Macarthur Rugby League: Big names come and go, round six talking points
After another huge round of Macarthur Rugby League, we look at what is making news. Catch up on the eight talking points, plus see the huge PHOTO GALLERY.
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After six rounds we look at the eight major talking points in Macarthur Rugby League.
JETS JUNIORS ON THE UP
There were plenty of smiles at Narellan following Sunday’s breakthrough victory. But there was more than just the two-competition points that had tongues wagging.
With six local juniors in the victorious first grade side, and more newcomers knocking on the club’s door, officials are comfortable the club is heading in the right direction.
FERGO RETURNS TO WELLINGTON
NRL journeyman Blake Ferguson has played his last game for Thirlmere.
After severing ties with the club last week, the 33-year-old has decided to return to his hometown of Wellington to be closer to family. On the park, he is expected to link with local side the Cowboys for the remainder of the season.
THIRLMERE SIGN ANOTHER FORMER NRL PLAYER
One former NRL player leaves, another comes in.
Following the departure of Ferguson, Thirlmere have reacted quickly, gaining the signature of Kurt Dillon.
Still only 28, the former Souths and Cronulla backrower last played NRL in 2020. He is expected to arrive shortly after finishing a recent stint in France.
CRUEL BLOW FOR YOUNG JET
The recent addition of Zakauri Clarke has been instrumental in Narellan’s recent form surge. Since arriving from the Wests Magpies SG Ball campaign, the backrower has been a rock on the right edge.
The only sour note from Sunday’s victory was vision of the big fella being chaired off with an ankle injury. With next week’s bye followed by a scheduled week’s break, thankfully, the powerful No. 12 is not expected to miss any action.
CALLS FOR RIVALRY ROUND RETURN
Even before the season kicked off, the demise of the rivalry round upset plenty.
Saturday night’s epic at Oakdale has only stoked the fire for the events return.
For those who can’t wait, get along to Victoria Park on Saturday night when Picton host cross town rivals Thirlmere in what promises to be another cracker.
PLAY OF THE ROUND
Lions halfback Thomas Maloney got his name on the score sheet in the second minute against the Eagles, but without Adam Jeffery, the length of the field try would still be a fanciful dream.
With East Campbelltown on the attack, Sean Connor’s last play bomb went no further than the Mittagong backrower. Smothered off the boot, the hungry No. 12 could scarcely believe his luck as the back-field opened up with the Steeden perfectly wedged under his arm.
As the Eagles chasers closed, Jeffery offloaded and Maloney did the rest.
RAMS AND EAGLES IN GRAND FINAL REMATCH
In a rematch of last year’s grand final, East Campbelltown and Camden will meet for the first time since the Rams celebrated their 30-4 premiership victory at Campbelltown Stadium.
Camden currently sit third on the ladder, while for the seventh placed Eagles, the contest could provide the spark that kickstarts their season.
With all three Campbelltown sides tasting defeat in round six, Waminda Oval is sure to be rocking.
SHOUT-OUT TO NARELLAN RESSIES
A special shout-out to Narellan’s victorious reserve grade side.
After conceding more than 70 points in each of their three previous starts, they took on fellow winless battlers South West.
In a tense struggle, it was the bulldozing effort of Eleftherios Mihalatos that proved the difference. The hulking Jets prop in the N0.20 jumper proved too hot to handle from close range, scoring the decisive try in Narellan’s 10-4 victory.
ROUND SEVEN DRAW
Picton v Thirlmere at Victoria Park
Campbelltown Collegians v Mittagong at Bradbury Oval
The Oaks v Campbelltown City at Dudley Chesham Oval
South West v Oakdale at Onslow Oval
East Campbelltown v Camden at Waminda Oval
ROUND SIX WRAP
All roads headed to Oakdale on Saturday night where the Workers and The Oaks delivered in a classic no holds barred derby. On Sunday, East Campbelltown headed south to chilly Mittagong, while among several other clashes, Narellan hosted South West in a battle to climb off the bottom of the ladder.
Catch up on the wrap of each match and see what the coaches had to say.
OAKDALE TAME TIGERS IN EPIC DERBY
There’s nothing like a classic derby to kick-off a weekend of footy, and for fans at a heaving Sid Sharpe Oval on Saturday night, they got exactly what they wanted.
In a fiery 14-try epic that had everything, including a delay to restore peace on the other side of the fence, Oakdale claimed the bragging rights with two late tries to prevail 48-34 on home turf.
With a boisterous crowd providing backing vocals to the early collisions, tensions quickly escalated following the opening try. After running 90m against the run of play, Tigers half Daniel Payne was nudged into the fence, and from there the niggle continued for the remaining 78 minutes.
Oakdale replied through Nathan Davis, and the powerful centre finished with a first half double as the home side opened a commanding 28-16 halftime advantage.
Back in Oakdale for the first time since his off-season departure, Mitchell Brasington didn’t receive any love from the hostile locals. And the heckling grew louder as the classy No. 6 helped orchestrate a Tigers comeback.
At 34-all with less than 10 minutes to play, it could have gone either way.
In a rollicking contest that a times resembled a bar room brawl, both sides finished with 12 after another melee resulted in Tigers prop Hayden Bunce and Oakdale’s Ben Whitehouse being ordered off by the referee.
But it was to be Oakdale’s night. They hit the front with a penalty goal, before skipper Kyle Fraser and Jacob Rockwell added another two tries in the final few minutes.
“It was one of the best derby games I have been involved in, and the biggest crowd too,” said a relieved Fraser after his first game back since the opening round.
“It got pretty wild at times, off the field too,” he said, before praising the Oakdale effort.
“I was upset with how many points we leaked, but at the same time, I don’t think the score line reflected our dominance.
