NSWRL Junior Reps Round 4: Latest results, gallery from round four weekend action
The halfway point of the NSWRL Junior Reps season is fast approaching as we enter round four. Catch up on the latest results and gallery from the Fiaola, Gale, Matts and SG Ball competitions.
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The halfway point of the NSWRL Junior Reps season is fast approaching as we hit round four.
Catch up with all the latest from around the grounds in the Lisa Fiaola, Tarsha Gale, Harold Matthews and SG Ball Cup competitions.
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Lisa Fiaola - Tarsha Gale - Harold Matthews - SG Ball
LISA FIAOLA CUP
The Wests Tigers continued their impressive start to the season with a 44-0 win over North Sydney at Leichhardt Oval.
The Bears managed to keep things close throughout the opening stages, before a Tigers burst before halftime opened things right up.
Three tries in the space of five minutes, including a double to Paige Attard, saw Wests roll through the Bears to lead 28-0 at the break.
The Tigers starved Norths of the ball to start the second half, with a quick double to Sakari Ritchie emphasising a period where it took 14 minutes for the Bears to have their first set.
The only blemish came in the form of Alavina Tu’ifua spending time in the sin bin for a high shot, as they held their line towards the back end of the game.
They now improve to 3-1 for the season, and captain Ellie Barnett said it’s a testament to how they’ve gelled as a collective.
“We’re all together (as a group). We’ve been playing good lately. There’s always a few things we can work on but I think we’re doing pretty well,” she said.
“Our ball control in the last few weeks, we’ve really wanted to come out and get our completion rate up.
“We can go pretty well in this comp.”
ROOSTERS DENY GRITTY PENRITH
The Roosters remain unbeaten in the Lisa Fiaola Cup following a 22-8 defeat of Penrith at Henson Park.
On the back of a hiding to the Bulldogs last week, the Panthers came out with a fresh intensity and trailed just 10-8 soon after the break on the back of an Anita Ropati try.
Sydney took back the momentum midway through the second half however, with Tsharnti Jerrard and Elouise Maher helping to open up an 18-8 advantage.
Maher had her second in the closing stages to advance the Roosters to a 4-0 record.
EELS END STEELERS RUN
Parramatta held off a fast finishing Illawarra to cause an upset 32-16 victory at WIN Stadium.
Racing out to an 18-6 lead at the main break, the Eels stretched that to 18 points soon after, before the home side got back to within eight.
Logan Lemusu was able to complete her hat-trick in the final 10 minutes however, completing a strong victory for the Eels.
SEA EAGLES TURN IT AROUND
After being held scoreless last week, Manly found their attacking flair with a 22-6 defeat of Cronulla at Brookvale.
Despite conceding first points, the Sea Eagles got into their groove before the break to hold a two-point advantage.
That was stretched in the second half and capped off with co-captain Leisl Hopoate putting the icing on the cake midway through the second stanza to post their second win of 2024.
BULLDOGS POWER ON
Canterbury sits atop the Lisa Fiaola standings after a comfortable 58-10 defeat of South Sydney at Redfern.
The Bulldogs were on fire early and raced out to the early lead, before the Rabbitohs chipped away to trail by 14 at the break.
That’s as close as they would get as the visitors went into overdrive in an 11-try effort, headlined by doubles to Kiana Vatubua, Asha Taumoepeau-Williams and Paige Tauaneai.
TARSHA GALE CUP
Wests Tigers produced an inspired second half to record their first win of the season, downing North Sydney 24-10.
An enthralling first half saw the two sides unable to be split, with Tiana-Lee Thorne busting through the line to open the Tigers’ account in the ninth minute, before Maicy Furner responded in the corner five minutes before the half.
Back-to-back penalties to start the second half allowed the Tigers to march down field and take the lead through Abbie Hamilton, before another infringement saw Fanaafi Fauese stretch that lead to a 10 before the Bears could touch the ball.
The visitors hit back through Rhiannon Slater to cut the deficit to four, but Hamilton and Thorne’s second put paid to any hopes of a comeback.
ROOSTERS CONTINUE POINTS SPREE
The Roosters made an emphatic Tarsha Gale statement with a 58-0 demolition of Penrith at Henson Park.
The unbeaten defending premiers raced out to a 30-0 halftime lead and never looked threatened as they raced in 12 unanswered tries.
Winger Mele Ketuu was on the end of a hat-trick in the space of 12 minutes and Aliyah Nasio finished with a double in the huge win.
