Top 10: Biggest talking points from round five of the Andrew Johns and Laurie Daley Cups

Round five is in the books for the Andrew Johns and Laurie Daley Cup competition, the last round before the finals series. Check out some of the biggest talking points as finals are on the horizon.

With round five done and dusted in the Andrew Johns and Laurie Daley Cups, some teams are now gearing up for finals, while others are back to the drawing board for next season.

The last round of regular season featured plenty of standout individual performances and close contests.

Check out the 10 biggest talking points from the weekend of footy.

Don’t forget to catch up on the talking points from round four.

Macarthur Wests Tigers go undefeated

The stars of the undefeated Macarthur Wests Tigers Andrew Johns Cup side. Photos: Contributed

After five rounds of action across both grades, the Macarthur Wests Tigers team in the Andrew Johns Cup were the only side to go five wins from five ahead of the finals.

The Tigers wrapped up their regular season with a 34-16 win over the Illawarra South Coast Dragons in round five.

Interestingly, at no point did the Tigers absolutely blowout the scoreline, with their highest margin being an 18 point victory over the Riverina Bulls.

Rather, their games were often comparatively low scoring but ultimately clinical, with the side undoubtedly high on confidence ahead of the finals.

Josephson stars for the Northern Tigers

Reece Josephson put on a masterclass for the Northern Tigers with a hat trick of tries in their 30-10 win over the Western Rams in the Andrew Johns Cup.

The fullback’s first two tries were well-positioned bursts through the line off of short passes from his halves.

His third try was arguably the try of the round, breaking the defensive line on his own 30, before stepping the fullback, palming off another defender and ultimately outpacing the chasing pack to run the length of the field to score a wonderful solo try.

Bassingthwaighte departs with a flourish

Rex Bassingthwaighte of the Western Rams. Picture: SM Photography

While his Western Rams might have come up short in their loss to the Northern Tigers, Rex Bassingthwaighte reminded us that he is a star to watch for years to come.

Bassingthwaighte scored an excellent solo try in the first half, busting through a pocket of space 30 metres out, before evading four missed tackles with his raw pace and crossing the line to score.

He ends the regular season with four tries from his five appearances across a variety of positions for the Rams.

O’Doherty strikes again

Highlighted as one of our stars of the season, Fletcher O’Doherty was right in the thick of the action again as his Newcastle Maitland Knights defeated the Central Coast Roosters 30-14.

The second rower showed great strength and awareness to crash over the line for the opening try of the game, his fifth for the season.

He would follow that up with an excellent charge down in the second half, which he would regather before assisting his halfback Jack Thompson.

Johnston in the thick of the action again

Monaro Colts fullback Cooper Johnston starred for his side once again. Photo: Kevin Merrigan

Cooper Johnston proved his worth for the Monaro Colts yet again in their 28-10 win over the Riverina Bulls.

His solo effort try was one of the tries of the round, breaking through a pocket of space on the halfway line before chipping the fullback, with the kick sitting up perfectly for him to plant it in the in-goal area.

He also assisted Jet Millard’s first try and was largely influential in the build up to his second.

Intercept try galore in the Laurie Daley Cup

It might have been the hot conditions around New South Wales on the weekend, but a lot of passes were going astray, leading to a number of intercept tries in the Laurie Daley Cup.

Bulldogs centre Luke Calthorpe took an intercept straight from the dummy half pass while defending his own line before running the length of the field to score in the corner.

Mason Forbes would take a simple one for the Newcastle Maitland Knights, after Roosters fullback Riley Burke went for an ambitious pass off a kick return 15 metres out from his own line.

Riverina Bulls winger Koko Salim would also pick up a loose pass while defending his line, running 90 metres to score one of his side’s two tries in their loss to the Monaro Colts.

Hennessy lethal on the left

Charles Hennessy was a standout performer for the Newcastle Maitland Region Knights in their Laurie Daley Cup win over the Central Coast Roosters.

On two occasions the centre would bust through the defensive line off a short ball to run in to score a double.

He would also share the love by assisting his winger Mason Forbes who picked up a try on the damaging left edge for the Knights.

No Cacciotti, no problems

Monaro Colts have been blessed with some good hooker options this year in the Laurie Daley Cup.

Top try scorer for the year Xavier Cacciotti was not in the squad this week, so Ethan Alaia started in the no. 9 jersey for the Colts.

He would fill the boots perfectly, picking up two tries and two assists, showing great foot speed, agility and vision.

Henderson untouchable from fullback

There was another hat-trick hero for the Northern Tigers this week, this time in the Laurie Daley Cup.

Fullback Charlie Henderson was simply untouchable in his side’s 38-6 win over the Western Rams.

Henderson crossed for three tries, with his speed and agility too much for the Rams to handle.

He also provided two perfect ‘Harbour Bridge pass’ assists for his winger Oscar Atkin.

