Macarthur Rugby League: Curtis Scott to appeal suspension, round seven talking points
Once again, a Macarthur Rugby League derby has stolen the headlines as a star player’s season goes on the line at the judiciary. Here are the key talking points from round seven.
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With seven rounds done and dusted, here are the major talking points in Macarthur Rugby League.
CURTIS SCOTT TO APPEAL SUSPENSION
At the time of writing, the outcome of the Curtis Scott send off at Picton was still to play out at the judiciary.
Dismissed for allegedly abusing the referee following a contentious forward pass ruling, Scott had the option of accepting a five-match suspension with an early guilty plea.
Believing the charge should be downgraded, Thirlmere will contest the charge at a hearing scheduled for Thursday evening.
WEEK OFF A BLESSING AS INJURIES BITE
Faced by mounting injuries and niggles, the majority of clubs are grateful for this weekend’s break.
On Saturday night, upon hitting the afterburners Michael Lett’s hamstring let go in an injury that is likely to sideline the 36-year-old Picton fullback for a period of four to six weeks.
In the same match, Thirlmere’s pack finished battered and bruised with Levi Bromfield, Lachlan Bush and Kye Madden all feeling worse for wear.
On Sunday, East Campbelltown fullback Nathan Gardner failed to start against Camden after pulling up lame in the warm up. And at Onslow Oval, Oakdale’s Kyle Fraser failed to finish after leaving the field with rib and neck injuries.
While down south, reliable Mittagong prop Keiran Rankmore faces a month on the sidelines with a fractured wrist.
PLAY OF THE ROUND
Trailing Picton 16-4 with about 20 minutes to play, Thirlmere surged back into contention with back-to-back tries in the space of five minutes.
Down by two, Levi Bromfield set about continuing Thirlmere’s momentum from the restart. But after hitting top gear, the menacing prop was counting stars, folded in half by a Nicholas Soloa Toomata rib rattler.
It not only took the wind out of the big No.8, it stopped Thirlmere’s comeback right in its tracks.
COYNE AND NEW SET THE PACE
With 10 tries in just six matches, Mittagong’s James Coyne is setting a cracking pace at the top of the try scorers’ list.
Thirlmere’s Mitch New and Daniel Payne from The Oaks are only one behind, and they are joined by Lions surprise packet Liam Cassidy.
Last season Picton flyer Harrison Foster finished on top with 20, a target that remains well within reach for more than a handful of stars in 2023.
DERBY RUNS DRY
Such was the enormity of the crowd at the Picton derby last Saturday night, rumour has it, the beer stocks not only ran out once, but on two occasions.
MITTAGONG BUILD HANDY BUFFER
Mittagong sit three points clear at the top of the ladder and remain the only unbeaten side after seven rounds, and with an average winning margin of just under 39 points they are yet to be fully tested.
Oakdale finished the closest back in round four, but even then, at 32-6 they hardly pushed the envelope.
The next four rounds promises to be their biggest test, when they face three of the top five sides and a resurgent Picton.
RAMS HAUNTED BY GOAL KICKING WOES
Despite finishing six tries to four winners, Camden only defeated East Campbelltown by four points.
With ball in hand Jackson Willis was unstoppable, but from the tee he only managed to land one from six attempts. To be fair, the majority were from out wide, but pressed on the issue skipper Brad Speechley acknowledged it was an area of concern.
RESERVE GRADE COMP HOTTING UP
The Lions’ season is shaping as one to remember. Alongside their unbeaten first grade side, the ressies are yet to taste defeat and currently sit on top of the table.
The Oaks are also unbeaten in second spot, just one win ahead of last season’s premiership winning side, Camden.
ROUND EIGHT DRAW, SUNDAY 28 MAY
The Oaks v East Campbelltown at Dudley Chesham Sports Ground
Campbelltown City v South West at Fullwood Reserve
Camden v Campbelltown Collegians at Kirkham Park
Mittagong v Thirlmere at Mittagong Sports Ground
Narellan v Picton at Narellan Sports Ground
ROUND SEVEN WRAP
Round seven wrap, and the coaches have their say.