The Roosters have now scored 180 points in their last three matches without conceding once.
STEELERS FIRE AGAINST EELS
Illawarra remains among the Gale leaders after a big 38-0 victory over Parramatta in Wollongong.
An Indie Bostock double helped propel the home side to a commanding 20-0 halftime advantage.
They maintained their clinical performance in the second 30 to race in another three tries, including a second for Evie McGrath as the Steelers recorded their second clean sheet in as many weeks.
LATE SURGE SNATCHES DRAW
Two tries in the last five minutes have helped Cronulla escape Brookvale with a point after an 18-all draw with Manly.
With the Sea Eagles holding a commanding lead after Indiana Russell-Lia pushed them ahead by eight in the concluding stages, the home side looked poised for a 3-0 start to the season.
That was before Koreti Leilua and Arianna Ruwoldt posted late tries to tie things up.
Ruwoldt had the chance to win the game with a difficult conversion attempt, but was wayward with the boot.
GUTSY RABBITOHS FALL SHORT
After conceding 50 last week, the Rabbitohs showed signs of life, but were no match for Canterbury in going down 32-12.
Opposing fullbacks Abby Aros and Georgie Coote both had first half doubles as the Bulldogs held a slender 14-12 halftime lead.
The Bulldogs wore Souths down, with four tries from the 45-minute mark onwards pulling the score further in their favour, keeping their perfect record intact.
HAROLD MATTHEWS CUP
Newcastle has staged a second half comeback to deny the Central Coast 16-12 at the Newcastle Centre of Excellence.
The Roosters started hot and put two tries on the home side in a five-minute stretch to hold control at 12-0 up.
Less than two minutes into the second half the comeback started with Lachlan Hails crossing, before Ryder Crosswell and William Manning helped the Knights have the lead in the 44th minute.
That would turn out to be the final points of the morning as Newcastle held on gallantly.
ROOSTERS STORM HOME AT HENSON
The Roosters produced a fightback of their own to knock off Penrith 40-16 at Henson Park.
The Panthers held a handy 10-6 lead in the shadows of halftime before Lui Lee scored on the siren to poke Sydney ahead at the break.
Nathanial Tolu gave the visitors the lead once again, before the Roosters rattled off five-straight tries to bring up their third win on the trot.
HAMMOND BRILLIANCE LIFTS STORM
Melbourne were tested, but found plenty to record their first ever Harold Matthews win, taking down Balmain 38-16 at Leichhardt Oval.
Halfback Waka Hammond starred with a hat-trick as the running halfback took on the line with great success to finish with a 22-point haul.
Zephaniah Faumuina also had a double for the visitors as they let a 12-0 lead slip, before turning it on with four-straight tries in the second half to keep the Tigers winless.
Captain Micah Warena praised the effort his team was able to put in throughout the 60 minutes, especially to fend off a Balmain charge.
“The boys earned it. We’ve worked hard and that’s been our focus this week,” he said.
“Our mentality through the week was no matter the score we’d go until the end. Everyone worked hard for each other.
“We’re pretty excited and keen (for the rest of the season). All of us boys from Victoria are excited to be playing in this competition.”
EELS EDGE OUT STEELERS
Parramatta escaped a gallant Illawarra with a 20-12 victory at WIN Stadium to remain unbeaten through four rounds.
The two sides were level pegging for much of the contest, tied at 6-all at the break and 12-all midway through the second half.
With time winding down a second try to Talen Risati proved the difference with eight minutes to play, before Lincoln Fletcher iced it with a penalty goal on the bell.
CRONULLA FINDS TOP FORM
The Sharks made it consecutive wins in style with a dominant 40-6 victory over Manly at Brookvale.
Coming up against an unbeaten and confident Sea Eagles outfit, Cronulla stormed out of the blocks to race the clock early at 18-0.
Dylan Simmons got the home side on the board before the break, but that would be their only joy, as the Sharks raced away with the contest in the second half.
After proving the hero last week, Callum Grantham chipped in with a 16-point haul for the afternoon.
WARRIORS EARN PLACE IN HISTORY
The Warriors claimed their first ever Harold Matthews Cup victory with a last-ditch 22-17 victory over South Sydney at Redfern.
It looked like a Rabbitohs victory was on the cards after Tamoko Berryman-Duff slotted a field goal in the final minutes.
That was before Lennox Tuiloma crashed his way over, with their celebrations enhanced with the final siren sounding.
“After the past two weeks we had a lot of trial and error,” front rower Houma Fotu said.
