Macarthur Rugby League: Round nine wrap, 50+ photo gallery
A big name returned to the field, while another two were sent off, as Picton fired out of the blocks to open round nine of the Macarthur RL. Full wrap all five venues, 50+ PHOTO GALLERY
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A big name returned to the field, while another was sent off, as Picton fired out of the blocks on home turf to open round nine of the Macarthur RL.
Full wrap all five venues.
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SEND OFF ROCKS EAGLES
Camden extended its unbeaten start to eight wins after the Rams accounted for a 12-man East Campbelltown 34-6 at Kirkham.
Despite entering the clash in ninth spot, the Eagles gave a good account of themselves and trailed 4-0 when veteran Sean Connor was sent off in the 25th minute for verbal dissent.
With the one-man advantage, Camden proved too strong and quickly struck through Danny Fualalo and centre Fiohiva Siale Fainga’a to lead 16-0.
Showing spirit in adversity, Eagles recruit Leha Fakatava crossed from a bomb and converted his own try right on halftime.
Bailey Dickinson barged across after the break and the scoreline threatened to get ugly when winger John Ryan crossed in quick succession to make it 30-6 with half an hour to play.
Playing in the No.7 jumper, regular fullback Aiden Menzies crossed for Camden’s seventh and final try with 20 minutes to play.
East Campbelltown kept the Rams quiet in the closing stages, during a period where Rams five-eighth Jackson Willis spent 10 minutes in the sin bin.
TIGERS GO SIX STRAIGHT
A strong second half has seen The Oaks get the better of South West with a 40-16 win at Onslow Oval.
It was their sixth on the trot, but the Tigers didn’t have it all their own way after heading to the interval with a slender 16-10 advantage.
Goannas winger Shaun Va’alepu scored from a Cohen Benson long ball in the fifth minute. But the Tigers’ reply was swift when hooker Mitch New exploded off the back of a scrum to race away over 60m.
In a personal haul of 16 points, Daniel Smith scored his side’s second try, but the home team trailed 12-10 after Greg Eastwood set up fellow prop Ben Mitchell to cross untouched midway through the first half.
Mitchell Gough scored The Oaks’ third before halftime, and they put the result to bed immediately after the break with four-pointers to Ragen Gilbert and Daniel Bell.
Daniel Payne had a hand in three of his side’s tries and along with winger Casey Timmer increased the Tigers’ tally to seven tries.
South West’s only try after halftime was scored by Va’alepu, moving his season tally to 11, the most in the competition.
ROOS ROUND OUT HAT-TRICK
Campbelltown City made it three straight wins after the Kangaroos came from behind to defeat the Roosters 30-18 in a whirlwind finish at Thirlmere.
Braydon Ferguson was everywhere for City in a victory that has them sitting in fifth spot with a handy four-point buffer above Picton.
Working in tandem with halfback Michael Stevens, and either side of a stint in the sin bin, the backrower scored a try in each half and came up with a crucial one-on-one strip that helped sway the contest.
Down 18-16, and with Thirlmere working the ball out of trouble in the 68th minute, Ferguson ripped the ball free, and in the next set mobile prop Dane Ransom stormed across for the go ahead try.
In a double blow for Thirlmere, Ransom was contacted by a defender after grounding the ball, and with the assistance of a penalty, Anthony Leatham nailed two shots at goal to kick City six points clear.
Another try followed, and with one minute remaining Thirlmere’s frustrations compounded when Curtis Scott was sent off following an exchange of words with the referee.
In a topsy-turvy contest, Jacob Williams ran the length of the field to put City up 10-0 midway through the opening half before the home side turned the tables with four unanswered tries to lead 18-10 on the hour.
With Ferguson in the sin bin, fullback Dominic Citroni sliced through and was quickly followed across by Waqasaqa Qiolevu.
Scott and Waqasaqa found the line again after the interval, but it was City who finished the stronger in the closing stages.
Still down by eight with 14 minutes to play, Junior Moors set the comeback wheels in motion with a clever offload for Lucci Muliaga to score.
COLLIES OFF THE LEASH
With five unanswered second half tries, Campbelltown Collegians powered to a 48-16 win over Mittagong at Bradbury.
After falling to City a week earlier, Collies got off to a horror start when Tyrone Harding’s kick off sailed out on the full.
