Mounties put on a show with nine-try demolition in NSWRL West women’s grand final

Mounties has risen to the top of the NSWRL West women’s tree after a dominant display in their grand final victory over Wentworthville. Here’s how they put on a masterclass in the biggest game of the year.

RUGBY LEAGUE: Mounties rose to the top of the open women’s summit in convincing fashion, dominating Wentworthville 54-6 in their final at BlueBet Stadium.

Centre Lindsay Tui bookended the nine-try performance as they showed complete control from the opening whistle.

Coach Mick Daley was pleasantly surprised with how the match panned out, but credited his side for a proactive approach to the game against a bigger side.

“I didn’t expect it to be the way it was,” Daley said.

“We’re a good young side and we’re fit. The girls really stood up and played some good footy.

“Wenty are too big through the middle, so we played them out wide where we have plenty of speed.

“Keeping them to one try was the most pleasing thing. We’ve been doing it pretty much all years where we’ve been able to defend our line well.

“We were able to keep the ball away from them as much as we could. We turned it over a bit in the centre of the field, but we were able to defend it.

“Our attack came together well. The girls supported each other and backed themselves, which is what we want them to do.”

Mounties celebrate their NSWRL West Conference grand final victory. Picture: Contributed

With a developing squad coming to the fore throughout 2022, Daley said bigger things were on the radar for some of the players with a wealth of ability.

“The roster is very new, they came together pretty much this year,” he said.

“A few had done a pre-season with the Harvey’s. Most of the girls are only young, and you’ll hear a bit more about a couple of them (in the future).

“There’s definitely some talent there.

“I would say three quarters of the side have that ambition (to go further) and all are capable of reaching it.

Mounties celebrate their premiership win (from left) Gary Hart, Brooke Wilkins and Mick Daley. Picture: Contributed

“A few that will play Tarsha Gale Cup again next year, a few will step up to Harvey Norman, and I reckon five or six can at least take that next jump in the next 12 months or so.”

Despite the prospect of losing some players next year, Daley said it was an exciting time for the club to see their representatives on the cusp of pushing their game.

“You want them to progress and go up,” he said.

“You want them to go on and achieve higher honours. We want to see them go as far as they can and reach their goals.”

It continued a big weekend in the women’s game for the club, with their U16 girls taking out the Silver division by defeating Kellyville 32-14.

OPEN WOMEN

MOUNTIES 54 (Lindsay Tui 2, Petalina Atoa, Karol-Ann Tanevesi, Emily Eden, Tamieka Jarrett, Brooke Wilkins, Petesa Lio tries; Tiria Anderson 4, Viena Tinao 3, Bree Stone 2 goals) defeated WENTWORTHVILLE 6 (Louisa Taia try; Mareta Afualo goal)

Moorebank ends premiership drought with last-ditch winner

A 36-YEAR premiership drought is finally over.

The Moorebank Rams A-grade side relied on some late heroics, with Joel Saldaneri crossing in the final three minutes to break the deadlock and lift them to a 22-16 win over Wentworthville in the NSWRL Central West grand final.

The Rams started in blistering fashion with Falaniko Brown crossing the line inside the opening two minutes, with Tallis Brown soon after pushing that lead out to 10.

A double to Wentworthville winger Alifereti Joji, followed by centre Raymond Mikaele getting over the line tied up proceedings at 16-all with 26 minutes to play.

Just as the prospect of extra time came on the radar, it was Moorebank that came up with the big play, with Saldaneri etching his name into Rams folklore.

Coach Mark Weller said the game had it all, and will hold a special place in the club’s history

“It was one of the best A-grade finals I’ve been a part of,” Weller said.

“It could’ve went either way. We’d score, they’d score, and we were able to score with about three to go and closed it down.

“A hole opened up on the edge. Joel saw the gap, threw a dummy to the winger and went over. An opportunity opened up and we took it.

The Moorebank Rams took out the 2022 NSWRL Central West A-grade title by defeating Wentworthville. Picture: Moorebank Rams

“It was a real arm wrestle. For the crowd it was an entertaining game. Credit to Wenty, they had their opportunities to win the game.

“You got the feeling extra time was on the cards.”

They avoided the extra period of play to claim the title, a remarkable achievement given the unknowns surrounding the roster at the start of the year.

“We were basically a whole new side,” Weller said.

“There was a few that had been here for a while but most of the boys are all new. There’s a Sydney Shield pathway with the Bulldogs and we’ve got a lot of young players looking to go further.
“We always knew right from the start that we had a team that could win this A-grade comp. We got through the season and a lot of our forwards were playing Shield but we were still winning.”

The win broke a log drought for the club in the top flight, and while Weller concedes they could lose players next year, they will again be right in the hunt to go back-to-back.

“It’s the first time since 1986 we’ve won an A-grade premiership,” he said.

“There were a lot of life members there to support us along the way.

“A lot of the boys are trying to get an opportunity with the Bulldogs, but they’ve said if they don’t get that chance, they’ll come back.”

OPEN MEN

MOOREBANK 22 (Falaniko Brown, Tallis Brown, Benjamin Armstrong, Joel Saldaneri try; T Brown 2, Braden Leigh goal) defeated WENTWORTHVILLE 16 (Alifereti Joji, Raymond Mikaele tries; Solomon Tomokino 2 goals)