“We remembered we had to stay positive and put that trust in our team.
“We have that bond of we are one.”
Fotu warned that the best is yet to come for the young side as they prepare for a stretch of games at home.
“We can do better. It’s ourselves that is holding us back,” he said.
“This is the starting point of what we can show (when we play) these Aussie teams.”
New Zealand started fast with Ezekiel Davidson-Faaiuaso producing a miracle play to get the ball down before being bundled touch in goal, but from then the first half was all Souths.
They crossed three times in relatively quick succession to open up a 16-4 lead, emphasised with Militonimolela Sikuvea spending time in the sin bin for a professional foul.
New Zealand wasn’t to be denied, and they launched a spirited comeback to tie things up at 16-all when Tuiloma crossed for the first time with 10 minutes to play.
WESTS FIND BEST
Wests held off an early charge from North Sydney to claim a 40-12 victory at Kenthurst.
The Bears were able to put two early tries together to hold a slender 8-6 advantage midway through the first half, before the class of the Magpies shone through.
Three tries in an instant gave them a 14-point lead at the break, and they continued that on in the second half.
A try and six conversions gave exciting prospect Heamasi Makasini an impressive 16-point haul.
SG BALL CUP
The winning run of St George came to an end with a narrow 16-14 defeat to the Knights in Newcastle.
Billed as the match of the round, the Dragons took full control of proceedings and looked to be cruising at 14-0 after Corey Ackers barged his way over before halftime.
That’s when the home side clicked into gear, piling on three tries in the second half to snatch an unlikely victory.
The comeback was completed in the 65th minute with Wailer Whaiapu levelling things up, before Connor Votano kicked the matchwinning conversion.
ROOSTERS DO ENOUGH AGAINST PENRITH
The Roosters completed the clean sweep of all junior reps grades with a hard-fought 22-16 win over Penrith.
Through the opening 35 minutes the two were unable to be split, with doubles to Baxter Warner and Poutoa Hotere-Papalii ensuring scores were tied at 10-all.
It was the Roosters who found more through the middle stages of the second half to go ahead by 12.
Kye Raven helped narrow the advantage back to one score inside the final three minutes, but that is as close as the Panthers would get.
MELBOURNE REMAINS IN TOUCH
Melbourne has kept pace with the finals race following a 28-10 defeat of Balmain at Leichhardt Oval.
Hooker Harrison Hill proved the difference early, regathering a lost ball to open the scoring, before a scoot from dummy half helped the Storm take a 12-4 lead at halftime.
Things got a bit heated approaching the break, but it was the visitors who came out firing in the second half to open up a 22-4 lead that would prove insurmountable.
STEELERS KNOCK OFF PREMIERS
Illawarra claimed its biggest scalp so far in the SG Ball season, downing defending premiers Parramatta 30-16 at WIN Stadium.
A 12-10 halftime advantage remained at two with 15 minutes to play, before a crucial stretch gave the Steelers enough breathing room.
Lucas Borg pushed that lead to eight, before captain Daniel Meafou scored from the ensuing set to put the game away in an instant.
SHARKS SURVIVE MANLY SCARE
Cronulla left it late but managed to escape Brookvale with a 28-20 defeat of the Sea Eagles in a thriller.
The Sharks looked to be in full control of the contest with a 20-0 halftime lead on the back of a Richard Whalebone double.
It was a spirited fightback from Manly, who scored four tries in the space of 10 minutes to turn the contest on its head, with Finnian Walsh’s four-pointer levelling the scores.
New recruit Michael Gabrael proved the difference in the end, scoring with six minutes remaining to bring the two points back to the Shire.
WARRIORS TOO STRONG FOR SOUTHS
A determined New Zealand side came into Redfern and left with two points after a 44-14 hammering.
It was the home side that scored first through an impressive effort from Jacob Fong in the corner, but that would prove to be the lone high point.
JD Auloa crashed over from dummy half in the 13th minute, sparking the Warriors to a 22-4 halftime lead.
A further four tries in the second, including fullback Motu Pasikala completing his double, saw them pick up their second win of the season.
RAMPAGE LIFTS MAGPIES
A first-half blitz was the catalyst for a big 48-6 win for Western Suburbs over North Sydney at Kenthurst.
The Magpies turned it on with six converted tries in the opening stanza as they showed why they are still a title force.
Boosted by the return of Kit Laulilii and Tallyn Da Silva (eight goals), a two-try effort from Luke Laulilii was a highlight of the morning.
WEEKEND GALLERY
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