Standouts, freak tries, results and talking points from round six of Group 7 rugby league
There were captivating – and in some cases nailbiting – contests shaking up the table in round six of the Group 7 rugby league comp. Check out some of the biggest talking points.
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After wrapping all five Group 7 first grade games yesterday, it’s time to have a looks at some of the major talking points from the round that was.
From standout performances to try of the round contenders, there are a number of interesting stories to emerge from round six.
Check out seven talking points below and be sure to catch up on round five action as well.
1) Farrell steering the ship
Dylan Farrell showed the experience of an ex-NRL player in the Nowra-Bomaderry Jets victory over the Shellharbour Sharks.
The five-eighth had the ball on a string as he assisted Braydon Rumble Walsh with a deft kick to the wing in the second half, also having a hand in a great team try finished by Beau Luland.
Farrell also potentially secured the big hit of the round with a tremendous one-on-one shot on Hayden Wilson while defending his line.
2) Huge shift on the wing from Luland
The other shining light in a great day out for the Jets was Beau Luland who proved massively influential from the wing.
Luland finished two tries in the left corner in the first half, showing great positioning on the first try and exceptional strength to get the better of his defender on the second try.
He also provided an assist to halfback Clyde Parsons after he made a break down the left flank in the first half as he’d made that touchline his stomping ground.
3) Simington a diamond in the rough for Bulldogs
While the Milton Ulladulla Bulldogs went down to the Gerringong Lions, the performance centre Mitchell Simington was a reason to applaud.
Both his tries were all his own work, the first of which he skilfully ducked under and slipped out of the attempted tackle of two defenders.
His second try, while merely a consolation, was a contender for try of the round, charging down the right flank off a Bulldogs scrum inside their own 10m, running the length of the field to score a terrific solo try.
4) Eagles pass up golden points opportunity
After five games played, the Albion-Park Oak Flats Eagles finally got a solo point on the board as they notched a 24-24 draw with the Berry Shoalhaven Heads Magpies.
The Eagles were arguably the better side as well, notching five tries to the Magpies four, leaving Jiye Ellis to rue missed chances off the conversion tee.
Berry had two wins under their belt coming into the game and were sitting midtable, so a win would have done massive confidence for the Eagles going forward as they look to escape the wooden spoon.
They face an enormous test next week up against the undefeated Stingrays of Shellharbour.
5) Roberts duo carving it up
Halback Paul Roberts and five-eighth Tyrone Roberts were massively influential in getting the Warilla-Lake South Gorillas over the line in a tight contest with the Kiama Knights.
Tyrone scored in the first half after a big dummy deceived the defensive line, also providing a peach of an assist to centre Kye Deane.
Paul scored an equally impressive try off a big dummy as well, before charging under the posts to score the eventual winner for the Gorillas.
6) Asquith a bright spark despite loss
It’s been a hit and miss season for the Superoos in 2023 who will need to pick up the pace a bit if they want to revisit semi-final football this season.
The positive to come from the loss was the attacking play of five-eighth Mark Asquith who had the Stingrays mesmerised in the first half with two tries.
Ball in one-hand, Asquith’s first try showed great running strength to force his way over the line after attacking a hole, while his second was just excellent reading of the defensive line to charge through a hole untouched.
7) Who can take down the Stingrays?
Five games, five wins for the Stingrays of Shellharbour in what is looking like their best shot at winning a Premiership in their eight year history in the Group 7 competition.
Their closest competitors on the table right now are the Gerringong Lions, who share their points but have played one more game and the Nowra-Bomaderry Jets who are one point behind.
Jayden Harris leads the scoring front for the Stingrays on six as he added another to his tally over the weekend, while the work of Tom Warner is to be commended as well, putting in a captain’s shift as he backed up from playing City v Country during the week to get out in the starting line-up for the Stingrays.
Comebacks, close calls and a draw. Round 6 wrap of Group 7 Rugby League
After a disrupted week in round five due to torrential south coast rain, Group 7 returned to normal proceedings in round six with five exciting matches unfolding.
Some mouth-watering match-ups took place in the Group 7 Respect Round as we saw blowouts, nailbiting finishes and even a draw.
Check out the full wrap of the five games that took place.
Reigning premiers clinch big victory
The defending premiers Warilla-Lake South Gorillas picked up a massive victory, defeating the Kiama Knights 30-22 in a tight affair at Cec Glenholmes Oval.
Both sides came into the match sitting in the middle of the table on two wins each.
The Gorillas came out firing through a try within minutes to big prop forward Guy Rosewarn who has crossed two weeks straight now.
Both halves for the Gorillas showed their attacking flair, with Paul Roberts and Tyrone Roberts scoring remarkably similar solo effort tries involving big dummies and steps to go in to score themselves.
