Live Blog: Guts and glory again in another tough win

Full-time: After an eventful - and occasionally fiery - second half, the Sharks hold out the Storm to post a 31-26 win. The Sharks won it with a dominant first half and were able to withstand the inevitable Storm second-half fightback. 

Both teams scored five tries apiece, but Hynes was able to convert all five tries, while Papenhuyzen could only convert three. Trindall's field goal in the closing seconds of the first half also gave the Sharks a buffer on the scoreboard. 

The Sharks also had to do it tough, losing two outside backs in the first half, with Sam Stonestreet and Jesse Ramien unable to finish the match. 

Press conferences

Storm

Sharks

80th min: All happening at Sharks Stadium to end the game, with the Storm handed a penalty for contact on Papenhuyzen. Storm have one last role of the dice with Munster putting up a massive high kick which comes down with Mulitalo. Papenhuyzen is then put on for a high shot on the winger on the ground.

71st min: A captain's challenge by the Sharks from Mulitalo, who has been moved to the right side of the field, trying to overturn a ruling of a lost ball in their own 10 is successful.

68th min: Air Coates is in operation again with spectacular try to get the Storm back in the game. The winger flies over the top of Atkinson in style for his hat-trick - looking more like an AFL footballer - and brings the ball down safely to score. Papenhuyzen's conversion is unsuccessful and the score is 31-26. 

66th min: Hynes misses his first kick of the evening when a penalty kick chance is waved away, keeping the scores at 31-22. 

53rd min: It's a game that keeps on giving for fans, with the Sharks halting the Storm momentum by going in for another try. Again, it's the unlikely combination of Talakai to Atkinson out on the right edge, with the former Storm over for his second. Hynes kicks the tricky conversion and it's 31-22 to the Sharks.

47th min: The visitors go back-to-back in quick succession when Will Kennedy lets a kick bounce out the back and the Storm chasers swarm onto it, with Nick Meaney latching onto the ball and running over to score. This time Papenhuyzen slots it and in the blink of an eye, the Storm have narrowed the scores to 25-22. 

44th min: Melbourne had to be the first to score in the second half and they are with Coates picking up his second to start Storm's comeback. Papenhuyzen's conversion hits the uprights and it's 25-16.

Halftime: Braydon Trindall slots a field goal just before the halftime break to put an exclamation point on what has turned out to be a dominant half from the home side. Under pressure early on after giving up the opening try of the match, the kicking game and some hard running from the forwards has helped turn the momentum around well and truly. Sharks head to the break with a 25-12 lead, leaving the Storm with plenty of work to do.

Stats at the break see the Sharks with 55 percent of the possession completing  20/23, compared to 12/16 for Storm. 

36th min: The Sharks have turned around their poor start to the game in style and are over again with KL Iro going over, again on Cronulla's left side with some good lead up work from Mulitalo. Hynes converts for a 24-12 lead. 

32nd min: The Storm hit back quickly with a worked play out to their left side with Xavier Coates going over to score and narrow the margin. Papenhuyzen slots the conversion and it's 18-12 to the Sharks. 

27th min: It's all Cronulla at the moment despite their injury woes and it's Daniel Atkinson over for yet another try. Sifa Talakai is out filling in in the centres and produces a nice flick pass for his makeshift winger to score. Hynes converts for 18-6. 

22nd min: Sharks go in through a powerful run under the posts from Addin Fonua-Blake. Cronulla got a penalty from a dangerous tackle from Stefano Utoikamanu and they capitalise. Hynes converts for a 12-6 lead. 

Injury update: Sam Stonestreet is off the field with an ankle injury and won't return to the game. Ramien has passed his HIA, but also suffered a poke to the eye which will keep him from returning. 

14th min: Jesse Ramien comes off the field for a HIA.

8th min: Cronulla don't take long to respond, with Mulitalo going over with their first opportunity in their attacking area. Halves Nicho Hynes combines with Braydon Trindall who puts in a nice tap on to get the ball out to the left, finding their winger who charges over. Hynes converts and it's 6-6.

5th min: It's all Melbourne early. They get a penalty with the Sharks offside while trying to bring down a kick and the Storm go on the attack in the great position. Grant Anderson goes over for a try untouched from some slick play. Ryan Papenhuyzen converts for a 6-0 lead. 

