Penrith District Rugby League: Round 13 Magic Round wrap, 80+ gallery
There was no shortage of surprises, escape acts and wild celebrations in local Penrith footy during Magic Round. Stars, standouts from round 13, Don Feltis Cup. 80+ PHOTO GALLERY
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Penrith local footy once again took centre stage as the annual Magic Round festival unfolded over three days at Leonay Oval, Emu Plains.
Bigger and better than before, the second edition doubled as Indigenous Round and showcased a diverse range of male and female grades kicking off on Friday evening.
In men’s A-grade, all four round 13 Don Feltis Cup fixtures took place on Saturday. Full wrap, 80+ photo gallery.
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CALM CAMBO TURN CORNER
In arguably the performance of the round, a disciplined and measured Cambridge Park climbed to second spot on the table after accounting for St Marys 40-18.
After playing out a draw back in round four, another close contest was expected between two sides eager to finish among the top two.
Determined to take their game to another level, Cambo jumped ahead 22-6 after an almost faultless first 40 minutes.
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On the back of repeat sets, Marli Sini crossed for an early double. In a carbon copy of his first, the imposing playmaker crashed through St Marys’ right edge to make it 10-0 after 15 minutes.
Down on the scoreboard and seemingly out of luck, alarm bells starting ringing for Saints midway through the first half. Racing up in defence, Cambo prop Jordan Cardona failed to break stride as he steamed onto a fumbled pass before sliding over next to the posts.
Trailing 16-0, Jack Burgess struck for St Marys after the busy hooker forced two goal line dropouts, but his hard work quickly evaporated when Michael Tuavao crossed for the first of his two before halftime.
Shortly after the break, Lupe Pauli stepped across to make it a 10-point game. But it was as close as St Marys would get as Lachlan Crossley’s men rallied again, scoring the next three to open an unassailable 28-point lead after 65 minutes.
“It’s got to be up there with one of our best wins of the season,” said Crossley at full time.
“We’ve been a bit quiet the past few games. We haven’t really lived up to the standard we set ourselves, but we really wanted to put it to them and see how far we can really go.
“There was one forward pass in the first half, that was our only error. We’ve been riddled with them in the past couple of games, so we’ve really knuckled down to iron that out of our game, because once we’re flowing with the ball in our hands we’re very hard to stop.”
Grateful to be playing alongside Sini, the prop also singled out another two key contributors.
“Marli Sini, he’s a beast,” said Crossley. “He’s got that experience, and he’s such a big body and moves so quick. It really is an honour and pleasure to play inside him.
“I also thought Sean Pokia really stepped up, he’s our young winger. And Jordan’s a workhorse upfront, he’s a machine and is very hard to stop.”
KING-BIRD SWOOPS LATE
In a Magic Round classic, Kobe King-Bird pulled a rabbit out of his hat in the final seconds as St Clair upstaged a shattered Minchinbury 34-32 in the first of two evening games at Leonay.
Having blown an early 22-point lead, the Comets found themselves down by two in the final minute, with just one more chance to save their blushes
Pressing the Jets’ goal line, backrower Brooklyn Malietoa pushed into open space before finding King-Bird, and the second rower did the rest, defying the efforts of two defenders to squeeze the ball into the right corner.
“I just backed myself, and believed I could get there,” said a relieved King-Bird after the final siren.
“Brooklyn did the hard work and offloaded it, then I was just hoping that the hooter would sound.”
In a game divided by a seismic shift in momentum, the Comets were a class above in the opening 20 minutes. Full of running, they looked untouchable with four tries to lead 22-0.
Centre Antonio Ma’u only needed two minutes to score the first of his double, and they added another from the restart when half Kyle King-Bird sent his brother Kobe racing away.
Malietoa and five-eighth Damian Richardson added their names to the scoresheet before the contest flipped on its head.
From the moment Minchinbury backrower Anthony Tulua flew high to score from a bomb, the Jets hit the afterburners. In 16 minutes of game time either side of halftime, the Jets fired back with four of their own to draw level at 22-all.
In a strong all-round performance, centre Jamie Davison burst over. And with a heap of possession, Minchinbury turned on the heat, showing too much pace with four-pointers to half Jayden Missio and fullback Marley Skeen.
St Clair struck back to lead 30-22, but Leo-Stipe Latu pegged one back before coming up with what appeared to be the match winning play for Minchinbury with less than five minutes on the clock.
Defending on his own line, after fielding an attacking kick the winger shot 80m up field, and from the next play Viliami Fonokalafi crossed out wide, and with Drew Lloyd’s touchline conversion the Jets led by two.
“It was pretty scrappy, but two points is two points, I guess,” said Kobe King-Bird following St Clair’s eighth win that leaves them fifth, just one-point behind Cambridge Park and Emu Plains.
“Errors and penalties didn’t help us. They have a young squad there, if there had been more time they might have got us – it was a bit too close for comfort.”
EMU HOLD OFF FAST FINISHING COLTS
They weren't at their premiership winning best, but Emu Plains still found enough to hold off a fast finishing Colyton 28-20 in the final match on Saturday evening.
One of several sides cruelled by a growing list of injuries, the defending champions showed no signs of hardship in the opening 40 minutes, posting five tries to open a commanding 28-4 advantage.
Under-19s winger Kees Muller crossed first and Isaac Thompson made it 10-0 after 14 minutes. Colyton hit back through five-eighth Kaylem Falaniko, but the home side regained control, scoring the next three tries heading into halftime.
Nearing their best after the break, Colyton quickly turned the tables as last season’s grand finalists kept Emu scoreless while adding another three four-pointers to close within eight points with 15 minutes to play.
Kaylem Falaniko barged across for his second, and was followed over by centre Dante Filipe-otai and prop Brayden Tyburski.
Camped in Emu’s half, a comeback looked on the cards until the 70th minute when Colts centre James Ross was sent off for inappropriate language to the referee.
One of Emu’s best, fullback Jake Bentley was largely faultless down back, continually carrying his side out of trouble amid a wave of testing Colyton kicks in the second half.
“We had a lot of joy in the first half,” said Bentley. “We held the ball and were doing all the right things. Then the second half was the total opposite with poor discipline.
“Colyton were finishing strong. They’re a good team and once you give them a sniff, they show up. And they did exactly that. It was a bit of a scare at the end, so we were glad to hold on.”
In a torrid battle in the middle, the Emu No.1 singled out the efforts of a few in the pack.
“Tom Romer stood out, but he always shows up,” he said. “I though the props were good too, Dean Barnes and Mitchell Smith.”
MERCILESS WOLVES
A ruthless Windsor showed no mercy in Saturday afternoon’s opening Don Feltis Cup fixture, racing 12 unanswered tries past a hapless Riverstone to maintain their four-point-buffer at the head of the table.
Lopsided from the outset, the Wolves secured victory inside 40 minutes before the mercy rule came into effect when fullback Samuel Coe crossed for his second to make it 60-0.
Teenage winger Jeshua Maa-Nelson continued his impressive form on the right edge, crossing four times to move four clear at the top of the tryscorers list.
Amid a host of entertaining post-try celebrations, Maa-Nelson showcased his flair with a slick rendition of the goanna, reminiscent of Greg Inglis, while five-eighth Justin Salgado stood out from the Wolves pack in “kangaroo mode.”
PHOTO GALLERY
Windsor v Riverstone
St Marys v Cambridge Park
St Clair v Minchinbury
Emu Plains v Colyton
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