Undeterred, the halfback bobbed up two minutes later to put Leon Longbottom across for first points. And with five minutes on the clock, they jumped 12 clear when winger Callum McMenemy pounced on a Ken Sio grubber kick.
A trademark Blake Barbuto dash from the ruck cut the margin in half, but it couldn’t stop Collies, who continued to find open space and jumped to a 22-6 lead with back-to-back tries to Harding and hooker Amani Tofaeono.
With both side’s chasing a fifth victory, the Lions closed to within six at the break. Winger Joseph Eccleston dived into the right corner, and was quickly joined on the score sheet when a slick Levi Dodd pass ended in points to Thomas Eccleston.
Still nursing a hand injury, Collies skipper Tifa Iuta started from the bench but made an immediate impact in the second half, charging over to make it 26-16.
And the points continued to mount. Further tries were added by Tim Crawford, Adam Hoffmann, Elijah Sa and Sio as Collies finished the round in fourth spot.
The loss was Mittagong’s fifth of the season, and with four victories the Lions remain seventh – four points behind City in fifth.
OAKDALE RECOVER FROM SLOW START
Oakdale secured the two competition points with a hard-fought victory on the road at Picton, but the final scoreline of 34-12 belies the contest’s true intensity after the home side exploded out of the blocks with three early tries.
Chasing their third straight win, player-coach Kyle Fraser celebrated his first appearance of the season in the top grade as the Workers locked down third spot with their sixth win of the season.
In a frenzied opening, Oakdale fullback recruit Oshay Tyerman doubled down of his two-try debut of a fortnight ago, rushing an attacking kick the length of the field to score the first try.
An Oakdale error from the restart gifted Picton possession and they hit the front when backrower Steven Dengate dived over next to the posts.
With all the running, the Magpies struck again when half Luke Keppie sent Riley Mitchell across in the scoreboard corner and they added a third when fellow winger Justin Stowers won the race to a kick to make it 12-6 after 17 minutes.
Hamstrung by handling errors, Oakdale regrouped and levelled through winger Elliott Moaga, and they took a 16-12 lead to the sheds when five-eighth Alex Isdale sent Fraser crashing over on the strike of halftime.
Picton couldn’t have asked for a worse start to the second half. After Joel Etherington was forced off with an injured shoulder, the Workers scored. Then, with half an hour remaining, the second rower was joined in the dugout by Keppie, who had rolled his ankle.
With their heads above water, Cooper Smith finished a well worked backline move out wide before Aiden Fornari stormed across in the 70th minute to put the result beyond doubt.
While there’s still plenty to improve, Oakdale assistant coach Richard Barnes said the victory was important in the club’s quest to lock down a position in the top three.
“We didn’t have much ball in the first 20 minutes, and to Picton’s credit, they scored three good tries and put us on the back foot,” said Barnes after the final siren.
“But as the possession levelled out, I was confident our fitness would see us through at the back end of that game. Then once we started controlling the ball and getting to our kicks, the tries came.
“I’m pretty happy. I mean, you just want to walk away with the wins at this time of year.”
In another impressive performance since being shifted to the middle, Josh Carr was prominent, and showed a touch of class when he held up a perfect pass for a try-bound Tristyn Ball shortly after the resumption.
“Our three middles have all got good ball skills,” said Barnes. “They drop unders onto each other and it’s a really good asset to have, and Josh was the leader of that today.”
FRASER RETURNS
After an off-season back injury threatened to wipe out his season, Fraser hit the ground running from the opening whistle.
Despite a couple of handling errors, the Workers big man found his trademark voice and eased his way back into a winning line-up.
“Kyle got through 63 minutes, so we are pretty happy about that,” Barnes said.
“He was talking right from the get go – he can talk underwater, don’t worry about that. And Alex got a overs line for him, and he ran over a couple of players to score.”
RISING PROP SORELY MISSED
James Folaumoetui has been among Picton’s best across the opening eight rounds. And against a formidable Oakdale pack, the young prop’s absence left a big void.
Still sidelined by an ankle injury, the front rower isn’t expected to return for at least another month.
PHOTO GALLERY
Camden v East Campbelltown – first grade
Camden v East Campbelltown – reserve grade
South West v The Oaks – first grade
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