Kick-off: Action from the get-go with the Storm going on the attack in their first set. They get a penalty when Ronaldo Mulitalo goes high trying to stop Sua Fa'alogo from going over on the right side. 

Late Late Mail

Storm forward Alec MacDonald has sustained a quad injury in the warm up, ruling him out of the game. Joe Chan comes into the side, with Bronson Garlick the new 18th player. 

Late Mail

Sharks: The Sharks will line up as per program with Hohepa Puru the 18th man. Sifa Talakai will make his return from a concussion, but back-rower Teig Wilton won't return from a shoulder injury after dropping out of the squad on Friday. Tom Hazelton will also miss the game after injuring his sternum against the Sea Eagles. Winger Ronaldo Mulitalo has scored 37 tries in 35 games at Sharks Stadium. 

Storm: In a late game-day change, Harry Grant has been named to start at hooker after getting through all the steps to return from his hamstring injury. Bronson Garlick drops out of the squad. Earlier, Nelson Asofa-Solomona was added to the bench 24 hours before kick-off with Joe Chan dropping to 18th man. Tui Kamikamica comes back in after missing Round 10.

Cowboys v Sea Eagles at Queensland Country Bank Stadium

Press conferences

Cowboys 

Sea Eagles 

Fulltime: Manly bounce back into form to claim yet another win against the Cowboys with a 24-6 result. While it was an even game in the first half, Sea Eagles came back in the second, built off the back of their strong defence. Cowboys did have their chances, but were pressured into errors - both sides made 14 - but the Sea Eagles were able to capitalise on their attacking opportunities. 

Tom Trbojevic is also sent to the sin bin for a professional foul with four seconds to go in the match.

76th min: Ben Trbojevic seals it for Manly with a lucky try, getting a pass from Luke Brooks, with the ball bouncing off the shoulder of the defending Jaxon Purdue back into his arms and he charges towards the line to score. Garrick misses this one and it's 24-6. 

70th min: Manly going further in front with a nice looking try, working from their right side back to their left with Lehi Hopoate the man to go over in the left corner. The Sea Eagles were helped on their way by some poor Cowboys discipline, giving up six again on the fifth tackle in the set leading up to the points. Garrick converts again for a 20-6 lead. 

66th min: Reuben Garrick slots a penalty goal to put Manly in front 14-6 after Reece Robson is pinged with an off-side downtown penalty. 

61st min: Plenty happening at Townsville in an interesting game. Haumole Olakau'atu is put on report for a dangerous act when he kicks up in a tackle, accidentally striking Taulagi in the face. Cowboys get a penalty and go on the attack, with Scott Drinkwater getting the ball down on the line, but the try is denied for an obstruction call in the lead up. Scores remain 12-6. 

44th min: Saab has his second try for the Sea Eagles, latching on to a Daly Cherry-Evans kick after leaping over the top of Taulagi to bring the ball down. The Cowboys had done well to earlier hold the visitors out, including an interesting tackle that sent Corey Waddell on a spin around the goal posts to hold him out. Garrick converts and they lead 12-6. 

Halftime: The two teams are locked at 6-6 at the break in a fairly even reflection of the play. The Sea Eagles looked fresher and faster early on, but the Cowboys fought their way back into the game after being on the back foot after conceding the first try. Both sides have also made a number of errors, with six from the Cowboys and eight from Manly, contributing to the 54 percent to 46 percent possession in favour of the Cowboys. Winger Murray Taulagi has the most metres so far for the home side with 120 metres, while Jason Saab has 132 for the Sea Eagles.

37th min: Scott Drinkwater misses a penalty conversion attempt, but the Cowboys still get the back back with a line drop out with Manly clocking off behind the goal posts. 

33rd min: The home side are finally over after knocking on the door for much of the half, with Tommy Dearden involved in getting the ball across to their right side, eventually into the arms of Robert Derby to run in for a four pointer. Scott Drinkwater hooks the over the conversion and it's 6-6. 

27th min: Cowboys are denied a try when Murray Taulagi loses the ball over the line. Manly's defence has been strong so far this afternoon and they are holding on to their 6-0 lead. 

25th  min: Unfortunate scenes with Jake Trbojevic coming down with a heavy head knock and he's off the field after displaying Category One concussion symptoms. 

