Penrith District Rugby League: Full wrap of all four games, round eight
There was a send off, a three-try masterclass and a clear message from the front-runners in local Penrith footy. Don Feltis Cup round eight wrap, 30+ GALLERY.
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There was a send off, a three-try masterclass and a clear message from the frontrunners in local Penrith footy
Full wrap from all four matches.
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LOCAL PENRITH RL SEASON PREVIEW
COMETS ON TOP
St Clair has shot to the top of the ladder after the Comets proved too strong for St Marys with a 28-22 victory at Peppertree.
As the only side with six victories after eight rounds, St Clair sit three points clear of Windsor at the top of the table.
But they didn’t have it all their own way in the first half. In a throwback to the days of Greg Alexander, hooker Jack Burgess kicked Saints to a 12-6 halftime lead when the hooker flew solo, chasing his own chip kick to score a memorable four-pointer.
After a tight first half St Clair regrouped and immediately clicked into gear. Breathing fire on return, back rower David Sisifa sent Luke Butfield into the left corner, and they added another three in quick succession to lead 28-12 on the hour.
Kyle King-Bird delivered a magic pass in the lead up to Ezriah Leauanae’s try, and shortly after, the halfback kicked for Butfield’s second of the half.
In a message to the rest of the competition, St Clair maintained their 16-point advantage until the closing minutes when St Marys narrowed the margin with late tries to Sailosi Torovi and Jordan Shelley.
JETS FLY OFF WITH CUP
Minchinbury fell short of a monumental boilover, but with the aid of a healthy points start the Jets departed Leonay Oval with the Don Feltis Challenge Cup after going down to Emu Plains 38-32.
After a slow start to their campaign, Emu Plains managed to withstand a whirlwind Jets comeback, but with a growing list of injuries the week off can’t come fast enough for the reigning premiers.
Alex Myles struck for the home side in the sixth minute, but the back rower’s day ended early when he made his way off with an injury midway through the first half.
Every time Emu threatened to put the result to bed, Minchinbury kept returning serve. In the countdown to halftime, Greg Alderson and winger Bryson East struck in quick succession for a 26-10 lead, and it blew out when Brendon Hearne scored the first of his second half double in the 48th minute.
Undeterred by a friendly 42.5 start to claim the weekly silverware, a determined Minchinbury also chased the two competition points, and immediately set about reeling in the 22-point deficit.
In a hectic seven minutes of game time, the Jets notched three tries to trail 32-28 with 19 minutes to play. Winger Ian French finished off in the right corner, and was quickly followed across by Anthony Tulua and fellow backrower Brad Pittman.
The dismissal of Emu prop Dean Barnes to the sin bin in the 64th minute added fuel to what was shaping as a miracle comeback.
Rolling in waves through centrefield, the visitors were in total control and appeared to level the scores in the dying stages only to be denied by the referee.
In another strong performance, under-19s halfback Josiah Palu broke clear for Hearne to ice Emu’s fourth straight win with a run away try.
With the result out of reach, French struck with the final play to reduce the final margin to six points.
NEW HALF SPARKS CAMBO REVIVAL
A three-try masterclass from Michael Tuavao has seen Cambridge Park return to winning ways with a dominant 42-32 victory over Brothers at Parker Street.
Coming off last week’s loss to Windsor, the addition of Tuavao in the halves sparked the visitors attack as the five-eighth continually punched holes through Brothers’ left edge in the seven tries to six win.
After transitioning from hooker, halfback Cooper Bonney made an immediate impact when he dashed over for Brothers in the 10th minute.
However, the lead was short lived as Cambridge Park hit back with the next three tries before Alex Prior narrowed the margin to 18-12 just before halftime.
Calling the shots on the right edge, Tuavao proved the difference between the sides. After breaking clear to send winger Jake Williamson across midway through the first half, he never looked back.
Needing a win to remain within striking distance of the frontrunners, Tuavao ramped up the intensity after the break, busting through for back-to-back tries to make it 30-12 with half an hour to play.
Then after Ejaya Agbere scored the first of his second half double for Brothers, Tuavao made sure his side regrouped to register their fourth win of the season.
First, he sent John Vunga through a yawning gap, then with Brothers threatening to stage a late comeback he showed the strength of a backrower, powering across for his third four-pointer in the 73rd minute to make it 42-26.
Following their loss to Windsor, Cambridge Park coach Kodah Karipa was delighted with his side’s response and the performance upfront in the absence of skipper, Lachlan Crossley.
“We imploded against Windsor, so I was happy to see a more focused effort,” said Karipa.
“For the first time this year we finished the game with no sin bins. We need to focus on discipline and learn to keep our cool.
“Prop Jacob Polesi kept chipping away. He’s a big boy but has a big engine too, and I thought he really stepped up in place of Lachlan.”
COLTS OUTCLASS 12-MAN RIVERSTONE
Colyton has outclassed Riverstone scoring eight tries to three as the Colts skipped away to record their fourth win in five starts with a 46-18 victory at Cec Blinkhorn Oval.
Following a heartbreaking last-minute loss to St Marys and despite the absence of gun half Harrison Reid-Porter, Coltyon put the winless Razorbacks to bed after opening up a 28-6 halftime advantage.
With his second try of the evening, clever fullback Jesse Poulsen extended the margin upon the resumption before Riverstone’s woes were compounded following the dismissal of Jumon Siulai in the 47th minute.
Trailing 34-6, frustration got the better of the five-eighth. Initially sent to the sin bin for backchat, the No.6 doubled down and was instantly marched from the field by the referee.
Despite playing a man short, the visitors hit back through winger Sunny Riley before Colyton replied with consecutive tries to Anthony Senio and a cracking solo effort to ball playing forward, Kaylem Falaniko.
Typically strong upfront, Colyton were well served by second rower Onosai Tulitogise and wrecking ball prop Kilifi Tia-Kilifi who both crossed as the Colts landed three blows to lead 18-0 inside the opening 16 minutes.
Riverstone’s Nathan Presdee finished the night in style when he flew high to grab a Luke Pickett bomb for the final try of the night.
PHOTO GALLERY
Brothers v Cambridge Park (1st grade)
Brothers v Cambridge Park (reserve grade)
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