Tigers thrash Bulls in vital clash

Ben Hilfenhaus ... rips through Queensland Bulls. Source: richard jupe / News Limited

There was a sense of deja vu as Ben Hilfenhaus ripped through Queensland to help Tasmania seal a vital 163-run outright Sheffield Shield win at the Gabba on Sunday.

SHEF - Gabba

7 March 2013 - Day 4, Session 3

Queensland 2nd Innings

And the Tigers will hope that winning feeling also returns later this week in what looms as one of the most hotly contested races for Shield final spots.

Hilfenhaus backed up his stunning first-innings blitz of three wickets in four balls with another damaging burst in the Bulls' second dig.

The ex-Test seamer was on a hat-trick for the second time in the match when he helped reduce Queensland to 4-8 chasing 307 for victory.

He took 4-33 - completing match figures of 8-117 - as Queensland were bowled out for 143 in their second innings late on the final day.

Despite fighting hands from Luke Pomersbach (61) and Nathan Reardon (46) in a 96-run fifth-wicket stand, the Bulls never recovered in a blow to their title defence.peTasmania (24 points) jumped from dead-last to fourth on the Shield ladder - just two points outside the top two - while defending champions Queensland (24 points) are still in the mix with one game to play.

In the Shield regular-season finale, Tasmania host leaders Victoria and Queensland travel to third-ranked Western Australia from Thursday.

Dom Michael and Peter Forrest completed a pair for the match - the latter a golden - when they were again claimed by Hilfenhaus in consecutive balls as Queensland slumped to 3-8.

Alarm bells ringing for Queensland became a death knell when they were left reeling at 4-8 after first-innings centurion Joe Burns was run out at the non-striker's end for a duck in a mix-up with Pomersbach.

Earlier, the Tigers declared their second innings at 6-342 with James Faulkner not out 52 and Tim Paine unbeaten on 37.

Tasmania resumed on Sunday at 4-226 and quickly lost Alex Doolan (83) and Jon Wells (52) who shared a 92-run fifth wicket stand as they looked for quick runs.

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Wanderers create A-League history

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Wonderful Wanderers ... Tony Popovic's side made it nine in a row against Wellington. Source: Paul Miller / AAP

Western Sydney extended their lead atop the A-League ladder on Sunday, beating Wellington 2-1 at Parramatta Stadium to post a record-breaking ninth consecutive victory.

Japanese star Shinji Ono and striker Mark Bridge both scored from penalties for the Wanderers, with Jeremy Brockie getting one back for the visitors.

The win puts the Wanderers five points clear of Central Coast on the table and means they surpass the league's all-time longest winning streak of eight straight matches set by Melbourne Victory in the inaugural season.

But it was hardly the thumping most were expecting as the bottom-placed Phoenix managed to match it with the ladder-leaders for most of the game.

But ever-grounded Wanderers boss Tony Popovic won't be letting his team get carried away.

"You can go on unbeaten runs but to win nine in a row is quite special," he said.

"But like everything at this club at the end of the year we'll reflect on a great milestone, there have been many this year, but we have not achieved anything yet so we'll reflect on that when the season ends."

The vocal Red and Black Bloc were unusually quiet for the first 20 minutes of the match as they staged a silent protest on behalf of a number of members they believe have been unjustly banned by Football Federation Australia over various incidents including the lighting of flares and anti-social behaviour.

Popovic admitted his side played below their usual level.

"I think all teams now will take a result over a performance," he said.

"We've said all along if your performances are good we believe the results will come.

"Today wasn't our best ... but I'm happy they won that game at all costs."

With history on the line the Wanderers came out on the attack and didn't have to wait long to get on the scoresheet.

