There will be three premiers decided in Junior Representative competitions this weekend, a top four spot will be on the line in The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup and there will be another Monday night blockbuster in the Harvey Norman NSW Women’s Premiership.
The Harvey Norman Tarsha Gale season comes to a head with the Grand Final between the third-placed Roosters and fifth-placed Dragons at 11am, the UNE Harold Matthews decider between the two best teams this year in minor premiers Manly and the second-placed Eels will follow at 1pm, while the UNE SG Ball Grand Final between the fourth-placed Canberra Raiders and the sixth-placed Illawarra Steelers will round the afternoon off at 3pm with all matches at the iconic Leichhardt Oval.
Other games being streamed on NSWRL-TV are the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup game between Mounties and Eels at Aubrey Keech Reserve at 3pm on Sunday; and the Harvey Norman NSW Women’s Premiership match between the North Sydney Bears and Cabramatta Two Blues at the NSWRL Centre of Excellence at 7pm on Monday night.
Harvey Norman Tarsha Gale Cup
The St George Dragons will take plenty of confidence into the Grand Final against Sydney Roosters Indigenous Academy after beating Minor Premiers Newcastle Knights 26-10 in a Semi-Final last week while the Roosters booked their spot after beating Illawarra Steelers 22-4 in the other Semi-Final.
The only time the two sides met this season saw the Roosters enjoy a 48-8 win in Round Six but St George have improved considerably since then.
The Dragons scored three tries in the opening 10 minutes against the Knights to surge to a 14-0 lead before winger Courageous Afoa bagged a double to help seal the result. The Roosters were just as impressive against the Steelers after surging to a 22-0 lead with winger Charlize Lloyd-Phillips grabbing the first two tries.
UNE Harold Matthews Cup
The Sea Eagles are looking to make a clean sweep of the 2021 season by remaining unbeaten in today’s Grand Final which would take their tally to 10 consecutive wins.
The strength of their run has a lot to do with the form of captain Josh Feledy, who has scored in eight of their previous nine games including six tries in the Round Six 40-0 win over Newcastle Knights. He has maintained his form since then after scoring a brace in his past three games.
The Eels lost 22-14 to Manly in Round One but haven’t looked back since then with fullback Patrick Spence and halfback Ethan Sanders starring after sharing a combined 11 tries between them.
UNE SG Ball Cup
The Raiders and the Steelers are proud clubs who are enjoying their 40th season in the SG Ball Cup but this is only the second time they have met in a Grand Final in the Under 19s competition.
The Raiders took the spoils the first time around after winning the 2005 decider 34-12 and beat the Steelers 36-10 in Round Three this year. They finished the regular season in fourth position but boast one of the best attacks in the competition with skipper Clay Webb, Deakin Bright, Michael Asomua and Josh Billing all scoring hat-tricks across three games in 2021.
The Steelers won the SG Ball Cup in 2019 and have finished the season in strong fashion after piling on 40 points or more in their past three matches. Winger Alexander Lobb was on song with the boot in their 42-32 win over the Roosters after landing seven goals from as many attempts.
Knock-On Effect NSW Cup
Mounties will be keen to bounce back from the loss to the Jets last weekend, when they host the Eels at Aubrey Keech Reserve on Sunday. The Eels are in fourth position but Mounties could leapfrog them with a victory. Mounties are searching for some consistency having enjoyed just one win in the past four games, and will welcome back five-eighth Lachlan Lewis who has been sidelined with concussion. The Eels are coming off a strong 38-20 win over the Rabbitohs last week and will be eager to make it back-to-back victories to stay in touch with the top four.
Harvey Norman NSW Women’s Premiership
The Bears want to back-up their strong showing in last week’s 14-6 win over the Helensburgh Tigers when they face the luckless Cabramatta on Monday. The Two Blues are still searching for a maiden win this season.
