New league leaders and crazy upset results: Seven biggest talking points from Group 7 round eight
A crazy round of Group 7 action which featured upset results, new league leaders and a moment of madness resulting in a sending off to a star player. Catch up on the biggest talking points.
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A crazy round of action in Group 7 Rugby League left fans with plenty to talk about.
The biggest headline of the round was the lashing out of Warilla-Lake South Gorillas star five-eighth Tyrone Roberts which resulted in his instant dismissal.
There is still no updates on the future of Roberts.
Ill-discipline aside, there was plenty of captivating footy action taking place down the south coast of NSW in round eight of Group 7.
Check out seven of the biggest talking points.
1) MOTM performance from Grigg for Jamberoo
Second rower Corey Grigg was seemingly auditioning for positions all across the park with the way he was playing against Warilla-Lake South.
His first try was the pick of the bunch, chasing down his own neat chip kick near the line to score a wonderful solo try.
He would follow this effort up by charging right through the line and stepping the fullback to go through untouched for his second.
Turning provider as well, Grigg also picked up an assist for his centre Matt Forsyth in the second half in what was a terrific overall performance by the versatile forward
2) Sharks strike from distance
The Shellharbour Sharks were exposing some defensive frailties of the Milton Ulladulla Bulldogs by scoring some cracker long range tries.
Eze Harper got the scoring for his side underway with a full field intercept try.
Harper would again be involved with another long range effort, charging 70m up field before feeding his centre Jacob Seabrook in to score.
Try of the match would come from Ryan James, another long range beauty started at the back from Braxton Wallace, beating a few tackles before putting his centre James into space, keeping the legs pumping and fending away from four or so attempted tackles.
3) Quinlan still recognises work to do for Jets
Captain coach Adam Quinlan picked up a hat-trick in his side’s massive victory over the previously undefeated Stingrays of Shellharbour.
Despite the win and their new position at the top of the table, Quinlan believes there’s still work to do for his side.
“We still need to work on defence, we’re still letting in tries we’re not happy with,” Quinlan said.
“Our attack isn’t a finished product yet, there’s still a lot of polishing to do there.
“Everyone’s been chipping in lately … great performances across the board from the likes of Tyson Simpson, Beau Luland and Brayden Omoeboh.”
4) Invincible run comes to an end
After six wins on the trot, the Stingrays of Shellharbour finally met their match in the Nowra-Bomaderry Jets.
Two tries to Zaan Weatherall and one to Toby Peters were not enough to stop the soaring Jets end their win streak and knock them off their perch at the top of the table.
The Stingrays will look to bounce back next week against the Shellharbour Sharks who have won back-to-back matches.
5) Total collapse for usually reliable Lions
A second half disaster class for the Gerringong Lions was extremely out of character considering their 2023 form.
Off the back of a big win in the grand final rematch against the Warilla-Lake South Gorillas a week earlier and leading by 20 points at half time, the Lions totally collapsed against the Eagles who were yet to win a game in the 2023 season.
They also missed out on the opportunity to go top of the ladder after the loss to the Stingrays.
6) Eagles stars step up
It took seven matches but the Albion Park-Oak Flats Eagles finally snagged a win in the 2023 season.
It was an inspiring comeback in which some of the key Eagles players finally stood up for their team and inspired victory.
After being sent off earlier in the season, five-eighth James Walsh had a performance to remember, picking up two tries within a matter of minutes.
His second came right off the kick off from his first, busting right back through the line and stepping the fullback with style.
Halfback Kane Ball also stood up for his side, getting his hands on the pill all throughout the second half and crucially scoring the late try to seal the incredible comeback.
7) Cornell at the heart of Knights win
The Knights absolutely tore up the right defensive edge of the Berry Shoalhaven Heads Magpies, largely thanks to the efforts of left centre Cameron Cornell.
Cornell picked up two tries all too easily down the left flank, also setting up a try to second rower Thomas Angel in a strong day out.
Upset for the ages and star playmaker sent off for brain explosion: Group 7 round eight wrap
There is a lot of action to unpack from round eight of Group 7 Rugby League.
There are new league leaders after a title-turning victory, but that’s hardly the biggest headline of the week.
A crazy comeback led to one of the biggest upsets in modern Group 7 history.
While across the grounds, a moment of pure madness saw a star player sent off for presumably a large spell on the sidelines.
Check out the full wrap of round eight.
Roberts send off for brain explosion as Gorillas lose back-to-back
A shock Jamberoo Superoos victory over defending champions Warilla-Lake South Gorillas was headlined by a moment of madness that resulted in the sending off of star five-eighth Tyrone Roberts.
24 minutes into the match and down by six points, Roberts swung at the head of Jamberoo lock forward Jayden Morgan three times while going in to make a tackle, before being dragged away by his teammates.
An immediate “He’s got to go” was picked up on the referee microphone as the former-NRL prospect Roberts made the third strike attempt.
As he was sent from the field, an incensed Roberts continued to gesture and mouth off towards the Jamberoo side.
There is no word yet on how long the five-eighth will be out of action for.
Incident aside there was still a game of footy to be played, a game which would be dominated by the Jamberoo side in the absence of Warilla’s star playmaker.
The Superoos put on five tries unanswered to run away with the game, including a spectacular double from second-rower Corey Grigg.
