Macarthur Rugby League: Week-1 finals talking points, 70+ GALLERY
Suspension has ended the season for one finals bound Macarthur RL player. But it wasn’t all bad news as another delivered on the advice of an extremely close associate. Finals talking points.
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The big names were out in force to kick off the Macarthur RL finals, and one made a point of amping up the volume.
With plenty at stake, among a host of hot tips, one captain-coach delivered on the advice from an extremely close associate.
Week-1 finals talking points.
BIG NAME, BIGGER VOICE
There’s nothing like finals to bring out the best in a player. With more than 200 NRL games under his belt, five-eighth Corey Norman arrived at Dudley Chesham in full voice.
“Guys like Corey step it up at this time of the year,” said skipper Kye Madden following Thirlmre’s 26-8 win over Mittagong.
“You could tell with his chat that he really wanted to get the win. He didn’t miss a few of the boys when they took different options.”
DAD KNOWS BEST
Mitchell Brasington was full of running last Sunday. Clearly motivated to take on the line, with a solo try and several out of character hit-ups, the Tigers skipper was clearly motivated.
“My old man gives me a bit of stick, he reckons I should run the ball more. So hopefully that keeps him happy for another week.”
CLOSER THAN IT LOOKS
The scoreboard shows Thirlmere comfortably advanced to the second week of the finals, but you can bet Mittagong will be wishing they had their time again.
The Lions broke clear twice in the opening 20 minutes only to squander both opportunities. They narrowed the margin to 18-4 in the 32nd minute, and would have been right in the mix had they not bombed another two tries before the halftime siren sounded.
POLES APART
Speaking of errors, by the time Oakdale stopped turning over possession an hour had passed and The Oaks had bolted 24 points clear.
Clearly frustrated, the Workers’ woes were further compounded by penalties before they eventually reset and changed the momentum.
In the space of 10 minutes they added three tries to get within striking distance at 28-18. In the end it wasn’t enough, but they’ll tough to beat if they get the balance right against Thirlmere.
SAVE FACE
Second placed Oakdale were raging favourites heading into the reserve grade clash with The Oaks, but an upset loomed when the home side opened a 16-0 halftime lead.
In the second half, Oakdale flipped the script and with 10 minutes remaining looked like drawing level until Brandon Maycock sprayed a conversion attempt from point blank range.
Trailing by two in the final minute, the goal kicker’s day looked like spiraling even further until hooker Jardyn Nori saved his blushes with the match-winning try.
SEASON OVER
The NSWRL sent a clear message in the aftermath of Kye Bell’s send off in The Oaks’ final round victory over South West.
Charged with a dangerous tackle on Goannas prop Greg Eastwood, the hooker was handed a season ending suspension in an incident that escalated with the dismissal of a South West player.
“South West forward Ben Mitchell has taken the early plea for a grade-three striking charge and has been suspended for three matches,” said a NSW spokesperson.
“The Oaks’ Kyle Bell has been charged with grade-two forcefully spearing at the legs of an opponent. He failed to enter a plea and has been suspended for five matches.”
WEEK-2 FINALS
Minor final: Oakdale (3) v Thirlmere (4), Kirkham Park, 1:15pm
Major final: Camden (1) v The Oaks (2), Kirkham Park, 3:00pm
WEEK-1 FINALS WRAP
The opening week of the Macarthur Rugby League finals kicked off on Sunday at The Oaks before a full house at Dudley Chesham Sports Ground.
On a massive afternoon of local footy, the Tigers hosted cross town rivals Oakdale after Mittagong and Thirlmere faced off in a sudden death eliminator.
Week one finals wrap.
TIGERS TURN IT ON
The Oaks are one game short of the grand final after the Tigers put on a show to down fierce rivals Oakdale at a heaving Dudley Chesham Sports Ground.
After wrapping up the preliminary rounds in second spot Mitchell Brasington’s men raised the bar, proving they are a genuine title contender with a comprehensive 30-18 victory.
