony Archer |
17,117 |
| Canberra Raiders |
21 |
Mogg 2, Learoyd-Lars, Howell |
Schifcofske 2/4. Field Goal - Schifcofske.) (in golden point extra time - field goal to Canberra) |
Penrith Panthers |
20 |
Hookey, Lewis, Pritchard, Wesser |
Campbell 2/5 |
Canberra Stadium |
Saturday 1st April |
Gavin Badger |
9,399 |
| Wests Tigers |
30 |
Fitzhenry 3, Elford 2, Laffranchi, Whatuira |
Hodgson 1/7 |
Melbourne Storm |
28 |
Slater 2, Inglis, Hoffman, Cronk |
Smith 4/5 |
Leichhardt Oval |
Sunday 2nd April |
Jason Robinson |
17,803 |
| St George Illawarra Dragons |
26 |
Price, Hornby, Gorrell, Isemonger |
Gasnier 1/1, Gorrell 4/5 |
Brisbane Broncos |
12 |
Webcke, Boyd |
Ennis 2/2 |
WIN Stadium |
Sunday 2nd March |
Sean Hampstead |
13,708 |
| New Zealand Warriors |
26 |
Tuimavave, Vatuvei, Rovelli, Fien |
Martin 5/5. |
Newcastle Knights |
22 |
M Gidley 2, Lowrie, Simpson |
K Gidley 2/4 |
EnergyAustralia Stadium |
Sunday 2nd April |
Russell Smith |
18,359 |
| Winning team |
Winning team score |
Win. Tries |
Win. Goals |
Def. team |
Def. team score |
Def. Tries |
Def. Goals |
Ground |
Date |
Referee |
Crowd |
| North Queensland Cowboys |
32 |
Jensen 2, Thurston, Sing, Cooper. |
Thurston 6/7. |
Wests Tigers |
12 |
Marshall, De Gois. |
Hodgson 2/3. |
Dairy Farmers Stadium |
Friday 7th April |
Steve Clark |
20,262 |
| Brisbane Broncos |
30 |
Tupou 2, Lockyer, Boyd, Hodges. |
Parker 5/7, Seymour 0/2. |
South Sydney Rabbitohs |
12 |
Mellor, Merritt. |
Merritt 2/2. |
Suncorp Stadium |
Saturday 8th April |
Gavin Badger |
20,816 |
| Sydney Roosters |
28 |
Roberts, Tupou, Wing, Finch, Harrison. |
Fitzgibbon 4/6. |
Cronulla Sharks |
24 |
Simmons, Kimmorley, Scott, Covell. |
Covell 4/4. |
Toyota Park |
Saturday 8th April |
Sean Hampstead |
12,331 |
| Newcastle Knights |
54 |
Carmont 2, Carney, Thaiday, Johns, Brown, K Gidley, Buderus, Quinn. |
Johns 9/10. |
St George Illawarra Dragons |
6 |
Best. |
Gorrell 1/1. |
WIN Stadium |
Saturday 8th April |
Tony Archer |
17,367 |
| Manly Sea Eagles |
22 |
Bell 2, Hicks. |
Orford 5/5. |
New Zealand Warriors |
8 |
Martin 2. |
Martin 0/2. |
Ericsson Stadium |
Sunday 9th April |
Russell Smith |
7,888 |
| Canterbury Bulldogs |
30 |
Cutler, Ryan, Patten, Emelio. |
El Masri 7/7. |
Canberra Raiders |
12 |
Carney 2. |
Schifcofske 2/2. |
Canberra Stadium |
Sunday 9th April |
Jason Robinson |
12,125 |
| Penrith Panthers |
44 |
Wesser 2, Campbell, Gower, Rodney, Hookey, Luke Priddis. |
Campbell 8/9. |
Parramatta Eels |
18 |
Tahu 2, Taia, Widders. |
Riddell 1/2, Delaney 0/2. |
Parramatta Stadium |
Sunday 9th April |
Shayne Hayne |
14,194 |
A very rare event occurred in Round 6 - a referee was injured during a match. In the 28th minute of the Newcastle vs Nth Qld match, referee Paul Simpkins blew time off and made his way off the field with an injured calf muscle. A replacement referee was organised - Tony Des Las Heras, who had refereed the Jersey Flegg (third-tier competition) match earlier, was brought onto the field to take control of the rest of the match.