Grigg showed the ability of a halfback in chipping and chasing his own kick to score his first, before breaking the line and stepping the fullback on his second.
Matt Forsyth also picked up a double from centre, while Jayden Morgan got the last laugh by getting one for himself.
Kye Deane, James Hoy and Tobi Rosewarn picked up late tries for the Gorillas to make the scoreline more respectable, but all in all it was an afternoon to forget for the premiers as they were downed 30-14.
New league leaders as Stingrays unbeaten run comes to an end
Captain fullback Adam Quinlan starred as the Nowra-Bomaderry Jets ended the unbeaten reign of the Stingrays of Shellharbour.
The 27-14 victory ended six games unbeaten for the Stingrays and has pushed the Jets to the top of the Group 7 ladder (Stingrays have a game in hand).
It was a tight back-and-forth affair as to be expected, with Zaan Weatherall getting scoring underway in the first half after a nice offload from his brother Ben Weatherall.
The Jets would unlock the Stingrays defence through some raw pace, first a line break from halfback Clyde Parsons to supply his winger Beau Luland, before centre Brayden Omoeboh did it all himself to break down the right flank and charge in to score untouched.
The Stingrays would bounce back after a neat grubber from Jake Horton was planted down by Toby Peters, bringing the scoreline back level.
From here though it was the Adam Quinlan show, putting on three tries to seal the deal for the high-flying Jets.
First off a scrum win Quinlan would charge down the left flank, showing the ball to his winger but flying into score himself.
Next, Quinlan would show his agility close to the line, throwing a big dummy left before stepping the defenders and going in to score a second.
His third would come after some great running down the left flank from Luland, with Quinlan doing a fullback’s job perfectly in supporting the attack and going into complete his hat-trick.
Weatherall grabbed a second for the Stingrays but it would not be enough to mount a comeback, with Parsons adding a field goal late on to complete a potential title-turning victory for the Jets.
Upset of the year as Eagles mount comeback for the ages
Undoubtedly the biggest upset of the season came as the previously winless Albion Park-Oak Flats Eagles tackled the juggernaut Gerringong Lions 36-32 in front of a raucous home crowd.
It looked to be business as usual for the Lions on the back of grand final revenge last week against the Warilla-Lake South Gorillas, as they put on the first four tries of the match through Jack Quine, Jack Walsh, Liam Holland and Kal Collins.
From here though, the Eagles hustled like we haven’t seen all season, with five-eighth James Walsh right at the heart of their comeback.
Walsh opened his account with some excellent footwork and stepping close to the line to plant down the Eagles opener.
From the next kick off, Walsh fielded the kick on the burst, before busting right back through the line and charging down field, before putting on a massive step to put the last defender on his back and go in to score another try.
The Eagles were putting together some great moves down their left flank, with Mitchell Potts and Ryan Jones both profiting from some nice interplay down that side.
Halfback Kane Ball picked up his first try as well down the opposite flank, after Jiye Ellis broke the line and kicked back in field for his halfback to chase down and score.
It was to be Kane Ball to seal the famous win, down by two points with minutes on the clock, breaking down the right flank and stepping the fullback to score and cue delirium at Centenary Field.
A 20 point comeback and a first win of the season for the Eagles, incredible scenes.
Long range tries galore as Sharks smash Bulldogs
The Shellharbour Sharks ran riot on a sloppy defensive afternoon from the Milton Ulladulla Bulldogs, emerging 38-6 winners.
The Bulldogs would open the scoring early on through big Paul Thornton, crashing over from close range.
From here it was all the Sharks though, putting on eight tries unanswered, some of which were truly spectacular.
Eze Harper got the scoring underway with a full field intercept try down the left flank, not the first time he’s gone long range this season.
Joshua Starling was having a day from prop forward, showing great running power and distribution to charge upfield and assist his centre Jacob Seabrook.
From the next kick off, Starling would return the first hit up, but catch the Bulldogs defence napping by passing to his winger Eze who again charged down the field, this time releasing Seabrook again for his second try within a matter of minutes.
Jye Brooker picked up a couple to his name as well, being in the right place to finish some nice left to right spreads from the Sharks.
Ryan James picked up try of the match in a move started by Braxton Wallace on the Sharks 10m line, breaking a few tackles on a kick return before feeding his centre on the right flank, who kept the legs pumping and ran 80m while fending off about four attempted tackles to score a beauty.
Hooker Brody Rigg also scored a great solo try to see off the game, breaking a number of tackles and running 60m to cap off a good day out for the home side.
Knights back in the winners circle against Magpies
The Kiama Knights bounced back with a much needed 30-14 win over the Berry Shoalhaven Heads Magpies.
The first half was closely fought with neither team allowing the other to run away with it.
Knights fullback Cade Hotham had the try of the half, turning defence into attack at one end and running 90m with his opposing fullback Max Jennings in hot pursuit, but the Knights no. 1 prevailed.
The Knights found a winning formula down their left flank with centre Cameron Cornell right in the thick of the action all afternoon, scoring two tries down that side and setting up Thomas Angel for a try of his own.
Matt Morris was also running riot down that side, scoring one himself and providing some nice interplay with Cornell.
Berry got on the scoresheet intermittently through some of their big forwards in Evan O’Shea and Trent Griffiths, but were unable to dampen the momentum of the Knights in the second half which carried them to victory.
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