Signing of the season and ex-NRL players shining: Mojo Homes Illawarra Cup talking points round three
The Illawarra Cup returned after a week off with three more exciting games, with ex-NRL players shining and a potential for signing of the season emerging. Check out some of the biggest talking points
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After three rounds of the Illawarra Cup, the table is starting the emerge nicely, with some clubs flourishing while others are still yet to get off the mark.
Round three saw ex-NRL players flourish, while a candidate for signing of the season continues to dominate.
Check out six of the biggest talking points from the weekend.
Thirroul still not clicking into gear
Thirroul’s defeat to Collegians meant after three rounds they have already lost more regular season games than the 2022 season.
The Butchers recruited well over the off-season, bringing in the likes of ex-NRL player Bradley Deitz and multiple-time Illawarra Cup champion Jarrod Boyle.
They did however lose a lot of experience in the likes of Ryan Fletcher, Damian Sironen and Luke Dodge, and perhaps the side are still adjusting to life without them.
The Butchers face another mighty test in coming up against Wests in the upcoming Magic Round.
Signing of the season from Collegians?
Callum Gromek has proved to be an early shout for signing of the season, absolutely carving it up for Collegians every week and proving pivotal to their victory over Thirroul.
Gromek picked up two assists and the game-sealing try, taking his season total to joint first place with three.
What makes the signing even better is the freeing up of Mitchell Porter from fullback, as he has proved to be settling into the five-eighth role alongside Justin Rodrigues perfectly.
Promising signs as Collegians look to go back-to-back-to-back.
Corrimal in danger
It isn’t looking good for Corrimal in 2023, with the risk of them worsening their 2022 performance.
After three games the side has conceded 112 and scored just six themselves.
Perhaps their best chance of a win comes this week against Dapto who are also winless from their opening three, they’ll need to click into gear though and show some Cougar grit.
Ex-NRL players settling well for Devils
Former NRL players Sosaia Feki and Jy Hitchcox have proved they still have the quality to dominate a game of footy, with both sitting joint at the top of the league with Callum Gromek on three tries.
The two have created a very threatening left edge for the Wests Devils, combining for three tries in the Devils’ demolition of Corrimal.
Defensively the left edge of Wests has proved solid as well, conceding just the one try this season so far down that side to Jack Piccirilli of Dapto.
De La Salle halves put on a show
De La Salle remain undefeated after three games with 50-12 win over Dapto the most creative we’ve seen the side this season.
This comes down to the flourishing of their halves combination of Eli Levido and Jack A Williams.
Levido scored a try after sending three Dapto defenders to the shops with a massive dummy and run to score untouched.
Jack A Williams picked up a couple of assists to his lock forward Jackson Stewart, showing a great running and passing game.
Must win game for Dapto
Dapto had some decent showings in their opening two games against tough oppositions in Wests and Collegians, but were absolutely blown off the park by De La Salle this week.
They’ve had some bright moments, such as good involvements from ex-NRL players Pita Godinet and Brad Takairangi, plus three tries scored to the elusive Jack Piccirilli.
Next week they face Corrimal in what could potentially be a good chance for the Canaries to build some momentum and possibly surge up the ladder a bit.
Superb solo efforts and massive score lines: Mojo Homes Illawarra Cup round three wrap
After a week off for the City v Country clashes, Illawarra Cup action returned this week with three more enthralling matches.
The marquee matchup of the week saw the undefeated Collegians take on a Thirroul side desperate for a win.
Meanwhile, early season flyers De La Salle and Wests Devils looked to continue their hot form against the struggling Dapto and Corrimal.
Check out the full wrap of round three.
Butchers no match for untouchable Collegians
The featured matchup of the week was a meeting between last season’s minor premiers in Thirroul and grand final champions in Collegians.
It was to be the Collegians emerging victorious in an early season statement win, triumphing 24-6 over the Butchers who have been slow out of the blocks in 2023.
Returning to verse his former side was Jarrod Boyle, lining up the halves as he looks to bring the Butchers to the top in 2023 so he can win premiership glory with a third Illawarra Cup side.
