Andrew Johns/Laurie Daley Cup: Wrap, results, standouts from round five
The race for the semi-finals came down to the final play of the regular season as the top four was decided by the finest of margins in the Andrew Johns and Laurie Daley Cup.
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It was all to play for during a dramatic final round of the Andrew Johns and Laurie Daley Cup competitions.
After the majority of round five games were played last weekend, two postponed games in each competition took place on Sunday as teams battled it out to qualify for the semi-finals.
With such high stakes, some teams made ominous statements, others scraped home while in one game a late try created heartbreak by sinking one team’s chances of taking out the title.
Catch up with a wrap of the action below.
ANDREW JOHNS CUP
TIGERS DOWN TIGERS TO SHAKE UP TOP FOUR
The Northern Tigers have finished their season in style while the Northern Rivers Titans have missed out on the chance to top the Northern Pool after the former prevailed 16-14 in a tight clash at Jack Woolaston Oval in Tamworth.
A dominant second half proved to be the difference for the Tigers as they picked up their second win of the season in a seesawing contest.
Going into the game knowing that a win would see them take out first place in the pool, the Titans struck first midway through the first half when the Tigers were unable to deal with a Dallas Russell bomb and backrower Max Palmer picked up the scraps to score.
It was the only scoring play of the half as the Titans took a 4-0 lead into the sheds.
The game continued in a grind after the break until the Titans knocked the ball on while coming out of their own end.
From the scrum the Tigers shifted it left, with centre Dustin Hiscock breaking through the line and handing the ball off to his winger Cooper O’Neill to score to level things up at 4-all.
The Tigers were then handed a golden opportunity when the Titans penalised for offside at the kick-off and they didn’t waste their chance, this time shift shifting the ball right for opposite winger to make it 8-4.
Tigers were on the attack again shortly after, knocking on the door once more until Northern Rivers centre Parker Kemister plucked a Kobhan Nean cut-out ball out of the air and shot off up field. With multiple Tigers chasing in tow, he showed enough speed to keep them at bay as he ran 90m to score and to lock things up at 8-8 with 13 to go.
A penalty goal edged the Tigers ahead by two before some clever work and a nice inside ball from halfback Sam Oliver put Kobhan Nean over to give the side a decisive 16-8 lead.
In a game of swings in momentum there was one last twist as Titans hooker Cruz Sewell burrowed over with two minutes to go to make it a two-point ball game, however it was too little too late as the Tigers held on for their second win of the season to finish fourth in the Northern Pool.
As for the Titans, while they will play finals football, the loss saw them stay in second place in the pool, meaning they will face the undefeated Illawarra South Coast Dragons in a knockout clash this weekend.
Northern Tigers 16 (O’Neill, Stafa, Nean tries; Matthews two goals) defeated Northern Rivers Titans 14 (Palmer, Kemister, Sewell tries; Russell one goal)
MACARTHUR WARMS UP FOR FINALS
The Macarthur Wests Tigers have finetuned their preparations for the semi-finals with a 48-24 thumping of the North Coast Bulldogs at Harry Elliot Oval in Tuncurry.
With the game played in sweltering conditions, Sam Francis, Sebastian Taylor and Zephaniah McLean Lemalu all crossed for doubles as the Tigers ran in nine tries as 72 points were scored in the match.
Macarthur was given a golden opportunity early on as the Bulldogs dropped the ball in their first set. The Tigers shifted the ball left from the scrum, with centre Joshua Ratu running a great line to go through untouched to score the opener after just 90 seconds.
The Bulldogs hit back just a couple of minutes later when centre Logan Clarke crashed over to make it 6-all.
However that was as close as the North Coast side got as Macarthur took control of the contest in what was a frenetic opening period.
A nice break from halfback Connor Potts led to a try for fullback Llanden Granger before five-eighth Terowie Golding-Lyons sliced through to set up Sam Francis for a four-pointer.
The Tigers were on fire and when Potts broke the line again and went all the way himself, Macarthur had raced out to a 20-6 lead after 20 minutes.
The visitors weren’t finished though, with Ioane Sasulu showing off his ball skills with a lovely ball to put Zephaniah McLean Lemalu through to give the side a commanding 26-6 lead at the break.
After a difficult first half, the Bulldogs needed a breakthrough early in the second and they got just that when a Mason White bomb caught the Tigers’ back three off guard and halfback Rafferty Gordon raced through to score under the sticks just one minute after the restart.
However the Tigers snuffed out any thought of a comeback after a nice spread to the right put winger Sebastian Taylor over in the corner.
From here the game went tit for tat as North Coast hooker Connor Laverty dived over from dummy-half before Tigers’ winger Cooper Butler took advantage of a quick 20m restart to break the line and set Francis up for his second with a stunning run up field and Taylor grabbed his double with a 65m intercept try to make it 40-18.
The points were flowing as the game was played in sweltering conditions, with teams crossing for one more try each as the Tigers capped off a big win.
The victory saw the Tigers finish in second place in the Southern Pool, setting up a semi-final clash with the Knights this weekend, while the Bulldogs finished their campaign without a win in fifth place in the Northern Pool.