Also, for the first time in 8 years, first grade competitive rugby league returned to Adelaide after the Adelaide Rams were not closen to be included in the competition after the 1998 season. The Penrith Panthers hosted the Melbourne Storm at Hindmarsh Stadium, which was won by Melbourne 40-18. However, Rugby league officials were hoping for an attendance of at least 10,000, and were disappointed with the attendance of only 7,017.
| Winning team |
Winning team score |
Win. Tries |
Win. Goals |
Def. team |
Def. team score |
Def. Tries |
Def. Goals |
Ground |
Date |
Referee |
Crowd |
| Brisbane Broncos |
24 |
Thaiday, Eastwood, Civoniceva, |
Parker 6/6. |
Sydney Roosters |
6 |
Roberts |
Roberts 1/1 |
Aussie Stadium |
Friday 14th April |
Steve Clark |
21,246 |
| St George Illawarra Dragons |
26 |
Cooper 2, Young, Bickerstaff |
Head 5/5 |
Manly Sea Eagles |
24 |
Kennedy, Robertson, B.Stewart, Kite |
Matt Orford 4/5 |
Brookvale Oval |
Saturday 15th April |
Shayne Hayne |
18,069 |
| Canberra Raiders |
18 |
Tongue 2, Withers |
Schifcofske 3/3 |
New Zealand Warriors |
14 |
Webb, Koopu |
Martin 3/4 |
Canberra Stadium |
Saturday 15th April |
Gavin Badger |
7,174 |
| Melbourne Storm |
40 |
Inglis 3, King, Smith, Hoffman, Crocker |
Smith 6/8 |
Penrith Panthers (H) |
18 |
Hookey 3, Galea |
Campbell 1/4 |
Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide |
Saturday 15th April |
Tony Archer |
7,017 |
| Wests Tigers |
42 |
Crockett 2, Whatuira 2, O'Hara, Galea, Trimarchi |
Hodgson 6/7, Prince 1/1 |
Cronulla Sharks |
16 |
Kearney, Simmons, Vagana |
Covell 2/3 |
Campbelltown Stadium |
Sunday 16th April |
Jason Robinson |
15,550 |
| North Queensland Cowboys |
18 |
Sargent, Thurston, Bowen |
Thurston 3/3 |
Newcastle Knights |
16 |
M Gidley, Carmont, Buderus |
Johns 2/3 |
EnergyAustralia Stadium |
Sunday 16th April |
Paul Simpkins, Tony Des Las Heras |
26,048 |
| Canterbury Bulldogs |
26 |
Hughes, Tonga, Patten, Ryan |
El Masri 5/6 |
South Sydney Rabbitohs (H) |
18 |
Merritt, Galuvao, Sutton |
Merritt 3/3, Sutton 0/1 |
Telstra Stadium |
Monday 17th April |
Russell Smith |
19,529 |
(H) denotes home team at a neutral or shared venue.
"(H)" denotes home team playing at opposition's usual home venue
"(H)" denotes home team at a neutral venue
New Zealand had the bye
- Parramatta played their first game under stand-in coach Jason Taylor, following Brian Smith's resignation earlier in the week[1]. Following this announcement, star Parramatta players Mark Riddell and Tim Smith were fined $5000 each and relegated to Premier League by Parramatta after turning up to Monday morning training intoxicated[2].
- All six home teams won their respective matches over the weekend.
- Cronulla Sharks hooker Tevita Latu is stood down from the club on Monday 22nd May after claims from 19-year-old Brooke Peninton that the player punched her in the face[3]. After being arrested on late on Monday, he was granted police bail to face Sutherland Local Court on June 15[4]. He was later sacked by the Cronulla club and deregistered by the National Rugby League the following Wednesday.
- The South Sydney Rabbitohs were able to record their first victory for the 2006 season, taking advantage of Brisbane's depleted line-up due to State of Origin commitments to prevail 34-14 at Telstra Stadium. A crowd of just 6,537, the smallest crowd to date in 2006, braved the cold, wet weather to witness this intriguing game.[5]
- St George Illawarra hooker Shaun Timmins is charged by Brisbane police on Saturday 17th June for "being a public nuisance". Having not even played in the Dragon's match against the Brisbane Broncos the night earlier, it was alleged Timmins sat on a street sweeper whilst making his way back to his hotel room at around 3:30am. Early reports quote the club's chief executive Peter Doust as saying that Timmins was not intoxicated at the time as far as he was aware[6]. Media figures later summed this up as an over-reaction and, while not encouraging Timmins' actions, noted that it was an act of larrikinism rather than malice.
- Wests Tigers' five-eighth Benji Marshall dislocated his right shoulder yet again, which ended his season. In other news, the Sydney Roosters' Craig Fitzgibbon and Brett Finch got into a swearing match during their match against Canberra.