Melbourne Storm thump Wests Tigers 66-16 as St George Illawarra, Newcastle post NRL wins

The Melbourne Storm have scored a staggering 12 tries as they embarrassed the Wests Tigers 66-16 on the Sunshine Coast.

Earlier, St George Illawarra beat Canberra 22-20 and Newcastle got home 10-6 against the Warriors.

Check out how the action unfolded in our ScoreCentre.

Storm vs Wests Tigers

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Dragons squeeze home against Raiders

The NRL has asked Canberra for a please explain after Xavier Savage was illegally handed his debut in the Raiders’ controversial loss to St George Illawarra in Wollongong.

Savage was allowed on for 12 minutes after half-time when he should not have been on the field, before NRL officials called the ground to have him removed.

Acting as 18th man, Savage was brought on as a concussion replacement at the start of the second half after Sebastian Kris was hit high just before the break.

Jack Bird was put on report for the incident, prompting the Raiders to believe they could enact their extra man.

But under NRL rules, replacement players are only allowed when there have been three failed HIAs or the foul play resulted in a sin-bin or send off.

Raiders officials have since claimed that the NRL’s interchange official allowed the 19-year-old to go on the field when they handed them the HIA card.

Savage had one run for nine metres before NRL management phoned the sidelines and ordered him off with Canberra having illegally used 18 players.

It capped off a bizarre night where the wind was so strong that kick-offs struggled to go 10 metres and bombs flew backwards.

Dragons debutant Tyrell Sloan showed glimpses of why the Dragons consider him a star of the future, scoring a crucial try just after half-time.

After the Raiders shot out to a 20-6 lead just after the break, Ben Hunt put the Dragons back in it when he ran the ball on the last and Gerard Beale capitalised.

Then Sloan worked his magic.

Just two weeks after his 19th birthday, he chipped for Corey Norman on the last tackle and then backed up on his own play to bag his first NRL try from his five-eighth.

Norman later scored the go-ahead try with 12 minutes to play, after Jack de Belin went to the line to help Paul Vaughan put the five-eighth over.

But there was one last drama, with Semi Valemei ruled to have gone out after a seemingly illegal second effort by Dragons defenders with a minute to play and Canberra on the attack.

It could at least save the NRL and Raiders some blemishes however, given they would have been at risk of being the first team in 12 years to lose points for a replacement breach.

Knights edge Warriors in Newcastle

A week ago, Nathan Brown warned the Warriors’ rising star Reece Walsh might not be ready to play State of Origin and Saturday’s 10-6 loss to Newcastle proved his point.

In a dour match in Newcastle, the Queensland hopeful raised more questions than he answered with a mixed performance that reflected his boundless talent and limited experience.

In just his seventh NRL match, the 18-year-old was auditioning for a place in Paul Green’s Maroons side for Origin II next Sunday and could not be accused of not trying to land the job.

In the first half, a 68-metre run off a brave catch showed off his pace but he was rounded up by Jayden Brailey inches before the line.

The young fullback then limped to the wing seemingly carrying a leg injury but then recovered to kick his first NRL conversion from the sideline and resume his role at the back.

But what started out as a solid match gradually got more uncomfortable for the teenager in the second half as he finished with four errors, two tackle breaks and 171 running metres.

With the wind at their back in the second half, the Knights harassed Walsh under the high ball with floating bombs, one of which he fumbled to cough up possession.

He later knocked on while attempting to offload and missed a tough shot at a field goal to put enough doubt in the minds of Maroons selectors who wonder if he is too young and inexperienced to blood in a must-win contest.

Conditions were horrendous in Newcastle but the Knights handled them better with a Brodie Jones try in the final four minutes deciding the result.

Newcastle trailed 6-4 at half-time despite the howling wind and sideways rain in their face and being down to 12 players for the final seven minutes of the half.

Try scorer Lachlan Fitzgibbon was controversially sin-binned for a high shot on Kodi Nikorima as the Warriors half fell to the turf.

Fitzgibbon’s swinging arm caught Nikorima around the head and he was promptly sin-binned with referee Chris Butler ruling he had time to pull out of the hit.

But despite their advantages, the Warriors had just one try to show for the first half with Euan Aitken scooping up a loose ball and racing 80 metres to score.

Even with one extra man, the Warriors did not ask enough questions of the Knights’ defence and the home side held on to set up an ugly but necessary win.

They will have an anxious wait on the NRL’s charge sheet, however, with Fitzgibbon, David Klemmer and Jacob Saifiti all put on report.

The Warriors will have similar concerns for Ben Murdoch Masila who was sin-binned in the 79th minute for a dangerous tackle on Hymel Hunt.

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