Andrew Johns/Laurie Daley Cup: Top-10 star performers, talking points from round five
There was a four-try hero, pointscoring freak and one of the greatest playmaking displays in competition history. Check out the top-10 star performers from round five.
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The cream certainly rose to the top during round five of the Andrew Johns and Laurie Daley Cup competitions over the weekend, with some star players putting in outstanding performances for their sides.
As teams pushed to either consolidate a semi-final position or force themselves into finals contention, there were four-try heroes, tryscoring freaks and one of the greatest playmaking performances the competitions have seen.
Catch up with a wrap of the top-10 star performers of the week, along with round five’s major talking points, below.
TAJ JORDAN (WESTERN RAMS)
Three tries, five goals, 22 points. The fullback turned on the fireworks with an absolutely blistering performance in the Rams’ 52-10 thumping of the Northern Tigers in the Johns Cup.
In a display worthy of a highlights reel of its own, Jordan’s best moment came early in the second half when he showed speed, nous and skill to catch a bomb on his own 10m line, identify a gap in the Tigers’ defence and then run 90m to score.
The performance ensured that the fullback finished equal top of the try- and pointscoring lists for the regular season, with eight four-pointers and 44 points in five games.
BROCK ACHURCH (MACARTHUR WESTS TIGERS)
He might have had the number nine on his back, but the Tigers skipper pulled the strings from the halves in the team’s 42-6 demolition of the Dragons.
With a hand in three tries, Achurch was a key cog in Macarthur’s attack as the team’s backline moves proved particularly lethal.
CODY FIELD (NEWCASTLE-MAITLAND REGION KNIGHTS)
The Knights’ fullback continued his excellent season with another top performance in his team’s 24-all thriller against the Central Coast Roosters in the Johns Cup.
helping to set up three tries, Field did as he’s done all season by linking up beautifully in the Knights’ sweeping backline plays as the side’s lethal left edge kicked into gear once again.
BILLY MULHERAN (NORTHERN RIVERS TITANS)
The big front-rower was outstanding in the middle as the Titans edged out the North Coast Bulldogs 24-20 in the Johns Cup.
Getting through a mountain of work in both attack and defence, Mulheran helped set the platform for the Titans as they dominated early.
Meanwhile, not for the first time this season, he also showed his deft hands with an excellent short ball for the team’s first try and a couple of offloads that led to line-breaks.
RHYS CHAPMAN (MONARO COLTS)
A constant threat on the right edge, the five-eighth showed off his ball-playing in the side’s 34-8 win over Riverina in the Johns Cup by putting Tyla Hope and Latrell Dyer over for tries in the first half.
In a good day out for the Colts, he backed that up with five from six with the boot.
HARRY CHADBURN (NORTHERN RIVERS TITANS)
It was a golden weekend for the Titans’ five-eighth who had an absolute field day in his side’s 44-20 victory over local rivals the North Coast Bulldogs.
It all started in just the seventh minute when he flipped a Bulldogs’ attack on its head by intercepting a pass on his own 10m line before running 90 to score the first try of the game.
That was just a sign of things to come, with the crafty playmaker laying on another three assists - including an incredible cut-out ball for backrower Ayden Byrnes to go over in the second half - as the Titans ran riot down the right edge.
If that wasn’t enough, Chadburn kicked six from eight with the boot to cap off a brilliant performance.
CHAICE BAYLEY (CENTRAL COAST ROOSTERS)
It was the Chaice Bayley show at Cessnock Sportsground on Saturday as the Central Coast five-eighth put on one of the greatest playmaking performances in Laurie Daley Cup history in his side’s 40-14 win over local rivals the Newcastle-Maitland Region Knights.
Popping up on either the right or left-hand side, Bayley seemingly put his teammates over for fun, whether through a short ball, cut-out or grubber, with his excellent bullet pass for winger Tumeke Huriwai late in the first half the pick of the bunch.
It was an ominous warning from the talented half ahead of the finals.
BRAYDON ALLAN (NORTHERN TIGERS)
One of the Tigers’ most dependable players through the middle, the lock forward stepped into the limelight as the Northern side once again put on an attacking clinic in its 30-6 win over Western in the Daley Cup.
Running a strong line in the middle, Allan crossed for the side’s first try, before shortly after turning provider with a nice step and pass to put centre Sam Carr over.
He backed it up again in the second half with another pass under pressure to help put Keandre Johnson-Vale over in the right-hand corner.