CLASSY WILLIS INSPIRES RAMS
It may have been Mother’s Day, but that didn’t stop Camden five-eighth Jackson Willis from handing out gifts to his eager teammates at Waminda Oval in the Rams’ 26-22 defeat of East Campbelltown.
In a day to remember, Willis had the ball on a string setting up four of Camden’s first five tries, including a hat-trick to winger John Ryan.
The Eagles got off to a bright start, crossing in the opening set after winger Jayke Lealuga Puhotau finished a Kobe Chamberlin break.
From then on it was all Willis, with a combination of kicks and cut-out passes, the No.6 helped Camden to a 22-10 advantage just after halftime.
But East Campbelltown were never far away, and unlike last year’s decider continued to remain in the contest. Hooker Luke Williams closed the gap to six before Camden skipper Brad Speechley put Logan Matapuku in for his second of the day.
Still the Eagles lingered, and when prop Logan Muir charged over off an Edward Masoe offload, the home side were within a converted try of an unlikely victory.
In an unusual finish, the Eagles had one last chance to attack in the final minute, but the opportunity quickly evaporated when Camden won a scrum against the feed.
In the end, a relieved Speechley was happy to leave with the two competition points.
“We had them on the ropes but couldn’t put them away,” the captain-coach said of his side’s six tries to four win.
“Waminda is always a tough place to play, so to walk away with the win will be something we can look back on as the season unfolds.
“We weren’t at our best but found a way to hang in there. The Eagles were missing a few, including fullback Nathan Gardner who pulled out during the warm-up.”
And on Willis, the halfback couldn’t have been more pleased.
“It’s the best game I’ve seen him play, it was very pleasing.”
GUTSY MAGPIES UPSET ROOSTERS – SCOTT SENT OFF AGAIN
A week after The Oaks and Oakdale’s epic encounter, a fired up Picton have rolled cross town rivals Thirlmere 16-14 in another shootout befitting of a local derby, and in the process lifted the inaugural Trevor Greene Trophy.
In the end, Picton’s discipline proved the difference with the Magpies maintaining their two-point advantage in a chaotic closing that saw Roosters prop Louis Meehan sin binned for a late hit on Tim Dengate, and the volatile Curtis Scott sent off again, this time for verbal dissent.
Once again Dengate led the Magpies attack, with the little general playing a part in Picton’s opening two tries, both finished off with superb footwork by centre Rua Hona.
Thirlmere’s first half points came through winger James Lee as Picton opened at 10-4 lead at the break.
Hona finished the match in the halves after fullback Michael Lett went down with a torn hamstring. It made little difference, as the City recruit backed up hooker Anthony Provost to bag a hat-trick and extend the margin to 12 points in the 48 minute.
Thirlmere hooker Mitchell New quickly struck back to reduce the margin to eight, and the Roosters closed to within two points when fullback Hayden Sutton outpaced the cover to score on the hour.
With three wins from six starts, the Magpies move to seventh on the ladder and for coach Jake Tonitto the pieces are starting to come together.
“We had the bye after our big loss to Collies, and we spoke about wanting to be more aggressive and physical,” Tonitto said.
“In our two weeks off, we stripped everything back and for three or four of our training sessions we just focused on defence.
“The stars are starting to align now, the new recruits are starting to gel with the rest of the squad.”
Thirlmere attacking weapons Curtis Scott and Mitch New were largely contained, a fact not lost on the Picton coach.
“Apart from one long break, I thought the boys contained Curtis pretty well, and New was at the top of our tip sheet,” he said. “We couldn’t afford to let him have free reign like he has had in recent weeks.”
The loss was only Thirlmere’s second this year, and with four wins already under their belt they sit in fourth spot.
