Macarthur Rugby League: The Oaks defy outage and City, round five wrap

After a surprise power outage, Campbelltown City and The Oaks finally kicked off round five of the Macarthur RL on Saturday night. Check out how the Tigers rebounded to smash the lights out.

The Oaks Tigers in the club's retro jerseys after the 46-6 victory over Campbelltown City in R5 on Saturday night, May 10, 2025 at Dudley Chesham Sports Ground. Picture: Jason Hosken

After a slight delay, Campbelltown City and The Oaks kicked off round five of the Macarthur RL on Saturday night.

See how the action panned out before the round finishes with four games on Sunday afternoon.

RELATED CONTENT: MACARTHUR RL SEASON PREVIEW

SLICK NEW TIGERS

On a night where a power outage left everyone in the dark, Mitchell Brasington’s Tigers brought the energy to Dudley Chesham with a sizzling eight-try demolition of Campbelltown City.

With the start of play delayed following a blackout in the reserve grade clash, thoughts of a City revival reaching three straight victories quickly evaporated as The Oaks clicked into gear, racing in five opening half tries on the way to an impressive 46-6 victory.

Fuelled by intent, Joseph Ualesi set standard when the prop steamed across inside the first five minutes. And with all the running, Brasington and halves partner Daniel Payne set about entertaining a healthy gathering of home fans.

Edge backrower Ragen Gilbert flew high, bringing down a Brasington kick to score the second, and they quickly added a third when the skipper picked off Ben Scambary with a pinpoint cut-out pass.

Behind a dominant pack, Mitch New showed why he could become the recruit of the season. In the try of the night, the former Thirlmere hooker exploded through the middle and combined with Brasington to set up the first of Payne’s two tries before the break.

While the home side were a level above, City were best served by Junior Moors. Unfortunately for City, whenever the front-rower broke the advantage line the play often broke down with cheap turnovers.

Campbelltown City prepare to kick off in front of the new stand at Dudley Chesham Sports Ground on Saturday night. Picture: Jason Hosken

“I think over the last couple of weeks we started pretty slow and let the opposition get over the top of us,” said Payne after the Tigers’ second straight win following their two defeats to open the season.

“The emphasis was to start faster tonight rather than trying to catch up all the time. I think we did that well in the first half.

“The guys in the middle were great, it's the same people every week that get us going. Joey knows everything that we need, you can’t fault him. And then Ragen is just something else, that x-factor with energy.”

NEW COMBINATION

The addition of New to an already formidable attacking unit makes The Oaks a difficult proposition to contain across 80 minutes. Never one to shy away from half an opportunity, the No.9 is quickly regaining the type of form that saw him win a premiership at the Roosters.

“The addition of Mitch frees myself and Braso up a bit more,” Payne said of the triple threat.

“Me and Braso have been together for a while now, so teams can cram up on us. But now with Mitch and his pace around the ruck, teams have to tighten up and it frees us up in the halves.”

SERIOUS INJURY

On a night where the club’s new $5.2 million facilities were humming, not everything went to plan for the home side.

After a fierce head clash while defending his own line, replacement prop Kyal Greene was assisted from the field three minutes after the interval with a suspected broken jaw.

From the next play, young prop Dane Ransom stormed over the line for City’s only joy of the night.

WRAP OF OTHER GAMES TO FOLLOW.