In a feisty contest that saw both sides reduced to 12-men at various stages, the home side capitalised on repeated Oakdale errors, running in the opening four tries to lead 24-0 midway through the second half.
In a ferocious opening stint, prop Joseph Ualesi met his former club head on. Among the best on ground, the No.8 dominated the early collisions and spun out of a tackle to score the opening try.
And with Oakdale fullback Sonny Edwards in the sin bin for slowing the ruck, The Oaks took a 12-point lead to the sheds when Ragen Gilbert sliced through on the left edge to score the first of his two tries.
Brasington doubled down after the break. First, the five-eighth delivered a miracle pass behind a defender for Kyal Greene, then did all himself in the 53rd minute.
After an injury ravaged season, Josh Carr returned to his destructive best, while back-to-back Kyle Fraser tries narrowed the gap to 10 with as many minutes to play.
However, any hopes of a grandstand finished evaporated with more turnovers before Brasington rounded out the scoring with a final minute penalty goal.
“We were very confident coming in, and we knew if we could play to our potential - especially here at home - we could come away with a win,” said Brasington whose side now face unbeaten Camden for the first spot in the decider.
“It was always going to be a fiery opening. If we didn’t match Oakdale’s intensity we knew they’d probably blow us off the park. And I felt like we did that, we showed a lot of control.
“We know how physical we can be. We’ve got classy forwards, some of the best in the comp. It comes back to ball control and just being disciplined. I felt like we did that today, especially for long periods.”
Earlier, a packed house saw Oakdale come from the clouds to down the Tigers 20-16 in the reserve grade clash.
“We knew it’d be pretty packed, especially with three Oaks teams playing and two local derbies,” he said.
“It was a great atmosphere. It was a good day of finals footy and great to be part of it.”
ROOSTERS NOT DONE YET
Thirlmere moved another step closer to consecutive Macarthur titles after the Roosters outclassed a gutsy Mittagong 26-8.
With no second chances after finishing fourth, the reigning premiers were never seriously threatened by a depleted Lions outfit who were forced to chase their tail after quickly falling behind 18-0.
Former NRL stars Curtis Scott and Corey Norman stamped their class from the outset. Scott attracted several defenders in the sixth minute and sent Ken Sio into the right corner with a clever flick pass. And it was 6-0 with Norman’s sideline conversion.
Halfback Joey Towerton doubled the lead in the 25th minute, and they had another four minutes later when Norman stepped through from close range.
With Jake Brisbane and James Coyne among a long list missing through injury, the Lions failed to close out several promising raids until winger Jordan Tencate pegged one back just before the break.
Filling in at five-eighth, regular hooker Blake Barbuto also punched holes out of dummy. Halfback Flynn Pickering also troubled the line, but more often than not, Thirlmere scrambled in defence to shut down the play.
Tries were traded in the second half. Scott crossed first before Liam Henry dashed across for Mittagong’s second.
Tim Simona replaced the injured James Lee in the Thirlmere No.1 jumper, and the ex-NRL centre chimed into the backline to put winger Marika Tuilau over for the final try of the day.
“We knew it was going to be tough and that we’d need to be on our best behaviour,” said Thirlmere captain and co-coach Kye Madden.
“We’ve had a few games where we’ve dropped out for 15 to 20 minutes. We led them earlier in the season and they came back and got us at the end.
“It was hard in the middle, we had two boys go down early and several played more minutes than they normally do, so to hold Mittagong to eight points is pretty impressive.”
Asked to name a standout, the backrower couldn’t separate the big-three and also sent a clear message ahead of next week’s do-or-die clash with Oakdale.
“Curtis, Kenny and Tim really stepped up. They took the pressure of the middles with strong carries and continually raced back in cover defence,” he said.
“It’s always an exciting time of the year and you just hope the side is rolling come finals time. We’ve welcomed a few back from injury and it feels like we are starting to peak at the right time.”
PHOTO GALLERY
The Oaks v Oakdale
Thirlmere v Mittagong
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