		P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Western Sydney	24	16	2	6	15	50
2	Central Coast	24	13	6	5	22	45
3	Victory	24	12	4	8	3	40
4	Adelaide	23	11	3	9	1	36
5	Sydney	24	9	3	12	-8	30
6	Newcastle	25	8	6	11	-12	30
7	Brisbane	24	8	5	11	1	29
8	Perth	24	8	4	12	-2	28
9	Heart	23	8	3	12	-2	27
10	Wellington	25	6	6	13	-18	24

Wellington defender Tony Lochhead conceded a penalty six minutes in for tripping Youssouf Hersi in the box.

Ono stepped up to the mark and made no mistake, putting the hosts in front in the eighth minute to send the majority of the 15,8009 fans into raptures.

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Re-live all the drama from the Wanderers' narrow victory over Wellington, with video of all the action, at our A-League Match Centre.

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Brockie found the equaliser in the 22nd minute getting on the end of a Leo Bertos cross, scoring his 15th goal of the season to join Central Coast's Daniel McBreen at the top of the goalscorers' list.

The loss rules the Phoenix out of the finals but interim coach Chris Greenacre, who took over from Ricki Herbert last month, was more than pleased with his side's showing.

"I just said to the players how proud I am of them - their effort, their endeavour, their will to want to take the game to Western Sydney," he said.

"I'm just disappointed with the result.

"But now with the burden (of playoffs) off the shoulders we'll release the shackles and let the players express themselves and just enjoy playing in the last two games."

Just when it looked like the Phoenix had the momentum, they shot themselves in the foot right after the break by giving away another penalty courtesy of a blatant handball by Vince Lia.

This time Bridge took the spot-kick to give the Wanderers a 2-1 lead in the 48th minute.

Nikolai Topor-Stanley and Labinot Haliti both threatened with strikes moments later while the Phoenix's new young striker Corey Gameiro and Paul Ifill tested 'keeper Ante Covic at the other end.

Hersi had a chance to widen the gap in the 80th minute but Phoenix gloveman Glen Moss did well to save the effort.

Lia looked like levelling in the dying minutes, forcing a save from Covic.

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Matthew Wade injures ankle in India

Paceman Peter Siddle is determined to lead Australia to an improved performance in India. Source: AAP

WICKETKEEPER Matthew Wade is in doubt for Thursday's third Test with an ankle injury as Australia's tour of India lurches from bad to worse.

Wade didn't train with the squad at Mohali on Sunday after rolling his ankle playing basketball.

Team doctor Peter Brukner said the results of medical scans would be emailed to specialists in Australia overnight before a decision is made on flying over former Test gloveman Brad Haddin, who is on standby.

"Hopefully we'll get that answer back by tomorrow morning," Brukner said.

"There's nothing horrendous there.

"The scan here was quite good but their specialist guy is not here this weekend but we just want to be satisfied.

"...We've got a couple of guys back in Australia who are the best in the world at reading this sort of stuff. We'll email those scans back this afternoon.

"We'll make that decision (on Haddin) probably tonight, or when we get these scans back."

Victoria's Wade has been in the wars on this Indian tour, suffering a fractured cheekbone on the day before the second Test in Hyderabad and playing the match with the aid of painkillers.

"Matt Wade sprained his right ankle playing basketball yesterday afternoon," team physio Alex Kountouris said in a statement on Sunday.

"His ankle is subsequently swollen and painful."

Australia allrounder Moises Henriques said Wade's injury was very unfortunate.

"He could have done it doing anything, but he did it during a casual game of basketball," Henriques told reporters.

"I don't know the extent of the injury.

"He's as tough a little character as there is, so if there's a chance of him playing he certainly will."

Henriques backed his 35-year-old NSW teammate Haddin - who has scored 468 runs at 52.00 in seven Sheffield Shield matches this summer - to take over in grand style if required.

"Bradley being such a seasoned campaigner now and he has toured here before so he has got that experience," Henriques said of the 43-Test veteran.

"So I'm sure if he was needed, he'd certainly come in and do a fantastic job."

Henriques said he wasn't sure of the results of Wade's scans.

"But he was in pretty good spirits just before in the change rooms," Henriques said.

