Eight game unbeaten streak broken, headbutt and punches thrown in match of season: Illawarra Cup round nine talking points
Tempers flared in a match of the season candidate, with a headbutt seeing one player sent off. Check out the biggest talking points from round nine of the Illawarra Cup.
Illawarra Star
Don't miss out on the headlines from Illawarra Star. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Round nine of the Mojo Homes Illawarra Cup provided some of the best local footy action we’ve seen this season.
There was plenty of action to unpack, from an inspired positional switch, to beautiful team tries, to tempers flaring and a send off costing one side their unbeaten streak.
Check out seven of the biggest talking points from round nine of the Illawarra Cup.
Read on for the full round wrap.
Send off costs Devils
It was a day to forget for Wests prop forward Dylan Lauri, after being both sin binned and sent off in his side’s first loss of the year.
While typically well-disciplined, two poor moments cost Lauri and his side, first an off-ball shoulder charge that had him sent to the bin for 10, with his Devils conceding twice in his absence.
Then in the second half, Lauri got stuck into a scuffle with Butchers fullback Wayne Bremner, where a headbutt would see him sent straight from the field.
An incensed Lauri then looked to go at the Butchers again while departing the field, having to be restrained by teammates.
Bremner was sent to the sin bin for a punch thrown in the same incident.
The numbers disadvantage did the Devils no favours as they were unable to close out the game and lost their winning streak.
Marsters the focal point for Butchers
Thirroul centre Steven Marsters has been in fine form from centre down the right flank for Thirroul so far in 2023, but has mostly been a provider for Joshua Martin on his outside to score tries in abundance.
This week however, it was the former NRL player Marsters who took all the spotlight as he crossed for a hat-trick of tries to take his season total to six.
He showcased great positioning, line running and footy smarts in his tries, the most noteworthy being when he produced a one-on-one strip on Jy Hitchcox right near the tryline to score his second.
Positives for Devils despite loss
The Devils were undone for the first time this season by a strong Thirroul outfit, but there were still some beautiful moments of footy from the away side that’ll keep spirits somewhat high going forward.
Mitch Porter produced an absolute peach of a lofted pass to Jy Hitchcox down the left flank to start the Devils comeback in the second half.
Fullback Dylan Palmer-Quigg also came up with a moment of magic to assist Kyle Hardie, winning his aerial battle with his arms straight above his head, offloading to Hardie in support to score a memorable try.
McCann shows his range of skills again
Sam McCann is grabbing headlines weekly at the rate, picking up another two tries to extend his lead at the top of the try scorers leaderboard in the Illawarra Cup.
His first try was everything you want out of a tall winger, rising above his opposing De La Salle defender to claim a cross-field bomb from Max Devlin and scoring on the landing.
His second try showed grit and determination to get to the line, putting the head down and charging through a couple of attempted tackles, with McCann simply too tough to handle from close range.
Tre Fotu unleashed
His side may have come up short against Collegians, but Tre Fotu showcased why he is regarded as one of the deadliest attackers in the competition with his 100m effort.
De La Salle turned defence into attack after Eli Levido diffused an attacking grubber from Collegians, releasing Tre Fotu to run the length of the field, evading one tackle and twice palming off the attempted tackle of another to go the full length of the field.
Williams leads Corrimal charge
Corrimal were the closest they’ve been to securing an Illawarra Cup win this season against the Dapto Canaries, twice leading by 14 points during the match.
Kristian Williams was leading the way for the Cougars with two tries, saying earlier in the week that the side continues to get better week by week even though the results aren’t going their way.
“We’re looking to get better at our small effort areas … whether that’s making that extra tackle, getting back on the line, being able to support the ball carrier, whatever scenario it may be,” Williams said.
“Each and every week the team is getting better, even though we’re not getting the results.
“I’m very certain and very positive about being able to get a win this year.”
New position for Pieper works wonders
Normally they’re attempting to defend early leads, but this week Dapto were forced to chase the Cougars as they shot out to a 14 point lead, which they did successfully thanks largely in part to the efforts of captain Troy Pieper.
Coach Blake Wallace lined up his side with Pieper in hooker this week, with his normal position of fullback filled by Treigh Stewart and Luke Penny dropping to the bench.
Pieper’s fullback positional skills came in handy from the new role still as he twice found himself on the end of attacking kicks from his teammates to score two tries and spark the Canaries comeback victory.
Check out the full round wrap below.
Eight game unbeaten streak broken in match of year contender: Illawarra Cup round nine wrap
Round nine of the Mojo Homes Illawarra Cup brought possibly the most exciting rugby league action of the season.
The round had a semi final feel about it as the top four teams squared off, leading to some interesting results as teams reversed fortunes from their meetings earlier in the year.
Meanwhile, a battle of the bottom two in Dapto and Corrimal brought excitement and drama as another streak looked as if it was about to come to an end.
Check out the full wrap of an exciting round nine in the Illawarra Cup.
Devils finally taste defeat at the hands of Butchers
The eight game unbeaten run of the Wests Devils comes to an end while the Butchers close in on the top three with the statement victory.