“We know they’ve got some good halves in Tarje [Whitford] and Boyley [Jarrod Boyle],” Collegians lock forward Jarrod Thompson prior to the game.
“I’ve played with him for many years … we know what he can bring to the table and we’ll be looking to shut him down.
It was to be the new star of Collegians who would steal the show though, as fullback Callum Gromek put on a masterclass for the home side, getting involved in just about every move that resulted in points all day.
Hayden Budd opened the scoring in the first half after a nice right to left spread that went through the hands of Gromek before finding his centre.
Jack Cross would follow up this effort with a try of his own after a terrific offload from Josh Dowel to free up some space in the defensive line for his hooker to score.
Thirroul would bounce back to reduce the margin before the break, running 80m within the space of three plays thanks to an initial line break from fullback Wayne Bremner, before centre Cooper Bowen found another hole in the staggered Collegians defensive line to run away and score.
Gromek was at the heart of the Collegians attack yet again in the second half, making a bit of room for himself after a dummy, before offloading to Blake Dowel to crash over the line for a third try to the home side.
Gromek would put the fixture beyond doubt late on, charging on to a pass from Zach Herring and having enough room to reach out and plant it down for a try.
Early season bragging rights go to the still undefeated Collegians, while it’s back to the drawing board again for Thirroul.
Devils brutally scorch the Cougars
The halves starred for Western Suburbs once again as the Devils ran riot on the helpless Corrimal Cougars 46-0.
The loss was the biggest margin of defeat the Cougars have endured since the round 11 matchup in the 2022 season in which the Devils won 56-6.
It was business as usual for the Devils right from the start, with former-NRL player Jy Hitchcox running in the opening two tries thanks to some nice shifting from five-eighth Mitchell Porter.
Halfback Justin Rodrigues provided one of the passes of the campaign to his winger Lachlan Hurst, cutting out about three defenders with a massive left to right missile.
The halves would combine beautifully for the fourth as Rodrigues put a deft grubber through the line which Porter was able to get on the end of and score one for himself.
The left flank would prove lethal again as prop forward Dylan Lauri showed his attacking flair in setting up a try for Sosaia Feki to give the Devils a 24 point lead at the break.
His last effort would prompt Lauri to go one better and get a four pointer for himself, again showing great speed and determination for a big man.
Interchange utility Ryan Barbuto scored a wonderful solo try shortly after, ducking and weaving his way through the middle of the park and evading a number of tackles to finish under the sticks.
The pick of the bunch was the second try to Lachlan Hurst, after Justin Rodrigues send a kick over the Corrimal defence from his own 40m line, bouncing up perfectly for Hurst to run the rest of the field to score.
Hurst would complete his hat-trick late on after some great running through the middle of the park from Levi Pascoe to round off a stellar hit out from the Devils.
Ruthless De La Salle dismantle Dapto
It was more non-stop tries as De La Salle completely bullied Dapto off the park in their 50-12 victory.
Like Corrimal, this leaves Dapto winless after the opening three rounds of the Illawarra Cup.
Five-eighth Eli Levido was a standout performer all day for De La Salle, signalling his intent early as he opened the scoring for his side, deceiving three defenders with a huge dummy off a scrum and going in to score untouched.
We looked as though we would have a game on our hands early on as Dapto fought back with a try down the left flank to Bradley Manton.
That would be the end of that though, as De La Salle would pile on eight unanswered tries.
Lock forward Jackson Stewart proved valuable in attack, finding the line twice and showcasing a powerful running game, both times assisted by his halfback Jack A Williams.
Levido set his winger Tyler McIlroy up for a first half double, first off a kick which was knocked on by Dapto’s Troy Pieper, before setting up McIlroy down the short side after opting to run the ball on the last tackle.
Tre Fotu showcased his great running strength, keeping the legs pumping in the attempted tackle of two to barge over and score from centre.
Josh Vaartjes would add a consolation in the final minutes, but overall it was a convincing run out for the visiting side.
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