The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia • Page 27

26 Sport THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD MONDAY, JUNE 2, 1997 TONIGHTS PREVIEW SUPER LEAGUE BRISBANE 6 Try: Walters. Coal: Lockyer. HUNTER 24 2. Beauchamp 2. Ross.

Goals: Kimrnortey 1. GokJirxxpe 1. since his return that he will have full confidence in his shoulder. And Adamson came through training yesterday with no problems to his knee. The other injury concern was centre Sid Domic, who turned an ankle at training but ran strongly yesterday.

"I don't think we'll get a more important game than this one for the rest of the year," Carter said. "We've had two weeks for this game." At Belmore, coach Chris Anderson is aware of the Panthers' desperation. "They obviously want to get back on the winning bandwagon," he said. There are no secret formulas for playing a desperate team. You just try to exert a little more pressure than normal.

"The big thing with teams that are desperate is you have to keep the pressure on them," Anderson said. "If you let them start running they'll run on you all day. "But they're a pretty tough side. They've got big forwards who like to run a lot of angles. "If we keep them under pressure, well go all right" Adding to Penrith's desperation is the fact that, after tonight, the competition hibernates for three weeks while the World Club Challenge is sorted out.

The Panthers head overseas So much so, the build-up to tonight has been intense. "There won't be any complacency," captain Steve Carter said. "There won't be any excuses." It's not quite the stuff of grand finals, but you get the drift. Since Greg Alexander underwent a foot operation after the first tri-series match, the Panthers have struggled to maintain their early-season form. Carter was missing through a shoulder dislocation and Matt Adamson has had troubles with his knee.

Now, not only is Carter back, but tonight will be the first time and are keen to go away with the impression that things are beginning to turn. Already they are aware that Alexander will be available, come the return to competition. "Everyone's form has dropped a bit since the start of the year," Carter said. "We haven't been playing well as a team, there are probably only two or three blokes who are going OK, and it is different ones each week. "But we don't want to go away with a loss." As expected, the Panthers have spent much of their time knuckling down on their defence.

It is a problem that has At Topper Stadium, Newcastle. Crowd: 7.124. Referee: Annesley. CR0NULLA24 Tries: A Ettingshausen 2. plagued the Super League competition somewhat The Panthers have had little trouble scoring points but have struggled to keep them out And if Canterbury remain switched on for the full 80 minutes it will be a difficult puzzle to solve.

The Dogs have been relentless at times in defence, but occasionally lapse to allow their opposition a quick flurry of tries. "The only thing we can concentrate on is being confident with our own game and if we do enough well win," Anderson said. Come tonight, anything may happen. Raiders' secomd wind Gifts Ramus Peachey. Ben.

Goals: Rogers 4. Goal: Phillips. AS Stockiand Stadium. Townsville. Crowd: 16.095.

Referee: Mander. CANBERRA 34 Tries: Nagas. Lightning. W.ki. Daley.

A McFadden, Kennedy. Goals: Fumer 5. At Adelaide Oval. Crowd: 13.834. Referee: Clark.

PERTH 24 AUCKLAND 12 Tries: Horan, Dayf-ght. Tries: Hoppe, Eru. W.lson. Chapman. Goals: Ngamu 2.

At WACA Ground. Perth. Crowd: 10.203. Referee: Harrigan. pmutuif AUSTRALIAN RUGBY LEAGUE rr zzz umi Art W-ltfw' 7,4 t.

PARRAMATTA 25 Tries: Whereat 2. Kelly Barnes. Simon. Goals: Stmon 2. Simon 1 field goal.

At North Sydney Oval. Crowd: 13.281. Referee: Manson 1 BALMA1N14 Tries: Kennedy. Langaloa. Goals: Withers 3.

At Brookva'e Oval. Sydney. Crowd: 6.068. Referee: Simpkins. ST GEORGE 20 Tries: Bartnm.

Coyne, A Brunker. Ward. Goals: Bartnm 2. At Kogarah Crowd: 6.125. 1 NTH QUEENSLAND 10 Tries: Mahon 2.