“Centre Cleveland McGhie was the best for us and Nathan Davis was important too. He was sick on Saturday but still turned up and played his part with two tries.”
The loss is The Oaks’ first of the season. While for Oakdale, they’ve now won two straight and should be strengthened next week by the return of regular half Jacob McKinnon and hooker Alec Bush.
JETS CRUISE TO FIRST WIN
In a battle of the cellar dwellers, Narellan were never headed in opening their season account with a comfortable 38-16 win over South West.
Aided by a howling gale, Narellan raced in six unanswered tries to blow the contest apart with a 28-0 first half.
Prop Josh Campbell was at his menacing best for the Jets, paving the way for the opening try. In a strong pack, teenage edge backrower Zakauri Clarke crossed for Narellan’s second and was a constant force until succumbing to an ankle injury late in the match.
Narellan’s fourth try was a length of the field effort finished off by halfback Tyreece Rea-Milford. And in a match to remember for the scheming No. 7, he laid on the next with a short side grubber for fullback Faaletino Tavana.
South West enjoyed the change of ends, and after closing the gap to 32-16 weren’t without hope in the final 20 minutes.
Five-eighth Cruise Iosefa beat several defenders to score the Gonnas’ first, but it was their third that got the crowd screaming.
A line bust from the restart ended in the hands Larry Greig-Williams after the fullback swooped on a miraculous flick pass before racing 50m untouched.
Any chance of a comeback was snuffed out by Rea-Milford, who passed for Narellan’s final try of the day.
For Jets captain-coach Levi Dodd, the breakthrough win is another step in the club’s bid to secure its long term future.
“It’s good to get the monkey off our back,’ Dodd said.
“We’ve been getting better each week, so it was good to finish it off and tick another box in the club’s rebuild.
“Despite our tough start moral has been high, now we can start working on the small things to keep getting better.”
To that end, the skipper singled out Campbell’s effort.
“Josh brings experience and aggression upfront. He’s been at the club for a while and is a big part of helping resurrect the club.
“We are starting to get numbers back. People are seeing the family values and want to be part of it.”
THIRLMERE GIVES COLLIES A REALITY CHECK
Thirlmere bounced back to winning form and in the process have given Campbelltown Collegians plenty to think about with a 52-10 hiding at Thirlmere.
In a clash of contrasting styles, it was Thirlmere’s speed around the ruck that won out over Collies’ superior size.
Mitchell New was unstoppable for the Roosters. Elusive as ever, the hooker crossed for a first half hat-trick before adding a fourth in a player of the match performance.
Nautu’a Masima continued his dazzling start to the season for Campbelltown, pouncing on his own kick for the opening try, and when centre Leon Longbottom sliced through to put his side in front 10-6, it shaped as a ding-dong battle of the competition’s heavyweights.
From there, it was one way traffic. Curtis Scott didn’t miss a beat in his return from suspension, beating several defenders to cross for the Roosters’ third four-pointer as the home side marched to a handy 22-10 halftime lead.
Scott grabbed another after the break as Thirlmere ran in another six unanswered tries to move to second place on the ladder.
For Collies, at near full strength and coming off a massive win at Picton, the magnitude of the defeat comes as a big surprise.
For Roosters coach Darren McLeod, there was just a much joy in his side’s defensive effort.
“Our defence was strong, we turned them away for three straight sets on three different occasions,” said McLeod.
“From there, I think they started to run out of ideas, then started making more errors.”
With respect to the Roosters’ 10 tries, McLeod didn’t hide from the fact his troops executed a well worked plan.
“Collies’ pack has dominated for most of the season, and we’re not the biggest side, so we came up with a plan to try and spread their defence and then use the extra space,” he said.
“I felt we could have put an even bigger score on the board, but we are still a bit clunky and the wind made it tricky.”
CAMDEN FLEX THEIR MUSCLES
Camden have returned to the winners’ circle in emphatic style, putting ten tries past a hapless Campbelltown City in a 60-6 route at Kirkham Park.
Coming off a round five loss to Oakdale, the Rams wasted no time in righting the ship with a sx-try opening half.
Premiership prop Danny Fualalo barged over in the ninth minute and he was joined on the scorecard by Toby Huxley and Jackson Willis who both bagged first half doubles.
Fualalo scored another after the break as Camden piled on four more.
Christopher Browne replaced captain Brad Speechley as the starting half, and capped off a remarkable day in the windy conditions, landing a perfect 10 goals from as many attempts.
The win was Camden’s third of the season and sees them move to third on the ladder. For an injury riddled City, the loss was their fifth in a row and now sees them slumped in 10th place.
MITTAGONG EXTEND UNBEATEN RUN TO FIVE
The Mittagong juggernaut shows no signs of slowing down after the Lions kept the East Campbelltown Eagles at bay with a 44-14 masterclass in the Southern Highlands.
In freezing conditions, the Lions gave East Campbelltown no time to warm into the contest, crossing for the opening two tries inside the first eight minutes.
Halfback Thomas Maloney raced in the first against the run of play, before hooker Blake Barbuto crossed from a Ben Arandt line break.
Centre Abiarthur Tuilaepa pegged one back for the visitors, but the comeback was short lived. In an agonising eight minute period, Mittagong players ghosted through soft defence on three occasions to post an unassailable 30-4 lead after just 28 minutes.
Trailing 36-8 on the hour, the Eagles compounded their frustrations when prop Jurrado Smith was sent off following an in-goal scuffle.
Tries were exchanged in the closing stages, including Liam Cassidy’s ninth of the year, as Mittagong continued its perfect start to the season.
PHOTO GALLERY
FIRST GRADE
RESERVE GRADE
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