NSWRL Junior Reps: 20 top performers from Matthews, Fiaola, Ball and Gale Cup round three
Who were the stars and standouts from across the board in the third round of NSWRL Junior Reps? We look at the 20 weekend standouts from Matthews, Fiaola, Ball and Gale Cup action.
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Who were the stars and standouts of NSWRL Junior Reps round three?
We take a look at the 20 top performers from across Harold Matthews, Lisa Fiaola, SG Ball and Tarsha Gale Cup competitions.
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HAROLD MATTHEWS
CHARLIE BATEUP (SOUTH SYDNEY)
Changed the complexion of the game when he entered the fray just before halftime.
Souths outscored Wests 22-4 during his 31 minutes of time on the field, coming up with a pair of big plays in the process.
Completely caught the defence napping to score from dummy half to start the second half, then raced 60m after charging down a kick.
JAYLIN MORAN (PENRITH)
The Panthers needed a spark when they trailed 14-0 against Newcastle and Moran was the man to deliver it.
Showed off his pace when swooping on a loose ball to run 90m and get them on the board – before playing a steady role in their comeback to get over the top of the Knights.
Linking well with halves partner Owen Knowles.
COOPER MORRISON (ILLAWARRA)
A real captain’s knock from Morrison as the Steelers overcame a serious charge from the Raiders.
One of a host of classy centres in the Illawarra system, Morrison helped lay on two tries for his winger Jaxon Ballinger and was strong in defence when it counted.
SAXON GAW (NORTH SYDNEY)
Continued his strong season with another dominant display at five-eighth before going down with a leg injury.
His bag of tricks was on show in setting up a pair of first half tries to help establish a big lead, before some fancy footwork saw him get over the line for one of his own.
CRUZ PARKIN (CRONULLA)
Mounted his case for the strongest back-rower in the competition as he proved a hard man for Parramatta to stop.
Kept the Sharks in the game in the first half against Parramatta with a double, including a powerhouse effort to carry four defenders over the line.
LISA FIAOLA
MAUDE MOON HAVEA (MANLY SEA EAGLES)
In her first outing of the season, Maude helped transform the Sea Eagles into a much stronger combination.
A powerhouse backrower on the left edge, she muscled across for two tries and showed great pace and skill to send winger Chaniel Berryman racing away for another.
TALEA TONGA (CENTRAL COAST ROOSTERS)
The perfect foil behind a dominant forward pack, the halfback had the ball on a string against the Dragons.
Sparked an early break along the left sideline and backed up to score, then in a commanding performance, directed traffic on either side of the ruck, playing a key role in the next four tries before the break.
ALAVINA TU’IFUA (WESTS TIGERS)
An absolute weapon off the bench, the bustling prop made an immediate impact early in the second half of the Tigers’ narrow win over Penrith.
Carried several defenders across the line to put her side in front, then after Penrith regained the lead, she struck again from close range and Wests never looked back.
SCARLET HAGAN (NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS)
The dummy-half came up with two significant plays on either side of the ball to help orchestrate Newcastle’s revival at Belconnen.
With no sense of self preservation, the No.14 stopped the Raiders from bolting ahead 20-0 with a try saving tackle. Then after the break, she powered over from close range to get her side within two of the lead.
GRACE MACGREGOR (CANTERBURY BULLDOGS)
Just like her championship winning teammates, Grace does everything at full throttle for the Bulldogs.
Hit the ball that hard for Canterbury’s second try, she could have easily shot past the dead-ball line. The lock can play ball too, and against the Steelers, worked as hard as anyone in defence.
SG BALL
COHEN BENSON (BALMAIN TIGERS)
In the absence of a couple of big names, Benson took it upon himself to guide Balmain to a healthy comeback win over Manly.
Down 18-16 after the break, the No.6 opened up Manly’s right edge defence with three consecutive scoring plays. After beating his man, he found an unmarked winger with a cut-out pass for the first.
For the second, he dribbled the ball off his right boot, then orchestrated a shift for the third.
LUI LEE (SYDNEY ROOSTERS)
The Roosters left it late to overcome the Dragons, and Lui Lee found himself in the thick of the revival.
He attracted the defence and delivered a fine ball to get the Bondi crew within two points, then with the game on the line, the winger exploded off both feet, turning three hapless Dragons inside out to score the winning four-pointer.
LOCHLIN MOSES (SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS)
Souths are unbeaten in three starts, and with the hunger and desire displayed by Lochlin Moses in the win over Wests, it’s easy to see why.
With the scores locked at halftime, the busy backrower swayed the contest in a handful of minutes with back-to-back opportunistic tries.
First, he swooped on a Magpies fumble to cross against the run of the play, then he won a scramble in-goal to plant a grubber kick next to the posts.
CALLUM GRANTHAM (CRONULLA SHARKS)
Cronulla ended up on the wrong end of the scoreboard against Parramatta, but we couldn’t ignore a piece of magic from the Sharks playmaker.
Sweating on a short side raid, the No.6 appeared to be well contained by two Eels, only to free his right arm and find unmarked winger Dallas Blackburn-Kingi with an audacious flick pass.
LUKE CANNON (CANBERRA RAIDERS)
The energetic hooker scored Canberra’s first and last tries and was everywhere in between.
Burrowed under the posts to strike the first blow and delivered pristine service around the ruck before sucking in several defenders to put the Raiders 12 clear after the break.
In a fitting end, the No.9 weaved through from close range to kick start the celebrations.
TARSHA GALE
SHAQUAYLAH MAHAKITAU-MONSCHAU (CANTERBURY)
Make no mistake about it, the Canterbury skipper is gunning for an NRLW debut later in the season and she is going the right way about it.
She’s been taking over games this season and the halfback added another starring performance in setting up two tries as the Bulldogs raced out to a 22-0 lead against defending premiers Illawarra.
TIRESA LEASUASU (WESTS TIGERS)
Kept the front rowers steak alive on the scoreboard but it’s her workrate that is really impressive.
A force when she touches the ball and in defence, Leasuasu played over 43 minutes and was rewarded early with a barnstorming try.
LOGAN FLETCHER (SYD ROOSTERS)
It’s hard to miss the tall fullback and she made a big impact to give the Roosters a healthy buffer over St George.
Chimed in off the scrum to free her winger to work her magic for the opener, and then a stunning left-to-right pass found Tyra Ekepati to hit a hole and score without a hand being placed on her.
MARONAY SMUTS (NEWCASTLE)
Really turned in on to put the Raiders to the sword.
Set the tempo early with a zippy effort to open the scoring for Newcastle when they trailed early, before taking over in the second half.
In the second 30 along she had a try assist and two further try involvements as she and Saxbii Shaw caused havoc.
TAYLAH FALANIKO (PARRAMATTA)
There were a host of Eels that could’ve been chosen this weekend, but the front rower just gets the nod.
She got through a mountain of work that had direct and indirect involvements in Parramatta’s attack completely rolling through the Sea Eagles.
Among the hardest hitters in the division.
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