Live Blog: Hanging on for magical win over Cowboys

Red V runners: Clint Gutherson continued his good form for the Dragons with 187 metres from 15 runs while Val Holmes chalked up a stunning 259 metres and broke eight tackles in a vintage display. Moses Suli also busted eight tackles and ran for 140 metres.

Full-time: With Jahream Bula running for 253 metres and Terrell May 162 metres, Wests Tigers move to 5-4 on the season ahead of a massive challenge against the Storm in Round 10. Possession was split evenly between the two sides with 50 per cent each and the completion rates were similar at 78 per cent and 75 per cent. The Dragons made 12 line breaks to two and had 42 tackle breaks to 17 but couldn't turn those into tries when it counted.

80 min: Alex Seyfarth spills the ball as the Tigers look to close out their set and get a kick away. The Dragons come up with one last frantic passing raid but the pass is knocked down by Adam Doueihi and the Tigers cling on.

78 min: Dragons youngster Hamish Stewart snares his first NRL try with a strong charge from close range and Val Holmes converts. Tigers 34-28.

76 min: The Dragons go on the attack but a messy play the ball by Val Holmes lets the Tigers off the hook as the rain buckets down.

75 min: Jarome Luai goes for a field goal to stretch the margin to 13 but he pushes it wide and the Dragons get a seven-tackle set.

72 min: A crucial try for Wests Tigers as Adam Doueihi puts in a dinky little grubber and picks it up himself to score after the Dragons fail to clean it up. Doueihi converts for a 34-22 lead.

68 min: A mistake by Fonua Pole gives the Dragons a chance but Val Holmes hands the ball straight back with a drop on tackle one.

61 min: A penalty against the Dragons for interference in the ruck hands Adam Doueihi a shot at two points which he nails to make it 28-22.

60 min: Jahream Bula flies above Clint Gutherson to pull down a high ball and gets over the line but Corey Allan comes up with a trysaver to deny Bula a double. The decision was sent to the bunker as a 'no try' and the bunker supported that call. Gutherson knocked on in the initial contest so the Tigers get a full set from 10 metres out.

59 min: Good news for the Dragons with Toby Couchman returning to the field after but he comes in for Emre Guler, who has suffered a suspected dislocated shoulder.

56 min: The Dragons go back-to-back with a long range try featuring Val Holmes and Corey Allan down the left wing and finished off by Jacob Liddle. With Holmes' conversion the margin is back to four at 26-22.

51 min: Lyhkan King-Togia gets a grubber into the in goal to earn a line dropout and from the ensuing set the Dragons strike when Jacob Liddle burrows over from dummy half. Val Holmes converts. Wests Tigers 26-16.

48 min: Tigers centre Brent Naden leaves the field with a knee injury.

43 min: A bright start to the second half for the Red V with back-to-back penalties putting them within range and Kyle Flanagan going close but being held up over the line.

Half-time: On the back of a 90 per cent completion rate Wests Tigers look as good as they have all season with Terrell May (nine runs for 85 metres) again showing the way. Jahream Bula's runaway try took his tally to 213 run metres for the half while Val Holmes racked up 128 metres for the Red V.

40 min: The Dragons look set to score for all money but Jaydn Su'A drops the ball as he goes to put it down and Jahream Bula picks it up and races 105 metres for a stunning try. Instead of their lead being cut to four at the break, Wests Tigers go to the sheds ahead 26-10.

35 min: Dragons prop Toby Couchman leaves the field with a shoulder injury.

35 min: Clint Gutherson flirts with the sideline as he tries to deny Jarome Luai a 40-20. Gutho is initially ruled to have touched the sideline but he uses his captain's challenge successfully and the Dragons get possession.

32 min: Jarome Luai stamps his class on the game with a superb left foot grubber for Samuela Fainu to follow through and score. The try came on the back of another powerful surge by Terrell May, his eighth of the night. Adam Doueihi crashes the conversion into the upright to leave the score at 20-10.

29 min: Charlie Staines crosses in the corner after a Jarome Luai high ball was caught by Adam Doueihi who found Samuela Fainu in support and the back-rower sent the final pass to Staines. Wests Tigers 16-10.

24 min: Brent Naden's error in the play the ball puts the Tigers under pressure but an extravagant flick pass by Lyhkan King-Togia goes astray and the opportunity is lost.

21 min: Wests Tigers go right through Jarome Luai, Jahream Bula and Alex Seyfarth, who delivers the final pass for Sunia Turuva to slide over for his ninth try of the season. Adam Doueihi nails the shot from wide out. Wests Tigers 12-10.

19 min: Dragons fullback Clint Gutherson spills a bomb to put his team under pressure.

16 min: On the back of a late offload by Jaydn Su'A the Dragons go left and Val Holmes produces dazzling speed and sleight of hand to leave several Tigers in his wake on a 45-metre run to the line. Holmes fails to convert his own try. Dragons 10-6.

11 min: Wests Tigers hit back as Lachlan Galvin comes up with a magical tip on for Charlie Staines to dive over in the left-hand corner. Adam Doueihi hits the conversion sweetly from touch and we are all tied up at 6-6.