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Passion-filled Sharks bite Titans

Cronulla Sharks ... Matthew Wright scores the first try. Source: Brett Costello / News Limited

Cronulla have turned the turmoil engulfing their club into motivation to win a 12-10 nail-biter against Gold Coast Titans at Sharks Stadium on Sunday night.

2 Tries 2
Matthew Wright 27'	David Mead 47'
Andrew Fifita 55'	Dave Taylor 70'
2 Conversions 1
Michael Gordon 29'	Aiden Sezer 49'
Michael Gordon 57'

Having their coach Shane Flanagan stood down by the Sharks board just two days prior to the clash, the team produced a passion-filled performance.

"It was the easiest things I've done all week," Sharks skipper Paul Gallen said. 

"I couldn't wait to play. 

"Forgot about all the crap that's going on… It was the best part of the week.

"Fortunately we stuck to what Flanno (Flanagan) trained us to do the whole pre-season and that's play tough football.

"We knew it was going to be emotional but emotion does mean much when you're tired."

Former Manly coach Peter Sharp was handed the coaching reigns in Flanagan's absence and when asked whether he thought things would get any easier at the club next week, the assistant coach said he has his doubts.

"It's been a ridiculous week," Sharp said.

"They've been under so much pressure.

"I can't believe they played.

"It has been a seriously heavy week in the player's lives."

The Sharks took the ground to a rousing cheer from the home crowd of 17,541 that stayed vocal throughout the match.

It took 26 minutes for the first try to come and it was Sharks centre Matthew Wright who crossed having caught a perfectly weighted Todd Carney kick.

6-0 at half-time, it was an almost identical try in the 6th minute but this time to the Titans.

Aiden Sezer kicked to the wing of David Mead who out-leaped Johnathan Wright.

Sezer nailed the kick at goal to level the scores.

With pressure mounting, the Sharks lifted another gear and Andrew Fifita charged across relatively untouched off a John Morris pass.

Ahead 12-6, Sharks winger Johnathan Wright was denied a try but not Titans prized recruit Dave Taylor.

Albert Kelly lofted a kick to the corner of the field, with the ball bouncing off the arm of Michael Gordon, into the back of Mead and into Taylor's hands.

Sezer however missed the conversion to keep the Sharks in a two point lead and ultimately gifted them the win.  

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Noddy's Weekend Wash Up

Smiling assassins ... Chris Sandow and Parramatta Eels. Source: Renee McKay / AAP

In his new weekly column, Fox Sports expert and Canberra assistant coach Brett Kimmorley offers his thoughts and predictions for round one of the 2013 NRL Premiership season.

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Sydney Roosters v South Sydney Rabbitohs, Allianz Stadium

The opening 15 minutes was an aggressive period and gave us all an insight into the future of the Roosters under new coach Trent Robinson. South Sydney has picked up from where they left off last season and won the battle of the forwards which ultimately won the game. The Burgess Brothers and Roy Asotasi laid the platform for Adam Reynolds and Greg Inglis to carve the Roosters to pieces. Inglis set up two tries for Merritt with two of the best cut out passes I have seen in a long time. They like to play the right to left shift with Inglis chiming in around the back and that pet-play sealed the game.

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Brisbane Broncos v Manly Sea Eagles, Suncorp Stadium

The first 40 minutes of Friday's match showed Scott Prince and Peter Wallace are building a nice partnership but when the game needed to be aggressive and someone had to stand-up, it was Manly who took control. I thought the game was on the line around the 50 minute mark and Manly upped the tempo with Brent Kite leading the way, while Daly Cherry-Evans and Kieran Foran ran the football at Prince's edge testing the veteran's defence. Ultimately the halves were the difference. Being able to create something out of nothing and getting rewards, the Sea Eagles are only going to get stronger when Glenn Stewart and Jason King return to the side.

