World News – UA – Melbourne Storm stumbles against Dragons ahead of NRL final

The Melbourne Storm entered the NRL final after a 30-22 loss to St George Illawarra in Kogarah

The result doesn’t affect the Storm’s position on the ladder – they finished second behind the Panthers – but it was a blow to their confidence before meeting Parramatta in week one of the final

The victory marked the end of Tyson Frizell’s career at St George Illawarra, with the New South Wales home state representative scoring two tries before his move to Newcastle

With 12 of their main players still returning to their Sunshine Coast camp ahead of next week’s final, the Storm led 16-6 before letting the game slip in the second half

Both teams scored five tries, but the Storm was left with four missed conversions by substitute skipper Ryan Papenhuyzen, who was otherwise his best

Max King was placed on report for a hip tackle on Blake Lawrie, while Tui Kamikamica could also be under the microscope for a first half shoulder load on Jayden Sullivan

Both players will now face a nervous wait ahead of Saturday’s qualifying final against the Eels at Lang Park in Brisbane

Despite their missing stars, the Storm at one point looked set for an unlikely victory after a dominant Papenhuyzen first half

The full-back set up his first try when he sliced ​​through the Dragons left edge defense and put Paul Momirovski on top

He also threw the last pass for Chris Lewis to score another, this time catching the Dragons’ right edge short with his speed

But after Sandor Earl and Isaac Lumelume also both barred kicks, Frizell’s farewell party began in his 165th and final game for the Dragons.

He ran on a Matt Dufty ball to make it 16-12 at the break, before the Dragons took the lead in the second half via a penalty try against Zac Lomax

McInnes was the player who dropped the grubber that Lomax was chasing, as well as the Dragons next when he burst onto the pitch and knocked down Dufty

Then, after Nicho Hynes put the Storm back in the game when it snapped up, Frizell cemented the Dragons’ victory by winning a kick from Sullivan and scoring.

This meant the Dragons finished 12th in a season where coach Paul McGregor walked and interim Dean Young was beaten by Anthony Griffin to be next year’s replacement

The selfless Warriors ended their nearly five-month stay in Australia with a 40-28 victory over a disappointing Manly at Gosford

Led by local treble hero Adam Keighran, the Warriors ran in eight tries to six in the dead rubber clash, including five in 15 minutes in the first half

Warrior couple Patrick Herbert and Eliesa Katoa also collected two apiece, while couple halves Chanel Harris-Tavita and Kodi Nikorima notched six assists between them.

Windy conditions only kept the Warriors from reaching the half-century milestone on the scoreboard, with Harris-Tevita converting four of his seven scoring attempts

Retired forward Adam Blair changed his final conversion from a wide angle, but that failed to end a winning end to an emotional season that included spending the last 148 days away from home due to coronavirus restrictions

The club’s decision to base players in Australia – due to New Zealand’s border restrictions – has helped keep the NRL season going during the coronavirus pandemic

The Melbourne Storm and two-time premier coach Phil Gould praised the Warriors for their emotional sacrifices

Manly formed an honor guard for the Warriors ahead of kickoff Sunday before posting two tries in the first eight minutes to Reuben Garrick and Corey Waddell

Daly Cherry-Evans produced a sublime cut-loop pass for Garrick to make first blood, but a bungle in the goal with full-back Tevita Funa was the catalyst for a stunning turnaround.

Funa’s fumble resulted in a four-point Nikorima, the first of the five-down blitz which included a brace for second rower Katoa on the right edge

The Warriors have been very successful on the left as well, with Keighran and Herbert squeezing into weak manly defense

The Sea Eagles simply had no response for a frenzied attack from the Warriors, although Cherry-Evans picked up one just before half-time with a clever grubber to have Miski run 40 yards for his first try in career

Miski had two tries in as many minutes when the Warriors made a mistake on the restart, reducing the deficit to eight points

But back-to-back tries against Keighran and a second against Herbert sealed their eighth victory, while Manly duo Taniela Paseka and Brad Parker added four late consolation points

Victory means Warriors end the season 10th on the scale, while Sea Eagles are expected to retire in 11th place

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St George Illawarra Dragons, Melbourne Storm, National Rugby League, Max King, Tyson Frizell