Rugby League: Pongia injured amid semifinal drama

SYDNEY - Kiwis prop Quentin Pongia is a doubtful starter for New Zealand's tri-series campaign after suffering a knee injury in Sydney City's National Rugby League semifinal defeat.

Pongia was among a lengthy injury toll from an intense and rugged clash, which St George-Illawarra won 28-18 at the Sydney Football Stadium on Saturday night.

The Dragons now face minor premiers Cronulla in one preliminary final on Sunday, while Parramatta meet Melbourne in the other on Saturday night.

Pongia, who led his side in hit-ups with 14 and also produced a 40m break a winger would have been proud of, will have a further examination today.

Sydney City manager Brian Canavan said the former Auckland Warrior had suffered lateral cartilage damage.

"He is just letting the injury settle down and when the swelling reduces we can see the extent of the damage," he said. "If he has to have arthroscopic surgery, the normal rehabilitation period is three to four weeks, so doubtful would be the word to use for him at this stage."

New Zealand and Australia play in the tournament opener on October 15.

Meanwhile, Melbourne grabbed their place in the last four with a solid 24-22 win over Canterbury yesterday.

The result marked a big turnaround in form for the Storm, who were disappointing in their heavy loss to St George-Illawarra in the first round of the finals last weekend.

Skipper Glenn Lazarus said his side showed a lot of character to win away from home and in front of a crowd that was "95 per cent against us."

"I always knew we had the personnel to get things done," he said. "We had it in us, but we just had to unleash it."

It wasn't a flashy performance by the Storm, and Lazarus admitted that allowing the Bulldogs to score 22 points was a worry.

But the veteran prop led his pack well, and he was ably supported by New Zealanders Tawera Nikau, Stephen Kearney and Matt Rua.

Both sides scored four tries, with standoff Matt Geyer getting two for Melbourne.

Ironically, the difference could be put down to a missed conversion by Canterbury winger Daryl Halligan, the NRL's top goalkicker, who slotted three goals from four attempts.

Halligan's six points lifted his first-grade tally to 1830, just 13 short of third spot on the all-time premiership points list.

While the closeness of the scores made the match exciting, the quality of the encounter did not match the thrills handed out by St George- Illawarra and Sydney City.

The Dragons were never headed during their win. The Roosters, for whom skipper Brad Fittler was inspirational in general play as well as scoring two tries, levelled three times but could not kick on.

St George-Illawarra, with props Craig Smith and Chris Leikvoll laying the platform for the side's classy backs, sealed the match with tries to veterans Brad Mackay and Rod Wishart.

Sydney City coach Phil Gould said the Dragons, who are in their first season as a merged unit, could go on to claim the title.

"We went into this game thinking the winners would win the competition and nothing has changed," he said. "St George-Illawarra can really hurt you and have the talent to win it. They have great width in their attack and speed and skill all over the park." - NZPA