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Parramatta Eels vs Warriors, Parramatta Stadium

If you make Jarryd Hayne happy the rest of the team is probably going to be happy. This is a philosophy I believe Ricky Stuart will be working by this season. I can't recall the last the last time Hayne had such a big smile on his face. He genuinely looked as if he was enjoying himself and "The Plane" soared. The same can be said for Chris Sandow.  Sandow looked relaxed Sandow and as if he has found the spark he was missing last year. Sandow showed maturity, calmness and clear direction while the Warriors finished the start of the season the same way they finished last year. The Eels exposed the Warriors weaknesses through the forwards and on the edges. It's something we will see a lot of in a Ricky Stuart game plan.

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Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs vs North Queensland Cowboys

The Bulldogs were always going to play a similar style to that of last season but without Ben Barba, Sam Kasiano, Frank Pritchard and James Graham they suffered. The absence of their ball-playing forwards hurt them while last season a chunk of their tries were long range plays involving Barba. Without him they lacked spark, although they put in a gutsy effort with plenty of their young players stepping up. For the Cowboys, the inclusion of English hooker Scott Moore only makes them more of a threat thanks to his running game. They have two outstanding Australian front rowers who eat up meters and showed just why the Cowboys are genuine contenders to win the competition.

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Penrith Panthers vs Canberra Raiders, Centrebet Stadium

This wasn't a pretty game of football. Penrith were the more aggressive and enthusiastic of the two sides while neither team managed to create any real beautiful passages of play. Luke Walsh was magic with the boot for the Panthers while Tim Grant and Sam McKendry offered a lot in terms of second-phase play. It was a disappointing afternoon all round for Canberra who trialled well in the pre-season but early errors on a hot day hurt them. The difference was that Penrith gelled as a team. Too much time spent defending their line ultimately cruelled them in what I believe will be a wake-up call for the club.

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Melbourne Storm vs St George Illawarra Dragons, AAMI Park

The differences in these two sides is the halves, hooker and fullback. The Dragons are lacking in this department as they trial new combinations. When they won the competition in 2010 they were defensively great. They are a great defensive unit but struggle to score points and that has been an issue for some time. The Storm is such a well drilled unit with class across the pitch. We haven't had back-to-back premiers in quite some time and they are already showing why it is going to be very hard for someone to take the trophy from them this season.

Cronulla Sharks vs Gold Coast Titans, Sharks Stadium

I must congratulate the Cronulla fans for the atmosphere and support they created and that probably rallied them home in the end despite a valiant fight back from the Titans. The Titans halves showed a lot of promise and will continue to grow while Dave Taylor and Greg Bird looked very sharp and showed signs that better days are ahead for them. The game was full of emotion. They threw some good football at each other with cross field kicks to the right hand edge, the scoring play for both sides. The game didn't present a whole lot of scoring opportunities but it did go end-to-end which made for entertaining viewing. Todd Carney had a tremendous game in a limited pre-season thanks to an achillies injury. The Sharks new signings were very strong as was Wade Graham. It goes to show the confidence Shane Flanagan instilled in these players over the pre-season held up despite being thrown a thousand distractions.

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'Mentality' lost the Premiers Plate

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Fragile ... Central Coast have seen the Premiers' Plate slip from their grasp in recent weeks. Source: Dean Lewins / AAP

So, who is happy that there's a finals series now?

With Central Coast Wanderers five points adrift of the Western Sydney Wanderers' juggernaut, Graham Arnold's attention will likely have to turn to the A-League finals series – a format he hasn't been shy to criticise – for a shot at silverware this season.

Arnold declared the Premiers' Plate run and won after his side's loss to Sydney FC - the first time his Mariners side have lost back-to-back games since he joined the club – saying Wanderers have "two hands on the trophy".

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His side's trough has coincided with the side's arduous AFC Champions League campaign and whispers questioning whether the side has the killer instinct to get the job done when the pressure is on.

All of a sudden, Arnold is also throwing the gauntlet down to his players, after a lethargic performance against Sydney FC – their second loss to the Sky Blues this term.

"Probably the biggest disappointment was we lost the fight, the battle. You'd think we'd want it more than Sydney, but that wasn't the case," Arnold said after the game.