ADELAIDE 18 Tries: McGuire, Mamando, Stone. Goals: Williamson 3. NORTH SYDNEY 14 Tries: Dallas. Buettner, Caruana. Goal: Taylor.

MANLY 10 Tries: Serdaris. Toovey. Goal: Field. NEWCASTLE 18 Tries: Albert 2. 0 Craigie.

Goals: Dynevor 3. Oval. Sydney. Referee: Hewitt. to play tonight.

if i i CI 2 By PAUL KENT Penrith have been preparing for tonight's match against Canterbury at Belmore for two weeks, courtesy of the Super League format The Panthers did not play last week, enabling coach Royce Simmons an extra week to prepare his team for what the club is calling their most important match of the season. After a bright start heading the competition in its early days, Penrith's fortunes have nosedived. Over the top St George 20-18 win at Kogarah Ova! JUL By ROY MASTERS A duel between two wingers was the absorbing sideshow to a game at Kogarah Oval yesterday that had all the elements of a ride on the Big Dipper. Error and redemption surged like an electric current with the highs and lows of the game closely related to the performances of Newcastle right-winger Darren Albert and his opposite, Adrian "Archie" Brunker. The Knights led 10-6 at the interval; the game levelled out at 10-all in the 43rd minute; the Dragons were ahead 20-12 midway through the second half; but Newcastle almost overshot St George in the final minute.

Brunker was one of four former Newcastle players in the St George team, adding exhilaration to the contest. The rivalry between "Archie" and Albert was almost comicbook, with each taking turns to be Neither had much to do with the first try, a 40-metre run by Newcastle centre Owen Craigie. Craigie ran like a dodgem car, bouncing off five vehicles of a different colour before being shunted by a sixth over the line. St George retaliated, enjoying the momentum from successive penalties and executing a tap move that had more surprises than a trip on the ghost train. Five-eighth Jeff Hardy showed the ball to a couple of decoys before finally slipping it to lock Wayne Bartrim.

Between both tries, Archie and Albert had begun their spirited dueL Brunker arrived first to a kick yS nrs A Pts 12 8 2 2 270 197 18 Nortn Sydney 12 7 1 4 272 184 15 Newcastle 11 7 4 236 166 14 Sydney City 12 7 5 268 199 14 Parramatta 12 7 5 200 201 14 Western Suburbs 12 6 6 172 177 12 StGeorge 12 6 6 200 220 12 Ibarra 12 4 3 5 228 206 11 Gold Coast 12 5 1 7 229 248 11 Balmam 12 5 7 173 192 10 South Sydney 11 3 1 7 181 316 7 South Queensland 12 2 10 189 312 4 forward Wayne Bartrim makes sure Newcastle centre Owen Craigie is aware of his yesterday. By AAP and STEVE MASC0RD Canberra and Ricky Stuart continued to be consistent yesterday. For the Raiders, their 34-18 win over the Rams at Adelaide Oval was the fifth in succession, in a revival that has carried them from Super League's cellar to the premiership contenders most observers thought they would be. For Stuart, his decision to pull out before kick-off with a groin injury suffered at training the day before continued a frustrating, interrupted season. The former Test halfback missed the entire tri-series and a trans-Tasman Test with a knee injury and is now in doubt for the first extended World Club Challenge, which kicks off in Australia, England and France next weekend.

Youngster Andrew McFadden stepped into the breach yesterday and excelled as the Raiders withstood a comeback from the Rams and then ran away with the game once more at the death. Centre Ruben Wiki sparked the comeback with a touchdown out wide after Adelaide conceded a string of penalties. Ken Nagas stretched Canberra's lead when he pounced on a ball spilt by Adelaide winger Michael Maguire, before Laurie Daley sealed the victory with a late try. Adelaide winger Danny Grimley gave the home side a glimpse of hope when he set sail for the line in the 68th minute, but was denied a try by fullback Brett Mullins who bundled him into touch, only to be injured in the tackle and taken from the field on a stretcher. Canberra's second-half revival was in stark contrast to the first term, when the Raiders raced to a 14-0 lead only to let the Rams back into the match.

