CANTERBURY BULLDOGS	GAME 2	WESTERN SUBURBS MAGPIES
56	Saturday, 24th of July 1999	16
Tries	Referee : Tony Archer	Tries
D Halligan 2	Venue : Campbelltown Sports Ground	J Brooker
R Relf 2	Crowd : 8,267	M Fuller
H El-Masri	Half Time : 24-12 Canterbury	A Donovan
D Smith
B Clyde
T Norton
S Price
Goals		Goals
D Halligan 10/10		Ken McGuiness 1/1
		D Dorahy 1/2
COMMENTS : There was a point in this game that I thought Wests could win. That was how well they played in the first half. David Buko came to the fore with some outstanding runs. The Papua New Guinea representative was exceptional in the first half helping the Magpies to 2 quick tries to take the score to 12-12. However that was al undone by 2 quick replies from the Bulldogs before half time. Then after half time the Bulldogs ran away with it, particularly in the last 15 minutes. It was an overall polished performance from the Bulldogs, but they look to be lacking some real match form.

BALMAIN TIGERS	GAME 3	NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS
20	Saturday, 24th of July 1999	16
Tries	Referee : Brian Grant	Tries
D Senter	Venue : Leichhardt Oval	J Holbrook
C Hancock	Crowd : 8,277	B Mueller
A Nable	Half Time : 10-6 Newcastle	G Grief
Goals		Goals
J Caine 4/4		J Holbrook 2/5
COMMENTS : One of the upsets of the year! Balmain were down 10-0 in the first half, but after an intercept from Mark Lyland followed by a bustling run over the line by Senter they got back into the match and never looked back. The Knights really missed the direction of Andrew Johns and were also without star wingers, Albert and MacDougall. The Knights will also be rueing the chance to take the lead in the premiership race. However you could say that the win was good for the Knights, as if proved that they still have to work a lot harder to challenge for the crown, and especially when they are without their playmaker in one A Johns..

CANBERRA RAIDERS	GAME 4	NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS
30	Saturday, 24th of July 1999	8
Tries	Referee : Mark Oaten	Tries
B Mullins 2	Venue : Bruce Stadium	K Warren 2
L Vainikolo	Crowd : 9,532
J Croker	Half Time : 12-0 Canberra
B Pearson
Goals		Goals
L Williamson 5/6		N Goldthorpe 0/2
COMMENTS : Canberra had little trouble with the Cowboys playing a classy game of footy. They will need to play like this in the next 5 weeks to make the 8, and hope that Brisbane havea hiccup.

MELBOURNE STORM	GAME 5	THE SHARKS
26	Sunday, 25th of July 1999	18
Tries	Referee : Bill Harrigan	Tries
S Kearney 2	Venue : Shark Park	C Best 2
B Anderson	Crowd : 10,016	S Ryan
M Geyer	Half Time : 16-2 Melbourne
R Ross
Goals		Goals
M Geyer 3/5		M Healey 3/4
COMMENTS : The Sharks lost an important game here with yet another opportunity to take first place alone lost. Melbourne were impressive, especially Steve Kearney with 2 tries and a powerhouse game. The Sharks had their chances int his game but just couldn't put the opposition away. This could prove to be their downfall on the way to the finals.

PARRAMATTA EELS	GAME 6	NORTH SYDNEY BEARS
44	Sunday, 25th of July 1999	4
Tries	Referee : Sean Hampstead	Tries
J Dymock 2	Venue : North Sydney Oval	M Buettner
C Schifcofske 2	Crowd : 7,877
D Schifilliti	Half Time : 16-0 Parramatta
D Wagon
M Vella
B Kusto
Goals		Goals
C Schifcofske 6/8		J Taylor 0/1
COMMENTS : The Eels have been very consistant over the last 2 months and came out with last years semi final in their minds. The Bears tried to outmuscle the Eels from the start, but never had the firepower as the Eels wore them down and rolled over them in the second half. There were some outstanding and creative tries in the game, especially from Dymock and Vella. parramatta now lead the competition and look to be very hard to stop as they roll downhill fast to the finals. The Eels have scored 178 points in the last 5 weeks, and it is this attack that has consolidated their awesome defence and made them the team to beat in 99.

AUCKLAND WARRIORS	GAME 7	SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS
20	Sunday, 25th of July 1999	16
Tries	Referee : Paul Simpkins	Tries
O Manuel	Venue : Sydney Football Stadium	B Rodwell
S Jones	Crowd : 7,264	S Garlick
L Swann	Half Time : 10-6 South Sydney	W Richards
T Tuimavave
Goals		Goals
M Ridge 2/3		J O'Neill 2/3
J Simon 0/1
COMMENTS : Souths didn't need this loss. It was going to be one of their easier games on the road to the top 8, but now they look to little chance of making it. On the other hand the Warriors played well and deserved their victory after some close losses recently. Stacey Jones and John Simon were the standouts for the Warriors, whilst Souths Julian O'Neill was the best in the losing side.

PENRITH PANTHERS	GAME 8	SYDNEY CITY ROOSTERS
16	Sunday, 25th of July 1999	14
Tries	Referee : Tim Mander	Tries
S Domic	Venue : Sydney Football Stadium	R Barnett
C Gower	Crowd : 8,149	R Miles
	Half Time : 8-6 Sydney City	A Lam
Goals		Goals
R Girdler 4/4		I Cleary 1/3
COMMENTS : The boot of Girdler got the Panthers home in this match and it was a huge game to win. Sydney City, like many other top teams, have been shown they need more than just quality players to win the premiership in 1999. They need to will and the hunger to win. Penrith had more of both in this game, and it was a sweet victory for them.