Andrew Johns/Laurie Daley Cup: Top-10 talking points from round two
From attacking clinics to individual masterclasses and even more comebacks, check out the top talking points from round two of the Andrew Johns and Laurie Daley Cups.
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With some blowout scorelines, huge moments and even more comebacks, round two was another huge weekend in the Andrew Johns and Laurie Daley Cup competitions.
Catch up with a wrap of 10 of the biggest talking points from the round.
TOP TEAMS BREAKING AWAY
We might be only two rounds into the season but a divide is already starting to emerge in both the Johns and Daley Cup competitions as the top teams start to break away from the rest.
It is most evident in the Johns Cup, where five clubs – the Illawarra South Coast Dragons, Northern Rivers Titans, Macarthur Wests Tigers, Newcastle-Maitland Region Knights and Central Coast Roosters – remain undefeated after the opening two rounds, with all other five clubs remarkably remaining winless.
There is a similar trend in the Daley Cup, with the Dragons, Macarthur, North Coast Bulldogs and the Roosters all keeping their perfect records intact as the bottom four clubs are yet to taste victory.
While the upcoming fixtures will be sure to shake up the ladder somewhat, so far it seems there has been a clear divide in quality between the top and bottom teams.
RED-HOT DRAGONS FIRING
The most impressive of all clubs so far has been the Illawarra South Coast Dragons, who top both competitions after an outstanding opening fortnight.
They continued their early dominance against Riverina in round two with a 34-6 win in the Johns Cup and a 52-12 hammering in the latter fixture, bringing the weekend’s aggregate to 86 points scored and just 18 conceded.
In what are remarkable statistics, the Dragons have scored the most points and conceded the fewest in both competitions so far.
In the Johns Cup the side team has piled on 72 points and let in just 16, while in the Daley Cup it has amassed 86 points and conceded just 20. Overall, the teams have crossed for 30 tries in two rounds and allowed just seven in at the other end, translating into an average match score of 40-9.
They’re not the only club flying high at the moment though, with the Central Coast and Macarthur the others who remain undefeated in both grades.
KNIGHTS TURNING IT ON
It was also a good weekend for the Knights, who racked up two big wins against the Northern Tigers on the road in Tamworth.
The under-16s maintained their perfect record with a 40-10 victory before the Daley Cup side bounced back from last week’s disappointing loss North Coast with a 42-16 hammering of the hosts.
While the results were undoubtedly impressive, what would have been pleasing for the Knights’ coaching staff is some of the fluent footy the sides played in attack. With some nice backline moves, both Knights teams looked in good touch early in the season, boding well for the rest of the campaign.
ROOSTERS RULE THE NAILBITERS
A quick look at the ladder would see that the Central Coast Roosters are undefeated in the Daley Cup, however it has been anything but smooth sailing for the side after another thrilling win in round two.
Trailing 28-18 against Western with just 10 minutes remaining, the Roosters came home strong with three late tries, including one with the final play of the game, to seal a dramatic 30-28 win.
It came after the Chooks held off a fast-finishing Northern Tigers’ outfit in round one to record a 30-26 win.
And while the team might be looking to tighten things up defensively, it will be pleased with its ability to grind out results and run down teams in close contests.
THE COMEBACKS KEEP COMING
In round one we had the North Coast Bulldogs, then in round two the Roosters with a magical final 10 minutes. On Sunday Macarthur kept the stunning run of comebacks going with a thrilling 30-22 victory over Monaro in the Daley Cup.
Trailing 22-6 at halftime after having been blown away by their opponents, the Tigers looked like a completely different side as they came out for the second half, running in five tries to none to claim a stunning eight-point win.
The shift in momentum was clearly evident as Macarthur kept rolling up field, with five-eighth Tyson Walker putting on a masterclass of clutch football to keep his side in the game.
This means that despite only being two rounds into the competitions, halftime deficits of 18 and 16 points have already been chased down by teams, with the Roosters overturning a 10-point deficit in the last 10 minutes to grab a dramatic win.