10th min: Against the run of play, Manly are the first on the board after a ball hits the deck as the Cowboys are attacking 10 metres out, with Haumole Olakau'atu picking up the scraps and sprinting away, finding Jason Saab back on his inside. The winger makes the line easy, but nearly loses it in attempting to put it down, but gets it down safely in the end. Reuben Garrick converts for a 6-0 lead.

Jazz Tevaga is off the field for Manly for a HIA after a heavy collision with Sam McIntyre.

2nd min: End-to-end play early from both sides, with Manly making a break down their left side on their first set, while the Cowboys counter down their left in their first chance with the ball, with young PNG Kumuls centre Zac Laybutt showing some speed in his first NRL game back since doing his ACL in Round 5 last year. 

Kick-off: Manly have first use of the ball in Townsville and will be looking to continue their strong recent run against the Cowboys where they have won six of their past eight games against the Cowboys.

Late Mail

Cowboys: Young gun Jaxon Purdue has shifted from centre to five-eighth in a major shake-up to the North Queensland attack, with Tom Dearden to play halfback and Jake Clifford omitted. Zac Laybutt comes into the centres and is set for his first NRL match since tearing his ACL in Round 5 last year. Cowboys coach Todd Payten revealed on Friday "it was always our long-term plan to have Jaxon as our five-eighth or halfback within the club". Jake Clifford is the 18th man.

Sea Eagles: Veteran prop Matthew Lodge has played two games in NSW Cup in recent weeks and was listed among the reserves as he chases a first NRL appearance since last year' semi-finals but he dropped out of the squad on Friday. Jake Trbojevic has returned to lock as he looks to shore up his NSW Blues jumper. Jazz Tevaga moves back to hooker, with Ethan Bullemor to start at prop and Jake Simpkin shifting to the bench. Michael Chee Kam is 18th man.

Dolphins v Warriors at Suncorp Stadium

Press conferences

Dolphins

Warriors

Fulltime: The Warriors have hung on to defeat the Dolphins 16-12 and extend their winning streak to five consecutive matches.

In a low scoring match, the Warriors dominated the first half to lead 10-0 and went further ahead after rookie forward Jacob Laban scored.

The Dolphins fought back late in the game but the Warriors defence was the difference, with the home side having 20 sets of possession in the second half to just nine sets for the visitors.  

Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow scored and had a hand in another try after Warriors captain James Fisher-Harris was sinbinned for a high tackle, but the Dolphins fell short.

The Warriors remain second on the NRL ladder and face the Raiders next weekend at a sold-out Go Media after three weeks on the road in Australia. 

The loss was compounded for the Dolphins by the loss of captain Tom Gilbert with a pectoral muscle injury. 

80 min: Nikorima kicked behind the Dolphins defence for winger Jack Bostock but he couldn't pick up the ball cleanly and toed it ahead, only to go into touch.

78 min: Farnworth has set up a grandstand finish after Isaiya Katoa and Nikorima combined and Tabuai-Fidow chimed into the backline to create space for the England star to score. Isaako converted from the sideline. Warriors 16 Dolphins 12.

77 min: Warriors captain James Fisher-Harris has been sent to the sinbin for a high tackle on Dolphins interchange forward Harrison Graham.

73 min: Tabuia-Fidow has kept the Dolphins hopes alive after palming off Metcalf and gliding past Capewell to score. Jamayne Isaako converted from out wide. Warriors 16 Dolphins 6.

70 min: Jacob Laban has scored his first NRL try after leaping above Farnworth to snatch a Metcalf kick and post the first points of the second half. Metcalf converted. Warriors 16-0

65 min: The Dolphins are in good attacking position after winning the ball from a Warriors goal line drop out for the first time in four attempts. However, Felise Kaufusi lost the ball attempting to force his way over the tryline.

48 min: Dolphins superstar Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow was denied a try after prop Mark Nicholls knocked the ball forward contesting a kick.

Halftime Summary

The Warriors have capitalised on errors and poor discipline from the Dolphins to take a commanding 10-0 lead at halftime. The Dolphins committed five handling errors, while conceding six penalties and two six-again calls, and the Warriors made them pay. Luke Metcalf is again leading the way for the Warriors, while centre Kurt Capewell is winning his one-on-one battle with English star Herbie Farnworth and captain Mitch Barnett has run more than 100 metre with the ball. The defence of the Dolphins was first rate in the early exchanges, but the weight of possession took its toll. 