Macarthur Wests Tigers 48 (Francis 2, Taylor 2, McLean Lemalu 2, Ratu, Granger, Potts tries; Granger five goals) defeated North Coast Bulldogs 24 (Clarke, Gordon, Laverty, Newton tries; House three goals, Bedwell one goal)
LAURIE DALEY CUP
HEARTBREAK AS LATE TRY SINKS TITANS
The Northern Rivers Titans have fallen agonisingly short of qualifying for the Daley Cup semi-finals despite recording a comprehensive 28-6 victory over the Northern Tigers at Jack Woolaston Oval in Tamworth.
Needing to win by 26 points or more to jump up into second place in the Northern Pool, the Titans raced out to a 28-point lead before conceding a late try to miss out on finals footy by the narrowest of margins.
The result means that the Titans finished the regular season in third place in the Northern Pool, equal on points with Newcastle but with a slightly inferior points difference (38 v 34).
In a game in which every point was crucial, it was a rather tight opening as both sides’ defences held firm.
After a fairly even opening the Northern Rivers side slowly worked their way on top and earned a string of repeat sets.
The pressure eventually paid off as some sharp footwork from five-eighth Lynton Close put lock Malachy Laarhoven over for the first of the game after 25 minutes. Close then added the extras to make it 6-0.
While it had taken the best part of half an hour to get on the board, the Titans then went back to back in consecutive sets. A penalty from the kick-off, on account of the Tigers’ players being in front of the kicker, helped the Northern Rivers up field, with forward Kwinn Wolf crashing over to make it 12-0.
Close had been a standout for the Titans and with the last play of the half he came up with another moment of magic to really get his side excited.
With the ball deep in his own end on the last, the five-eighth put in a clever chip over the top before regathering and passing on to winger Tye Hogan-Collins, who ran 65m with the siren blaring in the background to give his side a 16-0 lead at the break.
With three tries in 10 minutes to close out the half, the Titans were getting close to the margin they needed and this looked even more realistic just a couple of minutes after the break when the team swooped on a Northern knock-on and winger Kyron Nipperess shot 50m down the line to make it 22-0.
With just four more points required to jump up into the top-two and more than 25 minutes to play, the Titans were full of confidence.
They only had to wait a couple of minutes to cross again when Nipperess did incredibly well to acrobatically leap high and take a pinpoint kick from halfback Jimmy McCombie before slamming the ball down to put the side ahead 26-0 and move it into a semi-final position.
A penalty goal shortly after then stretched the lead out further to 28.
The Titans almost went in again when Ryder Nelson got on the end of a clever chip kick from McCombie, only for the final pass to go to ground with the tryline begging.
However just when it looked like the final quarter-hour of the match would be a mere formality, the Tigers sprung to life.
Will Foley came agonisingly close after a dart out of dummy-half before interchange forward Lachlan Hawkins barged his way over with just eight minutes remaining to get his side on the board.
With the scoreline now 28-6 the Titans were suddenly chasing another try.
They appeared destined to score in the right-hand corner, only for Northern winger Luke Lowick to knock down the final pass and save a try.
Then with just seconds on the clock the Titans looked as though they were going to pinch the result when Nipperess flew through the air to get on the end of another smart kick from McCombie, however the winger lost control of the ball as he tried to plant it down.
It proved to be the final play of the game as the Northern Rivers side fell heartbreakingly close to qualifying for the finals, despite recording a strong win.
Northern Rivers Titans 28 (Nipperess 2, Laarhoven, Wolf, Hogan-Collins tries; Close four goals) defeated Northern Tigers 6 (Hawkins try; Dietrich one goal)
5-STAR BULLDOGS SOUND HUGE WARNING
The North Coast Bulldogs have sounded an ominous warning to the rest of the competition by hammering the Macarthur Wests Tigers 44-6 at Harry Elliot Oval in Tuncurry to ensure top spot in the Northern Pool and cap off a perfect regular season for the side.
Karl Turner and Aidan Langham both grabbed doubles as the Dogs ran in nine tries to one against the Tigers, who they will line up against in the semi-final this weekend.
The rout started in the third minute when the Tigers failed to clear up a Rielly Laverty grubber and fullback Turner pounced on the scraps to score.
A couple of minutes later Turner was in again after he was fed through a gap to cross for the team’s second and a 10-0 lead.
The Dogs were well on top surged further out of reach with another quick-fire double. First centre Zayne Shutes went over on the left edge before halfback Toby Batten sliced through the line and set up haves partner Laverty to score under the sticks.
Then when Batten put backrower Antwone Quinlin-Randall through a hole, the home side had raced out to a 26-0 lead at halftime.
The Bulldogs had been utterly dominant in the first half and this trend continued after the break when winger Langham scored in the corner just five minutes after the restart and Rave Brazier crashed over shortly after to give the home side a stunning 36-0 lead.
After 53 minutes the Tigers finally got on the board through Riley Edmunds, however the North Coast side ensured that it finished on a high with Langham’s second and a late try to fellow winger Wesley LeRougetel to put the cherry on top of a huge win.
The victory saw the Bulldogs finish the regular season with a perfect record of five from five.
As for Macarthur, the loss pushed the side into second place in the Southern Pool, which has set up a rematch between the two sides in the semi-finals on Sunday.
North Coast Bulldogs 44 (Turner 2, Langham 2, Shutes, Laverty, Quinlin-Randall, Brazier, LeRougetel tries; Batten four goals) defeated Macarthur Wests Tigers 6 (Edmunds try, Faumui one goal)
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