SMALL MOMENTS PROVE CRUCIAL
While there were some standout performers who helped dragged their teams to victory in round two, there were also some key moments and mistakes that turned the fortunes of a couple of contests.
This was perhaps no more evident than in the North Coast Bulldogs’ 40-24 victory over the Northern Rivers Titans in the Daley Cup.
After the Bulldogs raced out to a 28-0 lead at the break, the Titans came storming back into the contest with four consecutive tries to make it 28-24 with 13 minutes remaining.
And while the Titans had all the momentum and looked like pulling off an incredible comeback, a knock-on directly from the kick-off proved crucial as the Dogs went in straight away to extend their lead before sealing the game with a late try.
There were echoes of this in the Central Coast Roosters’ epic comeback against Western in Lithgow, with a Rams’ knock-on deep in their own end opening the doors for the Chooks, who ran in three tries in the final 10 minutes to seal a dramatic win.
NORTH COAST OUT TO END DROUGHT
The North Coast Bulldogs have arguably emerged as surprise packets in the Daley Cup after pulling off two impressive victories to kick off their campaign.
After a stunning 30-28 come-from-behind victory over Newcastle in round one, the Dogs did well to hold off a resurgent Titans team to win 40-24 to keep their 100 per cent record alive in the competition.
With no North Coast team having made the finals in the past two regional representative seasons, the current crop will be out to end this drought in 2025. The last time the Dogs made the finals was in 2022, when the Daley Cup team went through the regular rounds undefeated before going down in the grand final.
And although the team has been strong across the park, it has star halves pairing Toby Batten and Rielly Laverty to thank for the outstanding start to the campaign, with the pair showing why they have caught the eye of Bulldogs officials in Belmore with some brilliant performances.
TOUGH GOING FOR RIVERINA
On the other side of the coin, it has been a tough start to the season for the Riverina Bulls, who had another disappointing weekend with 34-6 and 52-12 losses at the hands of the Dragons.
It leaves the clubs with zero wins from four games to kick off the season.
And although the club has had a tough run by coming up against regional rep heavyweights Macarthur and Illawarra, the lopsided scorelines will surely be cause for concern for the coaching staff, which identified defence as a key priority heading into 2025.
TITANS’ SIX MINUTES OF MADNESS
One of the most impressive teams over the opening fortnight of the regional reps has been the Northern Rivers Titans’ Johns Cup side, which hammered the North Coast Bulldogs 42-16 in round two.
Despite taking a 20-6 lead into the break after an impressive first half, the Titans really turned on the razzle dazzle shortly after the break with three tries in a stunning six-minute spell, inducing a brilliant length-of-the-field effort.
Taking the first-up from a kick-off in the 37th minute, Nixon O’Connor put interchange hooker Eden Humphreys into space on the kept edge with a lovely offload. Gun fullback Jaylon Russell was then backing up on the inside to receive the final pass and cap off the 100m effort with his second of the day.
Those with a BarTV Sports subscription can watch the action here.
BAKER DELIVERS THE GOODS
His team might not have won, but Western’s Daley Cup halfback Jace Cox certainly turned some heads as he scored four tries in his side’s heartbreaking loss to the Central Coast Roosters in Lithgow.
Whether taking on the line with the ball in hand or acrobatically leaping to catch a high ball, Baker showed off his incredible skillset in the 11-try thriller.
And although his highlights reel was full of fantastic moments, his best arguably came late in the first half with a stunning solo effort.
Receiving the ball on halfway, Baker put on a sharp step to avoid one defender before putting on the afterburners to shoot through a gap in the defence. With just the fullback to beat, he chipped the ball over the top, regathered and then managed to shake off a chasing tackler to go over for one of the tries of the season so far.
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Originally published as Andrew Johns/Laurie Daley Cup: Top-10 talking points from round two
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