Looking ahead to the finals

After five rounds of action in both the Andrew Johns and Laurie Daley Cups, four teams remain in each competition.

In the Andrew Johns Cup, progressing will be the undefeated Macarthur Wests Tigers, as well as the Monaro Colts, Newcastle Maitland Region Knights and Central Coast Roosters.

In the Laurie Daley Cup, three teams ended on eight points, being the Newcastle Maitland Region Knights, Illawarra South Coast Dragons and Northern Tigers, to be joined in the final by the Monaro Colts.

Round five wrap: Biggest stories from the Andrew Johns and Laurie Daley Cups

THE fifth and final round of the regular season in the Andrew Johns and Laurie Daley Cup took place over the weekend, with teams battling it out to try and land a spot in the finals series.

There was plenty of exciting action, with a number of dramatic results leading to surprise finals inclusions and omissions.

Don’t forget to catch up on the biggest talking point from round four.

Check out as well the top 20 performers from the Andrew Johns and Laurie Daley Cups so far.

Knights at the head of the table after regular season

A commanding double over the Central Coast Roosters across both grades cemented the Newcastle Maitland Regions Knights as the top performing club in the regular season.

In the Andrew Johns Cup, the Knights upset the Roosters 30-14 away from home at Morry Breen Oval to lock in a finals appearance and surpass the Roosters on the ladder.

The victory was the Knights’ third of the season, with one of the season’s star performers Fletcher O’Doherty crossing once again from second row for his fifth try of the season.

The Roosters are still set to make a finals appearance despite the loss, finishing with three wins from five and edging the Northern Tigers on point difference.

In the Laurie Daley Cup, the Knights crossed six times for a 38-10 victory, with a pair of tries coming from gun centre Charles Hennessy.

This nailed in first place in the Laurie Daley Cup regular season for the Knights, finishing with four wins from five and a greater points difference than the Northern Tigers and Illawarra South Coast Dragons, who also both picked up four wins.

This meant that the Knights were the only team alongside the Monaro Colts to have both teams qualify for the finals, with the Newcastle side statistically being the best performers across both grades.

Northern Tigers turn it on against the Rams

The rising stars of the Northern Tigers Laurie Daley Cup team. Pictures: Contributed

The Northern Tigers put on a clinic across both grades to dispose of the Western Rams.

The Andrew Johns Cup side took a 30-10 victory at John Simpson Oval, with fullback Reece Josephson crossing for a hat-trick.

The win was not enough to send the Northern Tigers through to the finals, as despite being level on points with the Newcastle Maitland Region Knights and Central Coast Roosters, they were let down by their negative point difference accumulated from losses in round three and four.

The same could not be said for the Laurie Daley Cup side, who produced a statement 42-6 victory to cement a spot in the finals with four wins from five, sitting only behind the Newcastle Maitland Region Knights and Illawarra South Coast Dragons on point difference.

The Tigers hammered their Rams opposition with seven tries to just one, with winger Oscar Atkin picking up a double.

The Western Rams exit both competitions with just two wins from five games in each grade.

Tigers finals dreams crushed by Dragons in thriller

Lincoln Miners. Picture Thomas Lisson

It was late drama in the Laurie Daley Cup as the Illawarra South Coast Dragons edged the Macarthur Wests Tigers 30-28 at Kirkham Oval.

The victory crushed the finals hopes of the Tigers side, who could have finished ahead of the Dragons and into the finals on seven points with a victory, but instead crashed out of the competition on five points.

Winger Samson McAllister-Wood scored the all important late try for the Dragons with under five minutes to go, with Clay Baldock then converting to put the Dragons two points clear.

Other try scorers for the Dragons were Toby Rumble, Lincoln Miners, Eden Hodges and Samuel Kennedy who picked up a double.

For the Macarthur Wests Tigers, two tries to Rielly Smith, as well as tries from Noah McKenzie, Harry Delaney and Jone Rorocolo was just not enough to get the job done.

The Dragons finish the regular season with eight points, topping the southern conference and sitting only behind the Knights overall.

Monaro surge into finals

The Monaro Colts picked up crucial wins across both grades to lock in a spot in the finals.

There would be no smiles for the Riverina Bulls on the other hand, who go back to the drawing board after finishing the season with zero points across both grades.

In the Andrew Johns Cup, the Colts would defeat their opposition Bulls 28-10 at NSWRL HQ Bruce, with the appropriately named Jet Millard racing away for two tries for his side.

That leaves the Colts with seven points in the Andrew Johns Cup, sending them up the ladder to finish only behind the undefeated Macarthur Wests Tigers.

In the Laurie Daley Cup, the Colts put on a try frenzy in a 42-12 win, with the Bulls simply having no answers.

Hooker Ethan Alaia and second rower Nikolas Klobucar both crossed for two tries in the impressive victory which puts the Colts on six points and into the finals.