Kiama would surge to score the next three tries unanswered though and raise a couple of questions of the Warilla defensive resilience, with four pointers from Dylan Murdoch, Callan Thistlethwaite and Tyler Clark all involving some missed tackles from the home side.
With two points the difference, Warilla would look to get the game out of reach when Tyrone Roberts lofted a smart pass to Kye Deane who went in to score.
Kiama refused to go down without a fight as Kieran Poole charged over from dummy-half to bring the margin back to two with under 10 minutes on the clock.
In the dying moments, the reigning champions would nail the hammer blow after a line break from elusive hooker Samuel Hooper, feeding his halfback Paul Roberts in for his second and cuing celebrations for the Gorillas in what could be a massive confidence booster for their title defence aspirations.
Three on the trot for high-flying Jets
The travelling Nowra-Bomaderry Jets picked up their third win on the bounce by defeating the Shellharbour Sharks 34-16.
For the second week in a row though it was slow out of the blocks for the Jets, with the Shellharbour side opening the scoring through winger Jye Brooker.
From here the Jets switched into gear with Beau Luland proving largely influential from the wing, crossing for two first half tries and assisting his halfback Clyde Parsons after breaking down the left wing.
While the backs were shining for the Jets, the forwards would prove their attacking prowess as well, with big Austin Thompson getting his head down and charging for the line for a four pointer.
Sharks fullback Braxton Wallace took matters into his own hands in an attempt to get his side back into the game, regaining his own neat grubber kick and stepping the last defender to score a nice solo try.
The Jets would see out the game in style though, first a try to Braydon Rumble-Walsh after a deft chip kick from Dylan Farrell, before a full-field intercept from Clyde Parson for his second try of the game.
Bulldogs unable to carry momentum as Lions roar
Travelling the furthest south this week was the Gerringong Lions who picked up a 26-18 win over the Milton-Ulladulla Bulldogs.
The Lions won both halves of footy, with the Bulldogs unable to carry the form from their victory last time out against the Magpies.
Prop forward Alexander Weir turned provider for his halfback Taj Ford in a unique reversal of roles in the first half, engaging the line before feeding the young half through a pocket of space to score.
Weir also got on the scoresheet himself in the second half, running in under the posts all too easily from an assist from his captain Nathan Ford.
Jack Quine soared above the pack to take a great catch off a cross-field kick in the second half, showing great ability for a second-rower.
The bright spark coming out of a loss for the Milton-Ulladulla Bulldogs was a double to centre Mitchell Simmington with his second being a contender for try of the round, running the ball off a Bulldogs scrum 90m down the right touchline to score a terrific solo try.
Stingrays class shows against valiant Superoos
While it looked as though their winning streak was in jeopardy for a while, the Stingrays of Shellharbour prevailed convincingly in the end to defeat the Jamberoo Superoos 30-18 at home.
Jamberoo five-eighth Mark Asquith got his side off to a flyer with the opening two tries of the game, both excellent solo runs to deceive the Shellharbour defensive line.
They took their time to get into the game, but eventually the Stingrays cracked the Jamberoo resistance, first through Jayden Harris down the left wing, followed by Tom Warner off an excellent bullet pass from five-eighth William Heta.
With 20 minutes remaining, the Superoos held a slender two point lead but were then thoroughly exposed in their inability to defend the kicks of halfback Jake Horton that would contribute to three tries in the final 20.
Taioalo Vaivai was profiting the most off this from centre, scoring first from a defensive error, before rising above the pack to take a great mark and score his second.
Ben Weatherall would also grab one down the right flank as well as again the Superoos failed to clean up an attacking kick from the Stingrays.
What looked as though it could have been an upset victory ended up being a good test of character from the Stingrays who remain undefeated.
Eagles land first point of season in Magpies draw
Albion Park-Oak Flats Eagles picked up their first points of the season, claiming a 24-24 draw against the Berry Shoalhaven Heads Magpies.
The Magpies will be disappointed they couldn’t back up their victory last week over Jamberoo against the bottom-of-the-table Eagles.
The Eagles put on five tries to the Magpies four, let down only by their conversion kicking.
The Eagles hookers were having a good day out.
There was a wonderful weaving solo run from starting hooker Jack Walsh, followed by an intelligent diving effort from his substitute replacement Nash Hooper.
The spine was proving their value for the Eagles, with five-eighth Kane Ball providing a terrific harbour-bridge assist pass to winger Bailey Morris.
The Berry Shoalhaven spine was doing its work as well, with a crucial late try to halfback Joe Rogers coming off the assist of his fullback Billy Hayburn.
Lock forward Trent Griffiths would score the last try of the game under the sticks to salvage a point for the Magpies, with the Eagles undoubtedly disappointed to not walk away with more than a point from the fixture.
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