6 min: Dragons debutant Lyhkan King-Togia slips a perfect pass to Dylan Egan to power into a hole to open the scoring. Val Holmes converts. Dragons 6-0.

Late Mail

Wests Tigers: Winger Charlie Staines is set for his first NRL game of the season after Starford To'a was ruled out of Saturday's clash with a neck injury. To'a's injury will see Brent Naden shift to the centres, with Staines to line up on the wing. 

Dragons: Coach Shane Flanagan has turned to young gun Lyhkan King-Togia to wear the No.7 jersey, with Lachlan Ilias dropped to NSW Cup. Winger Sione Finau has also dropped out of the squad and will be replaced by Corey Allan who completes a lengthy comeback from an ACL injury.

Warriors v Cowboys at Suncorp Stadium

Erin and Leka: Warriors forwards Clark and Halasima combined for 35 runs and 331 metres, continually bending the Cowboys line. They also made 73 tackles between them.

Metcalf magic: Playing at his first Magic Round, the Warriors No.7 came up with two tries and five goals to go with 164 run metres and two line breaks.

Full-time: Despite being out on their feet the Warriors hang on for a 30-26 win in front of a raucous crowd of 49,312. With three tries in seven minutes the Cowboys were coming to get them but Luke Metcalf's trysaver and some desperate defensive displays by his teammates secured an emotional win for Andrew Webster's men who now sit equal first on the ladder with a 6-2 record.

77 min: The Cowboys again march into Warriors territory but Jake Clifford comes up with a lost ball in a heavy three-man tackle.

74 min: A loose carry by Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad after catching a bomb puts the Warriors under more heat but Taine Tuaupiki picks off a Jaxon Purdue grubber and runs 50 metres.

72 min: A reprieve for the Warriors when Reuben Cotter puts the ball down with the Cowboys deep on the attack.

70 min: Debutant Sam Healey comes up with a big play to dive on a loose ball as the Warriors try desperately to hang on against the surging Cowboys.

66 min: Luke Metcalf comes up with a last-ditch tackle to deny Murray Taulagi a try after Scott Drinkwater split the Warriors open and found his winger in support. Metcalf's tackle forced Taulagi's leg to go over the sideline as he dived into the corner. Warriors 30-20.

63 min: The Cowboys continue to come hard and force a line dropout and from the next set they go over again when Taine Tuaupiki spills a grubber kick and Jeremiah Nanai grabs the loose ball to dive over and score. Scott Drinkwater converts. Warriors 30-26.

59 min: Murray Taulagi slides into the corner despite the efforts of Kurt Capewell in cover defence and the Cowboys are back within 10 at 30-20.

56 min: A perfectly weighted kick by Jake Clifford sits up for Robert Derby to follow through and score as the Cowboys start the climb back. Scott Drinkwater's conversion misses. Warriors 30-16.

54 min: Warriors centre Rocco Berry leaves the field with a hamstring injury.

48 min: Another mistake by Murray Taulagi inside his own 20m zone gives the Warriors great field position but the Cowboys muscle up and come out of trouble.

44 min: An offside penalty against the Cowboys directly in front gives Luke Metcalf a shot at goal and he bangs it over to make it 30-12. The halfback now has 18 points for the game and 5/7 with the boot.

43 min: Murray Taulagi spills the ball and the referee rules a strip by the Warriors but they challenge the call and the bunker rules there was no stripping action.

Half-time: Luke Metcalf has stolen the show with a magical 40 minutes that included two tries, two line breaks, 150 run metres and seven tackle breaks. Lock Erin Clark also stood tall for the Warriors with 14 runs for 130 metres. Both sides completed high given the wet conditions, the Wahs going 20 of 22 at 90 per cent and the Cowboys completing 14 of 17 at 82 per cent.

40 min: A stunning end to the half with the Cowboys going right in the last set of the half and Adam Pompey picking off a Jake Clifford pass and racing 60 metres to score. The conversion from Luke Metcalf takes his team out to 28-12 at the break.

36 min: The Cowboys lose their captain's challenge after Sam McIntyre is pinged for crowding in the ruck and Tom Dearden unsuccessfully challenges the call. The resulting penalty gives Luke Metcalf another shot at goal but he misses and the margin remains at 10.

32 min: A mistake by Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad as he spills a bomb in the wet conditions gives the Cowboys a shot at points and Tom Dearden shows great strength to power over from close range. Scott Drinkwater converts. Warriors 22-12.

27 min: A blistering run by Luke Metcalf forces a great cover tackle from Scott Drinkwater but in the ensuing set Metcalf takes the ball from 10 metres out and has too much speed for Robert Derby and Viliami Vailea as he crosses for his sixth try of the season. The Warriors No.7 converts his own try and the Warriors are out to 22-6.

23 min: A neat left foot grubber by Chanel Harris-Tavita bounces back up into his arms after a contest for the ball between Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad and Tom Dearden and the Warriors No.6 plunges over. Luke Metcalf converts from close range. Warriors 16-6.

22 min: A misdirected kick by Jake Clifford sails out on the full and the Warriors are invited into the Red Zone.

