NSWRL Junior Reps Round 1: Latest results, analysis, pictures from opening round of the season
After a long wait footy has returned with the start of the junior reps season for 2024. Catch up on the latest results and analysis from the Lisa Fiaola, Tarsha Gale, Harold Matthews and SG Ball competitions.
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After a long wait the 2024 junior representative season is upon us.
We’ll keep you updated with all the latest scores and major events from round one fixtures, plus photos from the weekend as they come to hand.
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Lisa Fiaola Cup - Tarsha Gale Cup - Harold Matthews Cup - SG Ball Cup
LISA FIAOLA CUP
The Bulldogs showed why they’re among the top contenders in the Lisa Fiaola Cup with a resounding 36-10 defeat of Parramatta at Belmore Oval.
Canterbury controlled all of the possession and territory during a dominant opening half, however only led 12-4 after a breakaway try to Nikita E kept the visitors in the contest.
Chances stuck for the Bulldogs in the second half and a masterclass from halfback Olivia Vaalele saw them pile on the points in a one-sided display.
Parramatta provided a highlight moment late in the contest as Nikita E returned a grubber kick 90m to secure her double.
Vaalele said she was pleased to see her team’s hard work in the off-season pay off.
“We’ve been prepping really well for this so I’m really proud of the girls,” she said.
“It was a bit of a sloppy start, but we got to halftime and got ourselves together.
“We focused on what we had to work on – playing simple, getting our forwards to run hard through the middle and then play on the outside.
“That halftime talk got through to us.”
The classy half was rewarded with a try in the first set of the second half after busting the line open from close range, an area of her game she’s looking to continue throughout 2024.
“I’ve been working on that a lot in the pre-season, squaring up and taking on the line,” Vaalele said.
“It worked in that try. It took a while to get there but I was happy with myself.”
RUTHLESS ROOSTERS
They’ll have company towards the back end of the season from the Roosters however.
The Bondi outfit looked every bit the class act to down North Sydney 44-6 at Kenthurst.
They led 20-0 at the main break and didn’t take the foot off the pedal, with Lacey Cross and Irae Savea both posting doubles.
New recruit Shenae Cassidy provided the lone highlight for the Bears to get them over the line.
PANTHERS FIND THEIR BITE
The Panthers looked every bit the class outfit as they took down St George 36-0 at Penrith Park.
Jade Elford posted a double with tries on both sides of the half to put the result beyond doubt early in the contest.
A further two tries in the second half gave centre Hannah Ison a hat-trick to cap a memorable first game.
STEELERS, TIGERS GRIND OUT WINS
It was much a tighter affair at Collegians, with a lone second half penalty lifting Illawarra to a 14-12 victory over South Sydney.
Both teams traded blows throughout the first half to head into the sheds tied at 12-all.
A penalty goal to Maddalyn Bullack edged the Steelers in front with 19 minutes to play in what turned out to be the final score of the game, giving the home side the win.
It was a similar affair at Shark Park as the Wests Tigers snatched a late 20-18 win over Cronulla.
The two sides exchanged the lead on multiple occasions throughout the morning, before a late try to Lucyannah Luamanu-Leiataua with less than five minutes to play saw the visitors escape with the points.
CENTRAL COAST DOWNS BIG SISTER
The Central Coast Roosters will take a world of confidence from their round one win over Newcastle.
They prevailed 12-6 in a low-scoring but intense affair at Morry Breen Oval.
Three tries to the Roosters opened up the handy lead, but with the goalkicking boots failing to fire, the door was left open for a last ditch comeback.
Maronay Smuts converted her own try to give the Knights two minutes to force a draw, but the home side held on desperately.
TARSHA GALE CUP
After making last year’s grand final, Canterbury showed they’re right on track with a comfortable 32-4 win over Parramatta.
Lock Pauline Suli-Ruka was an unstoppable force with two first half tries as the Bulldogs raced out to a 16-0 halftime advantage.
Star centre Caitlin Peadon gave the Eels something to cheer about midway through the second, but it was call Canterbury, capped off with front rower Ailani Penese scoring a popular try with time winding down.
PREMIERS PICK UP WHERE THEY LEFT OFF
As for the defending premier Sydney Roosters, they let everyone know they haven’t lost a step by accounting for North Sydney 38-4.