ARCHIE DUNCOMBE (MACARTHUR WESTS TIGERS)
One of Macarthur’s most consistent performers all season, the backrower was once again rock solid on the left edge as the Tigers defeated the Dragons 24-10 in the Daley Cup.
While getting through plenty of work in defence and taking some tough carries out from his own end, Duncombe also provided some class in attack, putting Brady McMillan over with a nice short ball before doing it all himself for the team’s second of the match and his sixth of the season.
LACHLAN CUNANAN (MONARO COLTS)
The outside back had a day to remember against Riverina in round five, crossing for four tries in his side’s 62-12 thumping of the Bulls in the Daley Cup.
An expert finisher on the right wing, Cunanan also turned provider with an excellent run to set up Toby Ferris for a four-pointer in the 50-point rout.
ROUND 5 TALKING POINTS
It was all to play for during round five of the Andrew Johns and Laurie Daley Cups as teams made a last-ditch effort for the semis in the final round of the regular season.
From a record-breaking contest, to some stunning tries and arguably the match of the season, the teams certainly didn’t disappoint in an action-filled weekend of football.
With the regular season done and dusted and the semi-finals teams locked in, we’ve taken a look at the top talking points from round five.
CENTRAL COAST GO UNDEFEATED
There were plenty of tries, late drama and a match-of-the-season contender, but the Central Coast Roosters managed to keep their undefeated season in tact after a huge local derby double-header against the Newcastle-Maitland Region Knights at Cessnock Sportsground.
The Johns Cup team played out an epic 24-all draw against the Knights in a top-of-the-table clash, while the Roosters flexed their muscles in the Daley Cup with a 40-16 thumping.
This meant that both Central Coast sides finished the five-game regular season with identical records of four wins and one draw. Perhaps most surprisingly, these excellent records weren’t good enough for top spot, with the Chooks finishing second in their respective pools on points difference.
WAS THAT A GF PREVIEW?
Speaking of the local derby, the Johns Cup clash between the Knights and Roosters was undoubtedly one of the matches of the season as both sides went blow for blow in an epic encounter.
Coming into the game undefeated, the teams put on a frenetic display that saw the Knights initially take the lead before the Roosters took control in the middle part of the game, only for the home side to come storming back with two late tries to even things up.
After such as excellent season and a gripping final-round clash, could the same two teams line up against each other in the grand final?
TIGERS’ POINTSFEST CONTINUES
In the Daley Cup, the Northern Tigers continued their free-flowing ways with a 30-6 victory over the Western Rams in Narromine.
That takes the total points scored to 162 for the five-game season and extends a quite remarkable record for the side, which topped the Northern Pool with four wins and a draw.
Not since the semi-finals in 2021 has the Tigers’ Daley Cup side failed to score 30 points in a game that it ended up winning, showing that attacking football is in the club’s DNA.
MACARTHUR BOUNCES BACK
As for the other Tigers, Macarthur showed that last weekend’s twin losses to Monaro were just a blip on the system after recording two convincing wins over the Illawarra South Coast Dragons as both sides booked their spot in the finals.
Needing to avoid a loss to prevent any chance of them missing out on the semis, the Johns Cup side dismantled the Dragons 42-6 with a dominant second half performance, while the Daley team finished up 24-10 victors.
It ensured that both sides finished second in the Southern Pool and will take on the Knights (Johns Cup) and Northern Tigers (Daley Cup) in the first week of the finals, with the club just one of two – alongside the Central Coast Roosters – to have both sides qualify for the semis.
END OF THE ROAD FOR DRAGONS
Defeat at the hands of Macarthur spelled the end of the Dragons’ chances of making in the finals in both grades.
As the only club capable of breaking into the top four in both the Johns and Daley Cups heading into the weekend, the Dragons were well short of the mark against the Tigers, losing 42-6 and 24-10, respectively, to leave both with records of one win and three losses from their four games.
It marks a disappointing campaign for the south coast side, who took out last year’s Daley Cup crown. The club will have pride to play for when the teams travel north to take on the Titans in the rescheduled round three clash this weekend.
TITANS CLAIM CLEAN SWEEP
Things are looking much better for the Dragons’ opponents, with the Titans putting in their best performance of the season with a clean sweep of the North Coast Bulldogs in a local derby at Port Macquarie.
