Andrew Johns/Laurie Daley Cup: Wrap, results, standouts from round five
A stunning final-minute play has booked one side its spot in the semi-finals during a thrilling final-round clash in the Andrew Johns and Laurie Daley Cup.
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It was all on the line during a dramatic final round of the Andrew Johns and Laurie Daley Cup competitions. In two final-round blockbusters, a last-minute field goal sealed one clash and a dominant opening another as teams sought to book their spots in the semi-finals.
ANDREW JOHNS CUP
FINAL-MIN FIELD GOAL DECIDES SEMI-FINAL SHOOTOUT
A dramatic final-minute field goal has sealed a spot in the semi-finals for the Newcastle-Maitland Region Knights as the side defeated the Central Coast Roosters 17-16 in a winner-takes-all blockbuster at the Lakeside Sporting Complex at Raymond Terrace.
Halfback Ty Ennis was the hero for the home side by slotting a clutch field goal from 20m out to cap off a wonderful game with the boot.
In a must-win clash between the two teams, who were locked in a three-way tie at the top of the ladder, the Roosters struck the first blow in the 12th minute when a brilliant chip and chase from five-eighth Tukia Fotu-Moala set up halves partner Matthew Norman to score under the sticks.
The Knights hit back straight away after a wonderful kick return from winger Chayce Afa gave the side great field position, before hooker Chase Firman went over from dummy-half a couple of plays later to lock things up at 6-all.
The tit for tat continued when the Knights allowed to kick-off to go dead in goal.
From the resulting set Roosters’ hooker Nate Ross stepped and dummied his way over to give the side a 12-6 lead at the break.
The Knights may have come out of the sheds behind but they quickly flipped the script with a stunning opening to the second half.
In the team’s first set of the half it charged up field, with winger William Hoffman doing brilliantly to catch a dangerous cross-field bomb from Ennis to score out wide just two minutes after the restart.
Ennis had the ball on a string and in the very next set kicked a stunning 40/20 to once again give the Knights a golden opportunity.
The team duly capitalised as a nice offload from five-eighth Morgan Carter put Afa over. Continuing his excellent form with the boot, Ennis slotted the conversion from the sideline to put the Knights up 16-12.
On the back of a five-minute blitz Newcastle had taken control of the game. The team almost went in again when Hoffman came close to reeling in another dangerous kick from Ennis.
The home side was on top and looked the more likely to score next until Central Coast winger Chayse Dobson plucked a Newcastle pass out of the air and ran 45m to lock things up with a crucial intercept try. Ross put the conversion wide to leave scores locked up at 16-all with 14 minutes remaining.
What followed was a dramatic final period as both sides pushed for a winner.
The Knights once again came close through Hoffman, who got his fingertips to a towering kick from five-eighth Carter but was unable to keep the ball in grasp.
With a better goal difference, the Roosters stood to benefit from a draw, and at one stage it looked like the game may end even as neither side was able to capitalise on its opportunities.
That was until another brilliant kick from Ennis and some steely Newcastle defence forced a line dropout. Two plays later the Knights’ halfback finished the job by calmly slotting a field goal from 20m out to put his side ahead with just 30 seconds remaining.
Remarkably that wasn’t the end of the action. Fotu-Moala did incredibly well to fly through the air to regather the kick-off and give his side one last chance. And while Norman took a final-play field goal attempt to level the game, the ball went well wide and Newcastle held on for a dramatic win.
The victory pushes the Knights into first place in the Northern Pool and seals the team’s spot in the semi-finals.
The loss was a bitter blow for the Roosters, who slip to third in the group, although the team could still qualify for the finals if the Northern Rivers Titans lose their final game by 20 points or more.
Newcastle-Maitland Region Knights 17 (Firman, Hoffman Afa tries; Ennis two goals; Ennis one field goal) defeated Central Coast Roosters 16 (Norman, Ross, Dobson tries; Ross two goals)
Sunday’s fixtures to be updated
LAURIE DALEY CUP
DOMINANT KNIGHTS KNOCK OUT ROOSTERS
The Newcastle-Maitland Region Knights have temporarily moved into the all-important second place in the Northern Pool and in the process elimination their locals rivals the Central Coast Roosters from finals contention after prevailing 24-6 at the Lakeside Sporting Complex at Raymond Terrace.
An explosive opening 10-minute blitz set the platform for victory as the Knights ran out five-tries-to-one winners to leapfrog their rivals into semi-final positions.
In what was a must-win game for both sides, the Knights got off to a dream start as they marched up field in the first set of the game and then put up a dangerous bomb that was dropped by Roosters’ winger Tali Kolofale.
From the resulting set centre Kyran Blair did well to shrug off his opposite number to go over for the first try of the game after just two minutes.
Newcastle then doubled up on its fantastic start by going back to back in the next set.
After once again making great yards, the team put the ball through the hands on the last to put winger Ronan Hill into space. With just one to beat he put grubbered the ball back in field for hooker Diesel Hagan to score and make it 8-0 inside five minutes.
It was all one-way traffic as the Knights almost scored again with the very next set, forcing a line dropout.
And when that went out on the full Newcastle had another fresh set on the Central Coast line. The Roosters held on, and remarkably were tackled with the ball for the first time after 10 minutes of play.
The home side continued to dominate, however, and thought it was over again on the quarter-hour mark when winger Talen Balcombe planted the ball down, only for the final pass to be ruled forward.
Batted, bruised and completely under the pump, the Roosters had very much been second best over the early passages but in the 21st minute they somehow found themselves just two points behind as the team capitalised on a Knights’ error to put winger Bodie Jeffreys over directly from an attacking scrum.
However Newcastle reasserted its dominance, with Hagan showing his class by doing well to catch a short dropout and then shrug off a defender to go in for the team’s third. The hooker’s tough day with goalkicking continued though, and the Knights took a well-deserved 12-6 lead into the break.
While the Knights dominated the first half, things were far more even early in the second as both sides had their moments but were unable to produce the finishing touch to trouble the scoreboard.
Central Coast playmaker Isaac Fotu-Moala got heartbeats racing early in the second half when he came close to scoring after two clever chips over the top.
Meanwhile for the Knights, five-eighth Ryder Crosswell came within centimetres of scoring after a run close to the line.
The Roosters had another great chance shortly after following an excellent 40/20 from Brok Elliott, however an error in the play-the-ball saw the team hand over the ball once again.
With the Knights leading 12-6 a crucial moment came with 15 minutes remaining. With his team on the attack, Central Coast hooker Ryan Tukapua darted out of dummy-half and put in a grubber that went dead in goal.
With a seven-tackle set the Knights charged up field, earning a repeat set along the way.
A nice offload from prop Austyn Ah Toon-Hotene and then a slice of luck as Fletcher O’Doherty dropped the ball backwards and kicked it to his outside men helped put backrower Roy Simpson one-on-one with a defender out wide.
The big man was too strong and charged over to give the Knights a crucial 16-6 lead. Hagan then slotted his first conversion of the day to make it 18-6 with 12 to go.
The try gave the Knights added momentum and a couple of minutes they went in again after a clever blindside run from Kyran Blair to make it 24-6 and seal the win.
The victory takes the Knights above the Roosters into second place on the ladder on points difference. However the side will have to wait another week to see if it will play final football as the Northern Rivers Titans have the chance to jump up into second if they defeat the Northern Tigers by 26 points or more.
Newcastle-Maitland Region Knights 24 (Blair 2, Hagan 2, Simpson tries; Hagan two goals) defeated Central Coast Roosters 6 (Jeffreys try; Elliott one goal)
Sunday’s fixtures to be updated
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