Superstar Southwell shines as Knights fight back to go top of the NRLW table
The Raiders looked set to pull of their second major upset at home this season, only for Jesse Southwell to show them why she is the most exciting young gun in the NRLW.
A second-half masterclass from teen sensation Jesse Southwell has helped the Knights storm home to beat Canberra 20-12 to snap the Green Machine’s perfect record at GIO Stadium.
The defending premiers looked headed for a loss when they went into the sheds down 10-0 at the break, but their star halfback led the comeback which saw them hit the front just 18 minutes later when Southwell dummied and crashed over.
The young gun nailed a 40/30 in the first half but had struggled to get into the contest, even conceding a penalty for taking too long to take a goal line dropout which gifted Canberra two points from in front.
But she stood tall when it mattered most, throwing a cut out pass for Sheridan Gallagher to continue her scoring streak before Southwell nailed the sideline conversion and then crossed for her own four-pointer to break the deadlock.
It’s a huge result for Newcastle who go top of the table for now ahead of next week’s game at home against premiership favourites the Roosters in what should be the match of the year.
HOME TRUTHS
Canberra’s perfect record at home has come to an end after another second-half fadeout which could see them drop out of the top four by the end of the round.
The NRLW newcomers won their first three games at GIO Stadium and looked set to make it four on the trot when Madison Bartlett crossed for a first-half double, but they managed just two points after the break having been held scoreless in the second half last week.
Mackenzie Wiki had a field day with 238 metres despite coming off for an HIA, but their spine offered very little in attack while superstar forward Simaima Taufa was forced to do all the heavy lifting in the middle.
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A flurry of tries either side of half-time has helped the Broncos jump into the NRLW top four for the first time this season after they held off a furious comeback to beat the Sharks 32-28.
Cronulla had the upper hand for much of the opening half until Brisbane went bang with a couple of quick tries including a stunning solo run from Gayle Broughton who scored twice on Saturday and continues to look really sharp in the halves.
“Gayle is an integral part of our spine,” coach Scott Prince said.
“For her to score just before half-time gives you that little bit of a kick you need and takes the wind out of the opposition.”
They continued to pile on the pain in the second half when Broughton threw a lovely pass to Julia Robinson who scored in the left corner, before the crafty Destiny Brill barged over from dummy-half to push the lead out to 10.
The Broncos have now won four games and leapfrog Canberra and the Titans on points differential, although Gold Coast have a game in hand.
It’s a terrific fight back when you consider how low morale was after they missed the finals last year and then opened the new campaign with back-to-back losses.
But new coach Scott Prince has them firing, with Broughton finding her own in the halves on a left edge that is proving impossible to stop with weapons like Mele Hufanga and Tazmin Gray at her disposal.
One more win might be enough to book their spot in the finals, but they’ll need to fix their leaky defence after the Sharks piled on the points late to nearly steal the win.
“It was a finish we didn’t want,” Prince said.
“When you’re in that sort of lead, it’s really important to put the game away. You can’t really switch off against any team in this competition.”
TOO LITTLE TOO LATE
The Sharks are now four points outside the top four with two rounds remaining, but the NRLW newcomers will feel like they should have left Townsville with the win after dominating the start and finish to the contest.
Their big guns all hit the scoreboard with Ellie Johnston and Jada Taylor touching down in the first half, only for Emma Tonegato to come off for an untimely HIA just before the break which allowed Brisbane to seize control.
It looked like Brisbane would run away with it in the second half, but two tries in 60 seconds – including a brilliant bust from Tonegato who was wearing No.22 because her other jersey was coated in blood – reduced the margin to just four with five minutes to play.
And the Sharks had their chances to level things up but they just couldn’t find a way through, with Cronulla needing to win their remaining two games and hope for a miracle if they want to somehow sneak into fourth spot.
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The NRLW is facing another hip-drop controversy after North Queensland’s Makenzie Weale was sent to the sin bin for an ugly tackle in her side’s heavy 48-16 loss to the Dragons.
A number of players have been charged and suspended for the dangerous tackle this season, with Weale likely to earn the ire of the match review committee for a hip drop on Alexis Tauaneai.
“That’s probably the worst hip drop I’ve seen in men’s or women’s (rugby league),” Dragons coach Jamie Soward said.
“I’m not being disrespectful and it’s not a personal attack, but I was really disappointed with that as coach.
“As a club we’re really disappointed because it’s two weeks in a row we’ve had hip drops on our players. For a young girl like Alexis who’s 18 and been probably our best forward all year, I was really disappointed with that tackle.”
The Dragons lock was in tears on the ground and was forced from the field and did not return, although she was moving pretty well on the sidelines so hopefully she hasn’t done any structural damage.
The Cowboys were immediately punished when Maddison Weatherall scored from the very next set as they opened up a commanding 28-6 lead at the break to pick up their third win of the season.
DREAM DEBUT
No one gave St George Illawarra a hope of making the finals this year given they had lost so many players to rival clubs in the off-season.
But with two games to go they’re only two points outside the top four, and they could very easily have won a couple more games had they not suffered a pair of heartbreaking one-point losses.
Coach Jamie Soward has unearthed some really exciting players, with Madison Mulhall becoming the fourth Dragon to score on debut this season in front of heaps of family and friends who made the trip north.
It helps that Teagan Berry is having the best season of her career, with the speedster playing a role in two tries before she latched onto a Raecene McGregor grubber to become the first player in NRLW history to score 20 tries.
They could have been the first team in competition history to post 50 points, but McGregor couldn’t convert Shenai Lendill’s try as the siren sounded.
COWBOYS IN STRIFE
The expansion teams have all had their moments in 2023, but things are starting to get a bit too hard for the Cowboys who recorded their third demoralising defeat in Townsville.
The Cowboys lost their previous two games at home 40-12 and have now conceded a staggering 128 points in just three matches at Queensland Country Bank Stadium.
It’s probably a good thing they don’t play there again this year, although they still have to play the Roosters in the final round.
“The football IQ on some of them isn’t where it needs to be at this level,” Cowboys coach Ben Jeffires conceded.
“That’s our role to educate them on that front, but they actually need to take some accountability for that as well.”
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