Three tries in the last 20 minutes of the first half by Bruce Mamando, Maguire and Steve Stone allowed Adelaide to go to the break leading 18-14. The Raiders had started well, McFadden laying on two tries for Ben Kennedy and scoring one himself within the opening 20 minutes. But skipper Kerrod Walters won a scrum against the head 20 minutes into the game to set up Adelaide's first-half comeback. Canberra coach Mai Men-inga attributed their win to a vastly improved kicking game in the second half. "We controlled the ball and forced Adelaide to defend for long periods of time," he said.

"We had a better kicking game and the chasers to back it up." Adelaide coach Rod Reddy said his team had shown an improvement on last week's heavy loss to Canterbury but was still a long way short of reaching its best "It was much better than last week, but we're still lacking concentration and are coming up with errors," he said. "We had three balls stolen. It was one-on-one stuff and you can't do that" A boost for Canberra was the successful return from injury of utility Jason Croker, who was pitched into the game midway through the second half. Croker looked tentative at first but quickly found confidence and contributed to the Raiders' late rear-guard action. Canberra goes into the three-week recess in the domestic competition in fourth position with seven wins.

The Rams, who are eighth, have registered four wins and a draw in their fledgling season. Both clubs are at home for the first three rounds of the World Club Challenge. Adelaide host Salford and Canberra entertain Halifax both on Sunday. The novelty of international opposition is tipped to be a big bit with Adelaide fans, 13,894 of whom turned out for yesterday's game even though the Rams haven't won at home since round five. Denotes deferred game to play.

Best behaviour needed from code A Pts Bnshane 12 9 1 2 288 181 19 CronuHa 12 7 5 229 161 14 Canterbury 11 7 4 284 249 14 Canberra 12 7 5 276 246 14 Pemth 11 6 5 259 245 12 Perth 12 6 6 209 252 12 Hunter 12 5 7 256 224 10 Adelaide 12 4 1 7 207 268 9 North Queensland 12 3 2 7 192 277 8 Auckland 12 3 9 183 280 6 be broken? Will there be a mid-air wrestling match high above the Indian Ocean, similar to the exhibition Australian Football League club Footscray perpetrated some years ago? Or a repeat of the behaviour of "in his cups" coach of Australian Institute of Sport coach Gennadi Touretski, who had to be restrained on a flight to Hawaii and was later sentenced to a month in a Honolulu slammer? Super League will say their players are all fine young men incapable of such behaviour and will point to the fact the Mariners plan to spend their time at the Louvre. Let's hope they're right. With the Australian Rugby League charging $53 for State of Origin tickets and Balmain's Tim Brasher asking for a million dollars, the code can't cop a food fight up the pointy end of the plane. ROY MASTERS The two worst things in football are: firstly, that people think 30-year-old players on $500,000 a year have to be locked up the night before a game. And secondly? They're right.

The test of this will be over the next three weeks, when 1 0 teams travel halfway around the world. Five Super League clubs will travel to England and five English clubs will journey to Australia. Jetting south will be Halifax, London, Leeds, Wigan and Salford. Travelling north will be Penrith, Cronulla, Hunter Mariners, Auckland and Perth. The other five English premier league teams will have their opportunity to jet south later in the season, at the same time as the other half of the Australian Super League wings north.

Journalistic muggers already have their keyboards at the ready, prepared to cosh out tales of the expected atrocities. ill David Boon's beer-can consumption record Denotes TJ presence during the Dragons' Photograph by craig golding emerging unscathed from the Haunted House. They all ran back to half-way, forgetting that Bartrim was off the field and unable to convert. The referee, Matt Hewitt, chased after them like some attendant collecting tickets, informing them a kick awaited. Clinch missed.

Albert came back with a try seven minutes from the end when centre Matthew Gidley tapped on a pass for 20-18 and a thrilling finish. With seconds left, the ball travelled along the Newcastle right wing yet again. Gidley threw the ball outside but to the Invisible Man, bouncing it over the side line. Albert, aware that the St George defence had changed to slide, had looped behind Gidley, expecting his centre to throw the ball back inside. "If I had stayed on the wing, I had maybe a metre of room," Albert later said.

