Wentworthville Magpies beat St Marys for Ron Massey Cup
One team lived up to their favourites tag while another caused a stir on the opening day of the NSWRL grand final weekend.
Parramatta
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The Wentworthville Magpies lived up to prematch expectations by securing a third successive Ron Massey Cup on the opening day of the NSWRL grand final weekend.
The two clubs went into the game with a win each this season but it was the Magpies who took down St Marys Saints 32-14 when it mattered most in a replay of the competitions grand final a year ago.
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“We had 15 players leave the club last year and I’m just so proud to be part of it,” said Man of the Match Beau Henry.
“It’s a credit to the coaching staff and how hard they worked.
“It’s a great feeling to win three in a row and it’s hard to separate them as they’ve all been really special.”
In 2018 the Magpies beat St Marys 38-4.
The club has now won seven premierships in the past 10 years (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019).
Written off at the start of the season, the Ryde-Eastwood Hawks have claimed a piece of rugby league history at the end of it.
The club rallied to come from behind to beat the Cabramatta Two Blues for their first Sydney Shield premiership at Leichardt Oval on the opening day of the NSWRL grand final weekend.
The Hawkes, making their maiden appearance in the Sydney Shield, beat minor premiers Cabramatta 22-12 on Saturday in the season decider,
It was a season to remember for the Hawks, a team few tipped to dominate in their first season.
But defying the odds, the Hawks strung together 11 straight wins to be a major force at season end.
Five-eighth Adam Rizk was rewarded for his two-try heroics with Man of the Match honours.
“It’s unreal, it’s a great bunch of boys we’ve got here,” Rizk said.
“Cabra came out hard but I guess we were more hungry which was great. It’s a top feeling.
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“It’s our first season as a Shield side, they wrote us off at the start of the year and to come back and win the grand final is unreal.”
Cabramatta were playing in their 100th season after being founded in 1919.