NSWRL semi-finals: Get the lowdown on the Tarsha Gale, Harold Matts and SG Ball finals

The Roosters are hunting for a chance to block out one half of the NSWRL grand finals next weekend, while the other spots hang delicately in the balance. Get the latest on how you can watch the NSWRL semi-finals LIVE.

The Sydney Roosters will be fighting on three fronts at the NSWRL junior representative season reaches its semi-final stage on a super Saturday at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium.

The Tricolours won the minor premierships in the SG Ball and Tarsha Gale Cup and finished second in the Harold Matthews Cup, meaning the three sides skipped through to the second week of the finals.

The Roosters will kick off a massive day of semi-final action at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium which includes all six semi-finals back-to-back, with the final three games live streamed exclusively by The Daily Telegraph.

Easts’ Indigenous Academy are undefeated in the Tarsha Gale and will be heavy favourites against the West Tigers in the 1.30pm kick off.

The Tigers had a hard-fought 8-4 win over Illawarra to progress to this stage, but they will have bad memories of when they faced the Chooks in Round 4 and Jada Taylor scored four tries in a 24-0 whitewash.

The Sydney Roosters Indigenous Academy Tarsha Gale Cup side finished as the 2022 minor premiers. Picture: Dylan Arvela

In the boys, the Roosters will take on the Sharks in the Harold Matts in Saturday’s first match at 10am while the SG Ball side will face the Bulldogs at 11.45am.

Roosters‘ junior reps and pathways manager Blake Cavallaro said the club’s rising stars won’t be burdened by carrying the favourite’s tag heading into their respective matches with the sides ready to rip in after a week off.

“The club is pretty excited from the NRL all the way down,” Cavallaro told The Daily Telegraph.

“We’ve had a good week to refresh and refocus. Our processes won’t change, but our focus will just be about doing what we need to do to secure some grand final spots.

“[Being the favourite] isn’t a burden. We have talked all year about getting into the finals and what it looks like.

The Roosters Harold Matts side proved to be a dominant force across the season. Picture: Damian Shaw

“The last couple of weeks we’ve been talking through different scenarios that may occur, it’s just another game where you need to go through the one per-centres – it’s a big occasion, but it’s not a burden.”

Cavallaro, who is also the coach of the Roosters’ Tarsha Gale outfit, said he was stoked NSWRL decided to put all six semi-finals at the one venue, something which hasn’t happened since 2018.

“I think it’s a going to be a great occasion,” he said.

“I am hearing it’s going to be a really big turnout and I have been talking to representatives from other clubs who think it’s going to be a big day.”

The Roosters finished undefeated in the Tarsha Gale Cup this season. Picture: Jeremy Ng

The final three semi-finals of the afternoon will be streamed live and exclusively on The Daily Telegraph website with the first, between Western Suburbs and Canberra in the Harold Matts, kicking off at 3.15pm.

The Magpies romped home to take out the under-17s minor premiership and with a big and barging pack, they will be a daunting opponent for the Raiders who finished sixth in the regular season.

Western Suburbs skipper Kit Laulilii has led from the front for the Magpies all season. Picture: Richard Dobson

Canberra, however, shocked the competition in the first week of the finals when they overcame a highly-skilled Panthers 24-18 after leading by 18 midway through the second period.

At 5pm, the girls will return to centre stage with Parramatta going up against Newcastle, who despite finishing the regular season third, ended up as the competition’s leading point scorers with 208.

The Knights scored another 22 to overcome reigning premiers St George by two points last weekend and will be right in the contest against the Ruby-Jean Kennard captained Eels.

The Panthers and the Knights SG Ball sides will contest the final semi-final at 6.45pm in what promises to another cracker.

The Novocastrians beat the Pennies in round 9 to clinch second spot and the week off, but the Panthers were able to make light work of the Steelers in an elimination final to set up a rematch.