With a tight 24-20 win in the under-16s and comprehensive 44-20 victory in the Daley Cup, the Titans recorded their first clean sweep of the season, lifting both teams to a record of two wins and two losses.
It is a case of what could have been for the Northern Rivers sides, who have played some excellent footy over the course of the season but will miss out on the finals after some nailbiting losses earlier in the campaign.
The Johns Cup side fell just short of pulling off a miraculous comeback against the Roosters, going down 26-22 in round two, while the Daley Cup team also just fell short of knocking over the Central Coast, going down 18-14 before pushing the Northern Tigers all the way in their 34-30 loss.
COLTS OUTPACE BULLS
It was also a good weekend for the Monaro Colts, who recorded two big wins against Southern Pool rivals the Riverina Bulls.
The young Colts made sure they finished their season on a positive note with a 34-8 win, while Monaro’s Daley Cup side warmed up for the semi-finals with a monster 62-12 victory – the largest winning margin of the campaign so far.
The win put an exclamation mark on an excellent past month for the side, who have won four straight to finish the pool in first spot as the most potent attacking side in the division.
RAMS FLEX THEIR MUSCLES
Speaking of attacking weapons, the Western Rams’ Johns Cup team reaffirmed its status as the most lethal outfit with the ball in hand in either competition after disposing of the Northern Tigers 52-10 to top the Northern Pool.
Fullback Taj Jordan crossed for a hat-trick in a 22-point haul and Ravai Tulevu, Jai Ashby and Callum Miskell all scored doubles in the rout, which took the team’s season tally to a whopping 192 points – the highest in either of the regional competitions, equivalent to an average of 38.4 points per game.
While they come into the semi-finals in red-hot form, the Rams will no doubt face sterner opposition in the undefeated Central Coast Roosters.
INTERCEPTS LIGHT UP COMP
One of the highlights of round five was the amount of quality intercept tries across both competitions.
Arguably the most clutch moment came in the epic 24-all draw between the Knights and Roosters in the Johns Cup. With the Roosters leading 24-14 and attacking the Knights’ line with seven minutes to go, Newcastle interchange player Riley Martin showed enormous courage and skill to pluck an Owen Knowles cut-out ball out of the air and then run 95m to score for his side.
It triggered a late comeback for the Knights who scored another try with just two minutes to go to share the points.
Watch the try here.
Elsewhere, while Riverina might not have come away with the chocolates, centre Jye Parker-Little created a moment for the highlights reel with his own intercept late in the team’s 34-8 loss to Monaro.
With a Colts’ attack down the left edge looking menacing, the Bulls’ centre picked off a short ball from Monaro backrower Brodie Irvin and then set off up field. Showing too much pace for the chasing defenders, he ran 75m to score the team’s second try of the match.
Meanwhile capping off an excellent round, Northern Rivers Titans five-eighth Harry Chadburn pulled off one of his own in just the seventh minute of his side’s 44-20 win over the North Coast Bulldogs, snatching an attempted cut-out ball before running 90m to give his side an early lead.
Watch the highlights here.
LEADING TRY-, POINTSCORERS CROWNED
The end of the regular season has also seen the leading try- and pointscorers crowned in both competitions.
After leading the whole way, it is perhaps no surprise to see Central Coast Roosters winger Semi Leweniqila finish on top of the tries in the Johns Cup with eight. He is joined by Western Rams fullback Taj Jordan, who stormed home with a hat-trick against the Northern Tigers to share the spoils.
Jordan’s 22-point haul also saw him take out the competition’s pointscoring race, alongside Rams teammate Callum Miskell, with 44. While Jordan’s haul was made up of eight tries and six goals, Miskell got to 44 on the back of two tries and 18 goals.
The pair narrowly edged out Knights fullback Cody Field, who finished on 42 points.
In the Daley Cup, a late flurry from Macarthur winger Saint Fuatimau saw the flyer finish on top of the pile with seven tries, with two second half four-pointers in the final round win over the Dragons enough to take out the gong.
He finished one ahead of Tigers’ teammate Archie Duncombe, Monaro’s final round, four-try hero Lachlan Cunanan, Western gun Cooper Black and Knights half Jack Thompson, who remarkably scored six tries in just two games in the grade.
In terms of the golden boot, that went to Northern Tigers sharpshooter Dylan Keane, who scored two tries and an incredible 23 goals to finish in front on 54 points, narrowly ahead of Rams’ star Black on 52.
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