40 min: Metcalf missed an attempted two-point field goal just before the halftime siren sounded. 

35 min: Warriors centre Kurt Capewell scored his side's second try after Metcalf beat the attempted tackle of Mark Nicholls, grubbered behind Nikorima and regathered before drawing Herbie Farnsworth to give the former Maroons utility a clear run at the tryline. Warriors 10-0

30 min: Dolphins captain Tom Gilbert has left the field with a pec injury after attempting to stop Niukore from scoring. Maroons coach Billy Slater will be holding his breath, as well as Woolf. 

28 min: Discipline is hurting the Dolphins and the seventh penalty to the Warriors led to the opening try of the match after Warriors forward Marata Niukore charged over to score off a dummy half pass from Wayde Egan. Metcalf converted. Warriors 6-0

25 min: Nikorima is placed on report for a high tackle on Warriors forward Demitric Vaimauga, who has left the field for a HIA. Debutant Tanner Stowers-Smith is on.

19 min: Dolphins five-eighth, and former Warrior, Kodi Nikorima, crossed for the home team after picking up a loose ball following an aerial contest between rival fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow but the try was also disallowed after a review by the Bunker. Tabuai-Fidow was ruled to have knocked the ball into Nicoll-Klokstad.  

15 min: Harris-Tavita was again denied after the Bunker ruled that secondrower Leka Halasima had knocked the ball forward as he leapt to catch a Metcalf kick. Referee Peter Gough awarded the try to Metcalf, who caught the ball after it bounced off Halasima but replays showed it had been knocked on.

12 min: The Dolphins went the length of the field in the following set and Warriors prop Mitch Barnett was forced to clean up a grubber in-goal to force a goal line drop-out. 

10 min: Warriors five-eighth Chanel Harris-Tavita lost the ball over the tryline attempting to get a pass to Roger Tuivasa-Sheck after Adam Pompey batted back a Luke Metcalf kick.

Warriors fans have flocked to Suncorp Stadium to support their team, who are second on the NRL ladder behind the Bulldogs.

"We're so proud of our away from home fans, every time we travel to the Gold Coast or Brisbane," Warriors coach Andrew Webster said.

"In Wollongong last week we had a whole section of Warriors fans, which you don't normally get, but they're really proud of these boys at the moment and we're proud of our supporters."

Pre-game

Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf said his side is looking to build off last weekend's defeat of the Eels. 

"I was impressed with everyone last week. We didn't do with the attack and that's not something we've been able to do all year, so it's a good little turn for us, I thought.

"It's a challenge every week, and we obviously had a tougher start than we wanted, but it's what I expected. 

"You want your best players to stand up, they can do that in so many ways and they did that defensively last week.

"We know that we've got to be physical, ee know we've got to match the Warriors in that department if we're going to be a chance."

Warriors coach Andrew Webster said his team were yet to play at their best, despite winning the last five matches.

"We're playing with a lot of spirit, a lot of toughness, but we're probably not playing our best football at the moment, and we know that, but we're still happy to get the two points.

"If we win today, I'll be happy, but we are chasing the performance as well."

 

Team News

Dolphins: No late changes to the squad that held on to defeat Parramatta last week, with just one minor reshuffle in the forward pack. Ray Stone and Tom Gilbert have switched roles, with Stone to start at lock and Gilbert at second row. Sean O'Sullivan has again been listed as 18th man.

Warriors: A massive boost 24 hours before kick-off with champion centre Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (hamstring) coming into the side in jersey No.22 for his first game since Round 3. Enforcer James Fisher-Harris is also back from a pectoral injury. Bunty Afoa started at prop last week but drops out of the squad while Jackson Ford has been ruled out after suffering a concussion in the victory over the Dragons. Prop Tanner Stowers-Smith becomes the latest of the club's home-grown new breed to make his debut after being promoted to the bench. The 18th man is Eddie Ieremia-Toeava.

Stat attack

• The Dolphins have scored 68 points in two games against the Warriors at Suncorp Stadium.
• The Warriors have won only two of their past eight games at Suncorp Stadium.
• Centre Herbie Farnworth has scored a try in four consecutive games for the Dolphins.
• Warriors halfback Luke Metcalf has scored six tries in his last six games.
• Dolphins fullback Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow has scored seven tries in his last five games at Suncorp Stadium.