Kaiviti Silktails came out victorious in a thrilling cliff-hanger, edging Wentworthville Magpies 28-22 in the Ron Massey Cup at Ringrose Park on Sunday afternoon.
It was the Silktails who drew first blood through winger Viliame Tutuvuli, who finished off some heads up play from his side on the last tackle. A loose ball from a perfectly placed bomb allowed the Silktails to regain possession and offload the ball to their left winger who touched down in the corner.
The try was successfully converted from the sideline by halfback Mosese Qionimacawa.
After some courageous goal-line defence from the Silktails following their try, another opportunity arose when they completed a one-on-one strip. A left-side shift just moments later saw Tutuvuli get over for his second try of the afternoon.
Errors and penalties from the Fijian-based side allowed the Magpies to attack their line once again, however this time the Silktails couldn’t hold on. Rhys Armstrong was put through a gaping hole in the opposition defence, allowing him to touch down between the posts.
An easy conversion for Clayton Faulalo brought the margin down to four.
It was end-to-end footy for the following 10 minutes, before an explosive Timoci Bola broke through the Magpies’ line to set up centre Ratu Temesia Jilivecevece to score under the posts.
Another conversion by Qionimacawa saw the Silktails go into the half-time break leading 16-6.
The Magpies began the second-half in much more clinical fashion, with Nicholas Walker and Joel Luani scoring back-to-back tries to level the game at 16-all.
The Silktails withstood further pressure from the home side, and were rewarded after regaining the lead through Rusiate Baleitamavua, who barged his way over the line.
Again, the Magpies took full advantage of the visiting team’s ill-discipline, with fullback Austin Quast showcasing his agility and scoring between the posts to level the game once again at 22-all.
With both sides eager for a spot in the top four, the Silktails proved to want it more, as Timoci Bola’s kick return saw him run forty meters before offloading to Osea Natoga who sprinted the rest of the field to secure a nail-biting 28-22 victory.
The Silktails’ participation in the NSWRL’s Ron Massey Cup is proudly supported by the Australian Government through PacificAus Sports.
The NSWRL receives funding from the Australian Government through PacificAus Sports to support the Silktails’ participation in the NSWRL’s Ron Massey Cup.
