Sydney: Manly Sea Eagles held off Gold Coast 15-12 to stay ahead of National Rugby League title rivals South Sydney on Sunday.
The Sea Eagles recovered from the previous week`s loss to Souths to clinch victory over the Titans with tries from Kieran Foran and Brett Stewart.
Gold Coast, playing under caretaker coach Neil Henry for the first time after the sacking of John Cartwright, were brave but have now slipped to four straight losses and eight consecutive defeats at home.
Test star Greg Inglis put on a masterclass to lead South Sydney to a 42-16 demolition of the Brisbane Broncos on Thursday, reaffirming the Rabbitohs` title favouritism.
Inglis scored three tries as Souths temporarily jumped to the top of the NRL standings and all but extinguished the Broncos` top-eight hopes.
The Sydney Roosters are third on the standings after brushing aside woeful Wests Tigers 48-4.
Seven days after going down 64-6 to North Queensland in Townsville, the injury-hit Tigers capitulated in the second half as the defending champions ran in eight tries in 36 minutes.
Penrith are at home to the North Queensland Cowboys on Monday and are two points clear of Melbourne Storm, who thrashed bottom team Cronulla Sharks 48-6 in Melbourne.
The Storm`s title aspirations stalled last round with a shock loss to Newcastle but they scored six tries in the opening half for a 30-0 lead over the Sharks to reaffirm their status as one of the competition`s danger sides.
Canterbury bounced back from four defeats to hold on for an 18-16 win over rivals Parramatta at the Olympic Stadium, while Knights rookie winger Sione Mata`utia scored a hat-trick of tries in Newcastle`s 28-22 win over New Zealand Warriors at Hunter Stadium on Sunday.
John Morris scored three tries as St George Illawarra ended a 14-season hoodoo in the nation`s capital with a 34-16 victory over Canberra.
AFP
First Published: Sunday, August 17, 2014, 15:19