TIGERS IN CITY BLITZ
The Oaks moved into a share of second place on the table following a comfortable 46-12 win over Campbelltown City.
Skipper Mitchell Brasington celebrated his 100th match in a Tigers jumper with seven conversions from eight attempts, but the star of the show was Daniel Payne, who with four tries mixed pace and nous in a mesmerising performance.
The former Picton half wasted little time asserting his authority, sending winger Casey Timmer over in the right corner in just the third minute.
City hit back with a try of their own when Bradley Bishop offloaded to Jack Leigh after reeling in a last play bomb. And they hit the front several minutes later when Eti Tavui barrelled over next to the uprights.
But it was Payne’s day and The Oaks were never headed after he scored his first from dummy half. Winger Bradley Dawson quickly added another, and the floodgates opened when fullback Daniel Smith stood up the defence for the first of his two tries to open a 22-12 halftime lead.
Payne kept the score climbing, pouncing on his own grubber just after the restart, and he added another two more to help round out his side’s fourth win of the season.
LIONS IN FIRST HALF MASTERCLASS
With a whirlwind six-try opening, ladder leaders Mittagong made short work of Campbelltown Collegians 48-18 and showed why they are the team to beat after extending their unbeaten run to six matches.
From the opening minute when James Coyne put Bryson Goodwin over, the fullback was in a class of his own. Minutes later, the star recruit backed up a Blake Barbuto break before offloading to Nelson Sharp as Mittagong scored their third inside just eight minutes.
Collies struck back through Aaron Teariki, the prop steaming over from a sublime dummy half pass from Alefelio Moata’ane. At 18-6, it was as close as the home side would get.
With the likes of prop Ben Arandt and James Grehan creating space through centre field, Coyne was unstoppable and raced in another two before the break including a gem from a Thomas Maloney chip kick.
Up 36-6 at halftime, Mittagong started the second half like the first. Grehan sent Goodwin charging over halfway before Liam Cassidy loomed in support to send Maloney across for another four-pointer.
When replacement forward Thomas Parkes crashed over on the hour, at 48-6, Mittagong looked headed for a massive total.
But to Collies’ credit, they dug deep and were rewarded with the final two tries of the day including another to Teariki.
A regular from the bench this season, Grehan played the majority of the 80 minutes and the Lions captain-coach couldn’t have been happier with his side’s all-round effort.
“We were missing a few, winger Tyson Adcock and centre Regan Economos came up from reserve grade and we had three boys backing up on the bench from the earlier game,” said Grehan.
“Collies have a big pack, but we were able to open up the ruck with our leg-speed.
“Then Coyney has free range, with his talent we let the backs do their own thing and they usually don’t overplay their hand.”
SPIRITED GOANNAS OVERRUN BY OAKDALE
Oakdale have edged out the vastly improved South West Goannas 22-10 to move into fifth spot on the ladder after the side’s third straight win.
In drizzly conditions at Onslow Oval, the Workers didn’t have it all their own way with the scores locked at 4-all for the majority of the first half.
Goannas backrower Cruise Iosefa crashed over in the 12th minute, before Oakdale winger Cooper Dupond quickly equalised on the back of a Nathan Davis offload.
Still chasing their first win of the season, South West were forced to defend their own goal line in the countdown to halftime and looked like heading to the sheds on equal terms until Kyle Fraser muscled over next to the posts.
Centre Cleveland McGhie extended Oakdale’s lead to 16-4 just after the resumption, slicing back against the grain to score under the posts.
South West refused to take a backwards step all day, and when Calvin Faapito reached across from dummy half they trailed by six with 25 minutes left to play.
In the end, Oakdale had the final say and it was McGhie with the winning touch, passing to an unmarked Hamish Oxley who beat the cover defence with an acrobatic leap into the right corner.
PHOTO GALLERY
FIRST GRADE
RESERVE GRADE
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