		P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Western Sydney	24	16	2	6	15	50
2	Central Coast	24	13	6	5	22	45
3	Victory	24	12	4	8	3	40
4	Adelaide	23	11	3	9	1	36
5	Sydney	24	9	3	12	-8	30
6	Newcastle	25	8	6	11	-12	30
7	Brisbane	24	8	5	11	1	29
8	Perth	24	8	4	12	-2	28
9	Heart	23	8	3	12	-2	27
10	Wellington	25	6	6	13	-18	24

"Sydney really turned up ... their home record is extremely strong.

"If anything, I'm just disappointed by the lack of leadership from senior players in those types of games, and situations."

It's been well-documented that the Mariners are the competition's perennial Mr Consistent, but who haven't got the grand final silverware to go with it. Arnold has been a vocal advocate of the Premiers Plate being the No.1 prize in Australian football – but this year, that even looks like slipping from their grasp after setting the pace for so long this season.

Is it physical? Is it mental? Is the Champions League an excuse?

"There's two sides to fatigue; physical and mental," Arnold said.

"There's signs showing me the physical side is OK.

"They could be mentally fatigued. With that comes decision making and they're doing things they don't normally do. They're turning over possession, taking time on the ball.

"That could be a reason, but they've got to be bigger and better than that. But that's international football.

"Maybe we're not mentally strong enough to handle it."

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To exacerbate the perception of 'choking', the club's horrific record in penalties was lampooned last week. That overshadowed the fact that the Mariners were actually quite unlucky in three tough matches in quick succession, just lacking a killer edge to some polished play.

Against Sydney FC, they dropped the ball. They were outplayed - and even when presented with three or four decent chances – they weren't good enough to take them.

"Mariners won't want a great season to start to fall apart," Fox Sports football expert Mark Bosnich said.

"They were exceptional in all three games last week, but today they weren't.

"They need to pick themselves up and their mentality is very important."

Arnold wasn't completely displeased with the performance - but wonders where the finished product has gone.

"We found the spaces easily, got into good areas easily, we just lacked that final punch in front of goal."

A month ago, when the Mariners were the top dogs, Fox Sports football expert Gary Phillips told foxsports.com.au he feared that in the big games, the Mariners might lack the x-factor.

As we reach the business end of the season, is that prediction coming to fruition?

"While they're a very good unit, when it comes to a semi-final or a final, you need special players. While they've got very good players there, I'm not sure they've the special ones to win the championship," Phillips said at the time.

So how can a fatigued Mariners revive that killer instinct? Will be it be youth? Will it be the underdog tag? Or have the Mariners run their race?

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This time around, it's Arnold's turn to play the mind games to try and conjure some late season pressure on the Wanderers.

"The  pressure is definitely on them.

"There's nothing better than being in front; a test of character and mentality to withstand the pressure of being in front. Last year we were in front for 20 of the 27 weeks, this year, for 16 of the 22.

"Combining two competitions isn't easy. (Especially when FFA squads are restricted to) 23 players, and we've got three season ending injuries, which makes it tough.

"You don't want to use it as an excuse.

"Look at where we were two weeks ago before the ACL started, now it's made it a lot tougher."

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Sydney in pole position for finals?

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Sitting pretty ... Sydney battle the Heart, Glory, Roar and Phoenix for a finals berth. Source: Dean Lewins / AAP

Back up into fifth position, pending Melbourne Heart's clash with Adelaide United on Monday, Sydney FC have that finals sniff about them again.

Which two teams will make the A-League top six?

Their excellent 2-0 win on Saturday night has them in marginal pole position ahead of Newcastle, Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne Heart in the race for the final two spots in the finals.

But while their run home features Victory, Wanderers and Roar, they couldn't have got off to a better start than in an energetic display against the Mariners.

Two goals were the difference for the home side – but it was work without the ball that defined this performance – and could set the tone for the final weeks of the season.