15 min: The Cowboys hit back when Jaxon Purdue grabs his seventh try of the season after great lead-up work by Scott Drinkwater and Jeremiah Nanai. The conversion from Drinkwater makes it 10-6.

11 min: The Warriors make it a double strike when Luke Metcalf skips to the left and picks up his five-eighth Chanel Harris-Tavita who delivers the final pass for Ed Kosi to score. Metcalf pulls the conversion to the left. Warriors 10-0.

8 min: Cowboys forward Reuben Cotter goes on report for high contact on Marata Niukore.

7 min: Luke Metcalf puts Kurt Capewell into space and then takes the return pass from the back-rower to scoot away for the opening try. The halfback converts to make it 6-0.

6 min: Reece Robson grubbers into the in goal for the Cowboys and a tangle of players ensues in the chase but the ball goes out and the bunker rules there was no interference so the Warriors get a seven-tackle set.

3 min: Luke Metcalf gets the ball down over the tryline but replays showed he was offside on the kick chase and a penalty went to the Cowboys.

 

The Warriors have started the day on a high with the club's Harold Mathews Cup team winning their grand final against the Newcastle Knights.

Late mail

Warriors: A late change an hour before kick-off with hooker Sam Healey called onto the interchange to make his NRL debut with Te Maire Martin sliding to 18th man. Ali Leiataua is out after picking up an ankle injury in Thursday’s field session. In his absence, Adam Pompey moves back into the centres with Edward Kosi being brought in on the left wing. 

Cowboys: The Cowboys are 1-17 with no late changes. Todd Payten goes with the same 17 that defeated the Titans last Saturday.

Rabbitohs v Knights at Suncorp Stadium

Fletcher Sharpe bought the Magic to the Knights at Suncorp Stadium to spearhead Newcastle to their first win since Round 2 with a hatrick of tries on his 21st birthday.

After winning their first two matches, the Knights have struggled for wins and points since but they turned on the razzle dazzle in the opening game of Saturday's Magic Round.

Superstar fullback Kalyn Ponga and NSW Origin centre Bradman Best also starred in the win, as the Knights produced 11 line breaks in a dominant performance before a crowd of 38,602.

Souths have now lost their last four matches as they battle an injury crisis and things got worse as hooker Peter Mamouzelos had to be assisted from the field at fulltime after dislocating his right elbow. Fullback Jye Gray also failed to finish the match.    

67 min: Isaiah Tass has finally given the army of Rabbitohs fans at Suncorp Stadium something to cheer about after Campbell Graham tapped back a Jayden Sullivan kick and Keaon Koloamatagi picked up the ball before passing to the Souths winger. Tass failed to convert his own try from out wide. Knights 30 Rabbitohs 4

62 min: Sharpe got his hat-trick after starting and finishing a movement in which he linked with Ponga and Best to receive a pass back to score. Knights 30-0 

59 min: Things have gone from bad to worse for the Rabbitohs after fullback Jye Gray hobbled from the field with a hamstring injury.

47 min: The Knights have started the second half as they did the first with Bradman Best finishing a 85 metre try after Ponga fielded a kick and passed to his left to the NSW Origin centre before backing up on the inside to receive the ball back. Ponga then passed back outside to Best. Knights 24-0.

Halftime Summary: Knights five-eighth Fletcher Sharpe is having a 21st birthday to remember after scoring two tries in the first half against a South Sydney outfit struggling to get into the contest. Prop Jacob Saifiti ran 114m with the ball in a 25 minute stint, while Kalyn Ponga has been heavily involved.

29 min: It has begun raining heavily at Suncorp Stadium. 

13 min: Halfback Jack Cogger extended Newcastle's try when he was scored after English forward Kai Pearce-Paul burst down the touchline and pushed off Jye Gray with ease. Knights 18-0

11 min: Sharpe scored his second try after beating Sean Keppie out of dummy half and planting the ball on the tryline despite the efforts of Jye Gray and Tevita Tatola. Knights 12-0

7 min: The Knights have had most of the early posession and Fletcher Sharpe made sure it counted when he sprinted onto a Kalyn Ponga grubber kick to score. Ponga converted. Knights 6-0

1 min: We are underway

Team updates

Rabbitohs: No further changes on game day after Lewis Dodd came in for Jack Wighton (calf). The Englishman will line up at five-eighth in his first starting appearance in the NRL. Latrell Mitchell's suspension triggers a significant reshuffle with Jye Gray returning to fullback after a week in the halves, Euan Aitken shifting to centre and Tallis Duncan going from the interchange to back row. Josh Schuster has dropped out an hour before kick-off and Thomas Fletcher is 18th man.

Knights: The Knights are 1-17 with no late changes. Jacob Saifiti and Adam Elliott have been locked in to make their comebacks from calf injuries, with Saifiti at prop and Elliott on the interchange. Tyson Frizell is set to shift to lock as a result and Mat Croker to the bench. Kalyn Ponga has also been cleared to play despite battling a rib cartilage complaint. Centre Dane Gagai will make his 200th appearance for the Knights in the clash. Tyson Gamble will return from a broken nose through NSW Cup on Sunday.