It took some Joseph Dickson improvisation to break the deadlock after 20 minutes of resolute defence from both sides, with the hooker taking a stab at diving to the line from close range and finding the turf.
The Butchers were unphased though, taking the footy to the other end of the park and getting the ball in the hands of their playmakers, with some quick hands from Tarje Whitford and Wayne Bremner releasing Steven Marsters to stroll in and score on the right.
The Butchers would follow this up with a try by Michael Mouawad on his first grade debut, charging on to a flat ball from Bradley Deitz to crash over and give the Butchers a six point advantage at the break.
Steven Marsters would prove the difference maker from the right flank, scoring his second after he pulled off a one-on-one strip on Jy Hitchcox after the Wests winger excellently rose above the pack to field a Thirroul bomb, not expecting Marsters to pull off the smart move.
Wests would snap into gear in an attempt to keep their winning run alive, with Hitchcox finishing in the left corner after a beautiful lofted pass from Mitch Porter.
This was followed up by another Devils try courtesy of Kyle Hardie, managing to finish after fullback Dylan Palmer-Quigg brilliantly rose above the pack to take a catch with his arms parallel to his body in the air, before offloading to Hardie in support to score.
With the minutes ticking down, it would be Marsters again completing his hat-trick with the all-important winning try, charging through a pocket of space off a beautiful cut-out ball from Jarrod Boyle, sending the home fans into celebrations as the Butchers seized the result.
Collegians eye the top of table with big win
With the league leaders slipping up, Collegians ensured they closed the gap by defeating De La Salle 28-16 at Captain Cook Oval.
For Collegians this meant a successful reversal of the round four matchup in which De La Salle triumphed over them at WIN Stadium.
It was De La who opened the scoring however, turning defence into attack when Eli Levido got in the way of a Zeik Foster grubber, reclaiming the ball and releasing Tre Fotu to run the length of the field, fending off a couple of chasing Collegians defenders and going all the way to score.
From here though Collegians showed their class as they put on four tries unanswered, first through prop forward Josh Dowel who charged over after a swift change of direction in the play from Zeik Foster.
Sam McCann would get his name on the scorecard once again, showing his aerial threat in brilliantly rising above the pack to claim a Max Devlin kick and score.
Another scorecard frequent in Callum Gromek got in on the action next, shaping to pass left but instead running in himself, keeping the legs pumping amid tackle attempts to score.
Kane Watling would find the line in simple fashion then for the Collegians, diving from dummy half under the sticks to extend the lead.
De La looked to mount a comeback in the second half, with Andrew Faddy and Kai Parker both getting over the line after some nice work in the halves from both Tyla Tamou and Eli Levido.
Collegians however would emerge triumphant as Sam McCann sealed the deal late on, using his big frame to charge through some bodies on the left flank, scoring his second of the day and his 12th of the season.
Canaries comeback to crush Cougars dreams
It was heartbreak for the Corrimal Cougars who looked as if they were closing in on their first Illawarra Cup victory since 2021.
It wasn’t to be though as the Dapto Canaries triumphed 28-18 in another thrilling round nine matchup.
It was a performance that was the opposite to everything that has gone wrong for Dapto in 2023, as it was instead Corrimal who took the early lead and Dapto who fought until the end and mounted a comeback.
Corrimal scored the first three tries of the game to lead by easily their biggest margin of the season, with Kristian Williams, Alvin Maungaati and Kristian Williams again getting the Cougars out to a 14 point advantage, playing with passion and celebrating every try like it was a grand final.
Dapto finally got into the game shortly before the halftime break as Jack Piccirilli finished a nice left to right spread from the Canaries, but it was the Cougars who would keep believing and be the next to cross through Jacob Haeata, getting on the end of a perfectly weighted Leroy Murray grubber.
Down by 14 with half an hour on the clock, the Canaries took the game into their own hands and finally put some footy together, running in five tries unanswered to silence the confident Cougars.
Blake Wellington got the comeback underway after the Canaries bravely tried a short side running play on the final tackle, ending in the hands of the winger to score, followed up by centre Bradley Manton capitalising on a Corrimal error close to their line to get them back within two points.
Troy Pieper was playing in hooker for the Canaries this week and was getting himself in the right places, being on hand to get on the end of a Pita Godinet chip kick and put the Canaries in front for the first time.
He would follow this up shortly after by once again being in the right place to regain a kick and score his second, this time a grubber from Jack Piccirilli out on the right flank.
Tyrone Edwards would put the nail in the coffin late on to extend the scoreline into one that doesn’t tell the whole story, as the Canaries picked up their second win of the season.
Join the conversation
‘Don’t feel any pressure’: Illawarra twins continue famous family tradition
They’re the latest twins making a name for themselves in the Illawarra and with two Red V legends in their corner, the famous Young legacy is rolling into a third generation. FULL STORY
Read more
Johns/Daley Cup: Top-10 performers from round one
There were matchwinning halves and destructive backrowers. See who were the top-10 stars during round one of the Andrew Johns and Laurie Daley Cup.
Read more