Read up on all of Saturday’s results from the second week of finals in the Sydney Shield and Ron Massey Cup.
Penrith Brothers into Preliminary Final after try blitz
Penrith Brothers put on a spectacular show at St Marys Leagues Stadium to beat Ryde-Eastwood Hawks 36-14 and book their spot in the Preliminary Final for the Sydney Shield.
Both sides were fired up from the kick-off and but it was the Hawks who opened the scoring after Nicholas Ferris throw a long pass that was picked off the turf by Malie-j Townsend who in turn found Finley Nelson in support.
Brothers fought back and scored two tries through Tori Willie and Jermaine Ma'u followed by a penalty goal to give them a comfortable 14-4 lead at halftime.
The Hawks scored first in the second half on the back of a couple of errors from Brothers with Vaka Fieteki Aho charging onto the ball to score underneath the posts.
The try snapped Brothers into life and they scored four unanswered tries through Tori Willie, Lufusi Tapaatoutai, Nathan Carol and Ma'u to take control of the match.
Willie’s second try was memorable after he charged down a kick from Joshua Vella before regathering the loose ball and running 70 metres untouched to score.
The Hawks grabbed a consolation try in the final five minutes after Mason Ward intercepted a pass and got to the halfway line to put his team on the front foot. Vikilifi Hopoi then crashed over the line to reduce the margin to 36-14 but it wasn’t enough with Brothers now only one game away from the Grand Final.
Glebe Dirty Reds dominate Hills Bulls in finals contest
Glebe Dirty Reds have secured their place in the Ron Massey Cup Grand Final after scoring a comprehensive 38-10 win over Hills Bulls at St Marys Leagues Stadium today.
It didn’t take long for the Dirty Reds to claim the first points of the match with Jackson Ferris stepping off his right foot to beat the defence before getting a pass away for Sean Sabutey to pick up on the bounce and score.
Glebe added two more tries through Devon Makoare-Boyce and Peter Nay while the Bulls’ first scoring opportunity was disallowed for a forward pass. Things went from bad to worse after a Bulls error paved the way for the Reds to score again through Jonah Ngaronoa, who chased a kick down in-goal that had been allowed to bounce by the defence.
Back-to-back tries followed after an unsuccessful short kick-off from the Bulls opened the door for the Reds to score in the corner through Michael Pearsall and take a commanding 26-0 lead into the break.
The Reds scored the first points of the second half through the efforts of Ferris once again after he charged on to a cut-out pass from Riley Travers to score.
Coby Thomas finally got the Bulls on the scoreboard after throwing a dummy which the Reds defence fell before he dived over the line.
The Bulls backed that up 10 minutes after a grubber kick from fullback Curtis Wilson was picked up on the bounce by Maile Li on his way to scoring in the corner.
A selfless pass from Ferris after he was already over the try line gifted Greg Eastwood a try within the last ten minutes of the game and sealed a 38-10 win for the Dirty Reds.
St Marys second half ambush moves them into the finals
Minor Premiers St Marys have booked their spot in the Sydney Shield Grand Final after staging a second half ambush for a 26-16 win over Hills Bulls at St Marys League Stadium today.
A hard-fought first half saw each team only score one try apiece with St Marys’ Kaleb Farr scoring the first points of the game from their first set before Bulls’ five-eighth Dion Narayan scored a length of the field try off an intercept.
A penalty goal just before half-time was able to put the Bulls in front 8-6 at the break.
St Marys bolted out of the gates after half-time to score four consecutive tries with Farr getting the ball rolling after he finished some nice lead-up work from Justice Leota.
Great movement of the ball and a long pass from St Marys halfback Immanuel Tagaloamatua led to a try to David Fale before Tagaloamatua grabbed one himself after a quick show-and-go to slide over the line. Fale finished off the blitz after latching on to an intercept to grab his second try of the afternoon.
The Bulls finally hit back through Domenico De Stradis before Fale grabbed his hat-trick after flying through the air to grab the ball before crashing over the line.
The Bulls finished the game on a high after a short kick-off paved the way for Declan Murray to duck his way past the St Marys defence to score but the damage had been done earlier in the half.
Wentworthville Magpies book Preliminary Final berth
Wentworthville Magpies have made it through to the Ron Massey Cup Preliminary Final after a thrilling 23-12 victory over St Mary Saints at St Marys Leagues Stadium today.
The Magpies got off to a strong start in the first half scoring two tries in the first five minutes through prop Carl Winterstein and fullback Clayton Faulalo.
The game took a turn after Kyle Cassel was sin binned in the 30th minute but the Magpies muscled up in defence and refused to concede any points in the absence of their second-rower. A field goal just before half-time put the Magpies further in front 13-0.
St Marys halfback Sadee Sub Laban became the second player sin binned for the match and it proved costly after Nathan Milone swooped in to score for the Magpies to extend their lead.
St Marys finally got on the scoreboard with Atonio Tauiliili Pelesasa grabbing one after crashing over the line before combining with Toni Tupouniua to pressure the Magpies defence and help set up the next try for Raymond Lesoa.
Both teams traded blows for the next 20 minutes, before the Magpies sealed the result with a try through Faulalo. The Magpies fullback threw off defenders before slamming the ball down over the line for his second try of the night and to secure a spot in the Preliminary Final.