In fact, two moments defined the display.

On 80 minutes, young midfielder Chris Triantis flung himself at a shot in the box in a sensational piece of commitment at the back end of a lung bursting display in midfield.

Ten minutes later, captain Terry McFlynn, the much maligned skipper at Moore Park, received a standing ovation from his home fans.

Earlier this season, he suffered the indignity of being booed by the same gallery, but the Northern Irishman has put his head down, worked hard and received a new contract.

He might cop plenty of stick in forums around the country, but no one at the ground could doubt his contribution in thwarting the former competition pace setters. The captain covered many a mile and read the play expertly.

If Sydney want to be a major player and walk the walk come finals time, they need to be able to beat the big teams.

Was this them at their most fluent best? Not at all. But the effort and discipline was the key.

		P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Western Sydney	24	16	2	6	15	50
2	Central Coast	24	13	6	5	22	45
3	Victory	24	12	4	8	3	40
4	Adelaide	23	11	3	9	1	36
5	Sydney	24	9	3	12	-8	30
6	Newcastle	25	8	6	11	-12	30
7	Brisbane	24	8	5	11	1	29
8	Perth	24	8	4	12	-2	28
9	Heart	23	8	3	12	-2	27
10	Wellington	25	6	6	13	-18	24

They can tick the Mariners off that list, twice. And the template was there for the home fans to see the discipline and organisation they have craved all season.

"They just did everything they cold to win. Wasn't the greatest, but Sydney did everything they needed to win. The pitch helped Sydney, the Mariners could not get their passing game together either and they definitely looked lethargic," Fox Sports football expert Mark Bosnich said.

Rhyan Grant – who Farina lauded as arguably Sydney's best this season – gave Bernie Ibini no freedom and Sebastian Ryall's solid form was rewarded with a crucial goal.

The biggest problem for the Sky Blues?

Just as they need a run of form, they need to find something they've lacked all year: consistency.

But at home, they're on a roll, winning six on the trot. They'll be in Sydney for the next two weeks – a Big Blue, followed by a derby at Parramatta Stadium in a fortnight, which is set to be an epic, finals-like stage.

"We haven't had a run really all season. There's three games to go ... we need another three or six points," Farina concluded.

North of the border, what does Brisbane Roar coach Mike Mulvey make of the equation, now that his side is one point adrift of sixth?

"We've got three games left; two at home. The performance is the key, I'm really happy with it. If we continue in that vein, we should be okay."

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So, who will squeeze in? Vote in our poll at the top of the page and join the debate!

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Sharks fans savour return to footy

Emotional ... Sharks winger Beau Ryan echoes the thoughts of many of the Sharks' faithful. Source: Brett Costello / News Limited

Maybe Cronulla should try and organise a scandal every week.

While the seriousness of a drugs scandal which has already resulted in four men losing their jobs, a coach being stood down, and the careers of as many as 14 players hanging in the balance is no joking matter, Sharks officials - those that are still left - could not have asked for a better response.

The 17,541 fans which all-but filled Sharks Stadium sounded more like 77,000.

This was a night about football, not about boardroom politics.

While there were banners around the ground calling for coach Shane Flanagan's reinstatement and a brief 'Bring back Flanno' chant early in the game, this was 80 minutes about football.

The players responded in kind, a determined effort in the toughest of circumstances.

Skipper Paul Gallen described playing the game as the easiest thing he had done all week.

Attempts to organise an official 'show of support' didn't really come off, but the Sharks didn't need to manufacture unity - the fans gave it too them in bucket loads.

A standing ovation greeted the players' entrance, and accompanied their departure.

The rendition of 'Up, Up, Cronulla' has rarely been sung with more gusto, either by the crowd or the players in the dressing room afterwards.

But it didn't take long for the reality of the situation to again hit home.

Skipper Paul Gallen had the look of a broken man as he addressed the media in the press conference.

This was not the face of a man who had led his side to a gutsy victory.

The 80 minutes of football was over.

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