Rugby League: Anasta bites back as Bulldogs march on

New South Wales State of Origin discard Braith Anasta proved a point to the selectors by scoring twice as the Bulldogs scored their 11th successive National Rugby League (NRL) victory to stay atop the standings this weekend.

Anasta was dumped for the Origin decider on Wednesday for Melbourne's Scott Hill but shrugged off the disappointment as the Bulldogs swamped Canberra 46-6 at the Sydney Showgrounds yesterday.

"It's been a tough few days but the club gave me a lot of support. I went out to prove something and I think I did that," standoff Anasta said.

Melbourne ended a winless two-month stretch with an emphatic 44-6 drubbing of struggling South Sydney at Olympic Park yesterday, with centre Aaron Moule grabbing two tries.

The Storm toughed out a gritty first half to lead 12-6 at the break before piling on five unanswered tries in the second spell.

The Sharks also registered more than 40 points, recording their third consecutive win with a 46-16 defeat of North Queensland in Townsville last night.

Halfback Brett Kimmorley took another step towards silencing his critics as he orchestrated the Sharks drive into finals contention.

The Sharks scored 30 unanswered points in the first spell and eventually ran in eight tries to three, including a brace to wing Paul Mellor.

Despite missing four players to Origin duty, St George-Illawarra caused the upset of the round by ending the New Zealand Warriors eight-game winning streak with a surprising 32-22 win in Auckland today.

Both sides scored five tries, with the superior goalkicking of Aaron Gorrell and Mark Riddell proving decisive.

The Warriors still ended the weekend in third spot after an Origin-depleted Newcastle lost 12-28 to the Wests Tigers at Campbelltown Stadium today.

The reigning premiers have now lost eight consecutive matches without skipper Andrew Johns and were never in the hunt as the Tigers gave axed coach Terry Lamb a boost after he was told last week his contract would not be renewed at the end of the season.

Wests outscored Newcastle five tries to two and led 20-8 at halftime after tries to Anthony Laffranchi, Daniel Fitzhenry, Steve Crouch and former Warrior Robbie Mears.

Impressive halfback Ben Jeffries capped his return from a long-term shoulder injury with a 50th minute try to seal the victory and end a six-match losing streak.

Newcastle and the Warriors are on 24 points, three shy of the Bulldogs, while Brisbane, who had the bye this weekend, are second on 26.

In today's other match the Northern Eagles survived a spirited comeback from Penrith to prevail 28-24 at Penrith and record their first away win this season.

Penrith fought back from an 8-28 deficit early in the second half, scoring three tries to close the gap to four points with 10 minutes remaining.

Desperate defence and a couple of costly handling errors prevented Penrith from completing an unlikely comeback.

Meanwhile, Sydney Roosters coach Ricky Stuart faces a A$10,000 ($NZ11,744) fine for criticising referee Sean Hampstead after their 12-12 draw against Parramatta at Aussie Stadium on Friday night.

Stuart said Hamstead ruined the match with a whistle-happy performance, particularly in the first half.

The NRL will decide tomorrow whether Stuart will be fined for bringing the game into disrepute.

The Eels established a 12-2 lead through first-half tries to second rower Andrew Ryan and winger Scott Donald before the Roosters drew level thanks to tries from fullback Luke Phillips and halfback Craig Wing.

- NZPA