Four tries in a 17-minute stretch saw them starve the Bears of possession as they clinically put the home side to the sword.
Strike centre Elizabeth Macgregor put the exclamation mark on the success with a hat-trick inside the space of seven minutes.
Latisha Kaitap finally broke the Roosters line in the dying stages to get Norths on the scoreboard.
SHARKS CLAIM CLIFFHANGER
Cronulla had to do it the hard way, fighting off a gallant Wests Tigers 22-18 at Shark Park.
Despite scoring inside the opening two minutes and finding themselves up 14-4 at the break, the Sharks conceded three tries in a five-minute stretch to start the second half.
With the Tigers up and about with an 18-14 lead, the home side responded in style with Tia-Jordyn Vasilovski completing her double to tie things up, before Manilita Takapautolo sealed the result in the 50th minute.
STEELERS COMPLETE DOUBLE
Illawarra made it a female pathways double over the Rabbitohs as they raced away with a 30-12 victory.
South Sydney remained in striking distance, down just a converted try at the break after leading 8-4, before the class of the Steelers kicked into gear.
Chelsea Savill was at her brilliant best at dummy half and was rewarded with a four-pointer at Collegians.
KNIGHTS DENY RAIDERS LATE
First it was the Harold Matts, then it was the Knights women stealing a win from Canberra at Belconnen.
With Newcastle trailing by two with under five minutes to play, two late tries to Lacey Mitchell and Eve Keeling helped them to an unlikely 16-8 win.
Canberra looked to have done enough and were doing a strong job of holding the Knights out, before last year’s preliminary finalists proved too strong.
HAROLD MATTHEWS CUP
A crazy start turned into a one-way procession as Parramatta hammered New Zealand 34-6 at Eric Tweedale Stadium.
Both teams were penalised early with the new downtown interpretation enforced by the referee, resulting in a second minute try to Andes Johansson who strolled his way through some flimsy Warriors defence.
In a carbon copy just minutes later, Houma Fotu was able to cross with ease for the visitors to tie it up.
They held solid for the remainder of the half, but couldn’t maintain the pressure in the heat as the Eels raced in five unanswered tries in the second half to take an easy first-up victory.
PENRITH SLAYS DRAGONS
A second half explosion has lifted Penrith to a massive 44-4 opening round win over St George at Penrith Park.
The Panthers struck twice early on before the Dragons were able to respond through Lucas Golovodski to trail just 12-4 at halftime.
That would be as close as they would get, with Penrith going on a rampage through six second half tries to take full control.
KNIGHTS STAGE COMEBACK
Newcastle overcame a big halftime deficit to upset Canberra 28-20 at Belconnen.
The Raiders struck inside a minute through Cooper Johnston and held a commanding 16-4 lead at the break before the Knights started to roll.
Captain Diesel Hagan barged his way over in the 37th minute, and even with the Raiders again pushing the lead out to double digits, the visitors refused to be denied.
Three tries in a six-minute period close to full-time saw them complete the comeback on the road.
DOGS MAKE STATEMENT
Professional.
That’s how Canterbury handled their business against the Roosters in a 30-16 scoreline to commence their premiership defence in style.
Four tries inside the opening 20 minutes saw them race out to an 18-0 lead before new Roosters recruit Lachlan Metcalfe scored on either side of the break to cut the margin to eight.
Canterbury recovered and surged clear late however, with Matthew Barakat scoring, before minutes later spending 10 minutes in the sin bin for a high tackle on Rex Bassingthwaite in an eventful second stanza for the halfback.
BEARS, STORM SPLIT POINTS
North Sydney and Melbourne were unable to be split at Kenthurst in a 12-all scoreline.
In what was a historic day and the first time the Storm have featured in the competition, the visitors looked the goods early as Micah Warena and Lockyer-Azile Foliola help them take a 12-0 lead.
It was the captains that stood tall for the Bears in the second half though, with Blake Van Drie and Ben Stringer both scoring to ensure they leave with a point.
RABBITOHS START WITH A BANG
South Sydney turned it on late to come away with a crushing 52-6 victory over Illawarra at Collegians.
Trailing 6-4 just minutes before the break, the Rabbitohs went on to score the next seven tries to make other teams take notice in a big way.
