Surprise scoreline against competition heavyweight and tries galore! Group 7 eliminations finals wrap
Group 7 finals kicked off on the weekend with five teams reduced to just four. See the surprise scoreline that left one team rattled and catch up on all the action from an exciting weekend of footy.
The South Coast News
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Group 7 finals are upon us and the weekend’s rugby league action took us from five teams down to four.
The Gerringong Lions hosted the Shellharbour Sharks in the major elimination final in a blockbuster of two competition heavyweights.
Meanwhile the Nowra-Bomaderry Jets faced off against the Milton Ulladulla Bulldogs in a do-or-die clash of two exciting and high-scoring sides.
Catch up on the full wrap of the weekend’s finals footy action.
Lions roar against shocked Sharks
The Gerringong Lions have picked up a massive victory to give themselves a cushion of protection in the Group 7 finals series by defeating the Shellharbour Sharks 24-10 at Michael Cronin Oval.
That’s now two losses on the trot for the Shellharbour Sharks off the back of their 11 game winning run, choosing a bad time of the season for slip ups against tough oppositions.
The Lions came out the stronger of the sides, opening the scoring inside the opening 10 minutes with Liam Holland finishing a lovely right to left through the hands move in the corner.
Gun fullback Wesley Pring was back in action for the Gerringong Lions which is a scary sight for any opposition, reminding everybody of his x-factor talent when he bursted through the middle of the park and set up his halfback Rixon Russell to score his side’s second try.
The Lions were in the groove in the first half, adding a third when Taj Ford put through a grubber that sat up perfectly for Hamish Holland to regain and score.
The Sharks finally got their scoring underway through Jye Brooker, running in down the right flank after a beautiful cut-out ball from Braxton Wallace.
Wallace would unfortunately undo his good work though, spilling a Rixon Russell bomb which allowed the Gerringong halfback to regain the footy and find the rapid Hayden Buchanan off the bench to run away and score past some sleepy Sharks defence.
The Lions added a fifth through Isaac Laughton, chasing down a grubber in the right corner and planting it down, cementing a comfortable Lions lead.
The Sharks added a consolation on the last play of the game through Kyron Ebbs-Windisch but it did nothing to raise spirits on a tough day out for the Shellharbour side who will no doubt be rattled after this second straight loss.
Jets send Bulldogs packing
The Nowra-Bomaderry Jets have marched on in this year’s Group 7 title race after a 37-30 win over the Milton Ulladulla Bulldogs at Bomaderry Sporting Complex.
It was a war of will between two of the competition’s highest scoring teams, both of whom have seen massive improvements in their game over the past year.
It was the Jets who ultimately reigned supreme though, signalling the end of the 2023 campaign for the Bulldogs.
They had to work for it though, as it was the Bulldogs who came out of the blocks with the opening two tries to hooker Riley Wooden and big prop forward Paul Thornton.
Halfback Sam Stewart then picked up a terrific try, dummying and weaving his way through the Jets defence to plant the footy under the posts.
The Jets would ensure the Bulldogs weren’t to run away with it though, with Beau Luland and Clyde Parsons both charging through respective holes to score for the Jets and reduce the margin to eight points going into the sheds.
Whatever captain Adam Quinlan said to his troops at the break worked wonders, as the Jets came out from the sheds a new team.
Quinlan would open their second half account, showing his experience in lurking behind the ruck before charging through a gaping hole in the Bulldogs defence.
The Jets would then take the lead for the first time when Matoria Atunsaia got on the end of a Quinlan flick after a nice right to left spread.
The Bulldogs simply didn’t have a match for the Jets from here, as the home side ran away with the score lines through regular try scorers Braydon Rumble Walsh, Tyson Simpson and a second to Atunsaia.
Having a terrific day out, Parsons gave his team an even greater buffer by slotting a field goal late on.
The Bulldogs would add two late tries through the same combination of Jarrah Treweek offloading to captain Blake Mackey down the right flank, but by this point it was too late and the Bulldogs departed the 2023 competition.
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