"It would have been a tip-toe down the sideline." after admitting relief at the wrong option, said of the young winger who was unknown to him when he played in Newcastle "He wasn't on the scene then. I've heard plenty about him since." Aware that Albert has signed with Super League club, the Hunter Mariners, "Archie" made a comment which offered the best hope for a divided game, a remark which actually means something as officials posture and position themselves, pretending peace is a possibility. "He went well," he said. "I was happy with his game. "I'm not supposed to be happy with his game but I was." FRIDAY: Kawarrai Batman at WIN Stadium (7.30pm).

Bnstane London at AZ Stadsum (7.30pm). SATURDAY: St He'-ens AjcHand at Knowsley Road (4.30am). Gokl Coast South Sydney at Carrara Stadium (3pm). North Qjeer.siand Leeds at Stockiand Stadium (7.30pm). SUNDAY: Canberra Haifa at Bruce Stadium (2.30pm).

Ade'axie Sa-fort at Adctede Oval (2.30pm). Paframatta South Queensland at Parramatta Stadium (3pm). Pars Hjrter at Charity Stadium (midnight). MONDAY: CastJeford PerSi et Road (12.30am). Wamrgron CronuHa at WkJerspoo! (3.35am).

Cartertsury Wgan at BeSmore Sports Ground (7.30pm). TUESDAY: Bradord Penrih at Odsai Stadium (4.45am). I r.mr.iiL in-goal but he fumbled it St George almost took the lead when hooker Nathan Brown kicked high and "Archie" gathered the ball. However, Albert pinned his arms and, as the two fell in-goal, the Newcastle winger rolled Brunker on his back, preventing him from forcing it. 1 "Archie" later said: "He latched on like a terrier and I couldn't get the ball down." Newcastle scored when Albert went over in the corner after a scrum.

He pushed off Hardy first, then centre Jim Lenihan (who replaced captain Mark Coyne) during his 20-metre run. "Archie" was left open-mouthed, like one of those porcelain clowns in sideshow alley. "You can't show him a 10-metre corridor where he is unmarked," he said later. when the enemy intimidate. The game climbed to its next peak when St George scored after a long run by right winger Mark Bell.

Bell, stretching out of tackles like the Indian Rubber man, was tackled short of the line. In the long linking action of the ball which followed, Bartrim cut out three supports, finding Coyne who had bravely returned to the field. The Dragons could have gone further ahead when "Archie" easily beat Albert and passed inside to Treacy, who dropped the ball. Treacy redeemed himself in the 62nd minute when he deftly passed the ball to prop Colin Ward who crashed over for a 20-12 lead. The Dragons, who had won only one match in their previous five, were as excited as kids The try forced St George to change their defensive pattern.

They had spent the first half playing an up-and-in style, trying to chop off the movement of the ball wide but Albert had managed to get outside the trap. A slide style was preferred for the second half, ensuring there were plenty of defenders to stand in front of the speedy Newcastle flankman. The first time "Archie" and Albert met in the second half was when St George half Gavin Clich kicked a ball high and, as Brunker caught it, he swivelled away from his opposite, ensuring that when he did land, the ball was underneath him. Newcastle moved ahead when half Leo Dynevor kicked a penalty after an infringement by second-rower Darren Treacy, an ex-Newcastle lad who should behave more like Dick Tracy CAXTEKCURY: Rod S.N3: Hazem Masrf. Matt Ryan, John Timu, Daryl Hi' gsn; Cra Pof-aWxmtef Duncan McRae; Simon Gillies (c), Solomon Haursono.

Steven Pnce. Newton. Robert Mears, Daren EntL Reserves: Barry Ward. Robert Relf. POifSTH: Pttef Joensen; Jason Williams.

Sd Domic, Ryan Girdler, Andrew H.rson; Steve Carter (c). Cra Gower; Jody Gall. Tony Puletua, Watt Adarrson. Cart McNamara. Danny Farrar, Phil Adamson.

Reserves: Darren Brown, Afoa, Bobby Thompson. Referee: Bran Grant.