Darcy Feltham was electric at the back with a second half hat-trick, while big Tanner Mahon also found his way over the line for a double, much to the delight of the front rower’s teammates.
SHARKS KEEP TIGERS AT BAY
Cronulla hit the ground running at Shark Park to produce a 26-6 defeat of Balmain.
Classy fullback Oliver Lester started the party inside the first 10 minutes and his teammates soon followed to put them up 22-0 in the blink of an eye at halftime.
The Tigers managed to stem the flow of points in the second half, but were also held largely by a solid Cronulla defensive unit.
That was until Taj Handsaker helped the Tigers get on the scoresheet in the final five minutes.
SG BALL CUP
The Eels escaped a midgame Warriors surge to get their title defence of to a winning start with a 32-20 success.
Parramatta started well with a Mohamed Alameddine try and a pair of goals helping them to an 8-0 advantage.
That changed when Warriors fullback Motu Pasikala made a huge break from a kick return, spurring on Sio Kali to score their first of the day, before Pasikala fittingly added another to give them a 10-8 lead at the break.
They led 20-14 midway through the second before Alameddine’s second and another to Sebastian Piukala saw the Eels re-gain a converted try lead, before Dominic Farrugia sealed things in the last minute to complete a personal 14-point haul.
NRL HOPEFUL LIFTS MAGPIES
Tallyn Da Silva has thrust his hand up for round one NRL selection with an impressive display to help Wests deny Manly 42-18 at Brookvale Oval.
With the Magpies trailing 8-0 early doors, the young hooker crossed once and was instrumental in helping them take a 14-12 lead into halftime.
He scored another, along with doubles to Heath Mason and Navren Willett to help his team twice overcome deficits.
KNIGHTS DESTROY RAIDERS
Nobody saw what was coming at Belconnen, with Newcastle piling on a 56-10 demolition of Canberra.
In a first-half blitz, the Knights raced in seven tries to one to open up a 40-6 lead inside the opening 35 minutes, bookended by a double from Sosaia Latu.
Last year’s minor premiers had no response with a Logan Aoake hat-trick capping a big day out for the centre.
STORM BLITZES BEARS
Melbourne is off to a winning SG Ball start after taking down North Sydney 32-16.
The Storm took full advantage of a strong first half that saw them race out to a 22-4 lead.
Two additional quick tries after the break and the game was as good as over to see Melbourne claim three out of a possible four points in the male pathways fixtures.
The only sour note came close to full-time when interchange player Bradley Higgins was sent from the field.
DRAGONS WIN AT THE DEATH
St George threatened to blow a 16-0 advantage, only to take victory in the final minute of play over Penrith.
A hot Dragons outfit started with a bang, before their fire was doused and a Jaxen Edgar double helped the Panthers take a 24-16 lead on home soil.
Zac Nachar got the visitors back to within one score, before Shadi Hammoud proved the hero with a 70th minute try to cause the boilover.
ROOSTERS DENY DOGS SWEEP
Canterbury was chasing a clean sweep of all four grades at Belmore, and looked in prime position to do it when they led 10-0 against the Roosters.
The Bondi boys fought hard though, with a second half run of four tries in just 12 minutes to completely turn the game on its head, with Aholokoa Toia scoring a double in the midst of the action.
NRL development talent Zac Sarfati put the finishing touches on the 36-24 victory.
RABBITOHS LET IT SLIP
A 12-4 lead was turned into a 26-12 defeat as Illawarra proved too strong for South Sydney in the final match of the day at Collegians.
The visitors had all the momentum when big Setefano Sele barged his way over the line, before Steelers captain Daniel Meafou turned the tide.
His 43rd minute try inspired a run that would see them close out the contest in style, with Isaac Laughton sealing it nine minutes from time.
SHARKS RESURGENCE
Cronulla recovered from a slow start to claim a 44-18 win over Balmain at Shark Park.
The Tigers started strong and looked to be in full control before a surging second half from the Sharks lifted them over the line.
Bulldogs recruit Michael Gabrael showed how valuable his addition to the team is with a hat-trick, while fellow new face Riley Pollard booted six goals and showed good signs in his maiden outing in the Shire.
WEEKEND GALLERY
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