The wrap-up of the best action from Round Two of the Harvey Norman NSW Women's Premiership and the NSWRL's junior representative competitions.
Knights hold off Panthers in Tarsha Gale Cup
Newcastle Knights recorded their second straight away win of the 2023 Harvey Norman Tarsha Gale Cup season after beating Penrith Panthers 18-8 at Windsor Sports Complex in Round Two.
The Knights started things off just as they would have liked with a try in the opening set of the match, when prop Sophie Wilson charged onto a ball from captain Leah Ollerton beside the posts. Winger Lilly McNamara converted for a 6-nil margin.
It was McNamara who extended the lead again in 16th minute, scoring the Knights second try before adding a conversion from the sideline, taking Newcastle into halftime with a 12-point buffer.
Penrith were first to score in the second half through winger Kirby Maslin on the right edge, and she made it a double 10 minutes later by muscling away from a handful of defenders to put the ball down. The Panthers trailed 12-8.
The score-line remained until the final minutes of the contest when the visitors sealed the win with a try through Ollerton. McNamara added the extras to complete the 10-point victory.
Click here for more Harvey Norman Tarsha Gale Cup results.
Harold Matthews Eels scrape home against Tigers
Parramatta Eels left it late in Saturday’s clash against the Balmain Tigers to come away with a 20-18 win in Round Two of the UNE Harold Matthews Cup.
Eels halfback Lorenzo Talataina opened proceedings with a four-pointer in the sixth minute, grabbing a lost ball from a bomb on last tackle to score.
Parramatta managed to hold their 4-0 advantage for 15 minutes before Balmain centre Amine Malik hit back for his side, catching a late flick pass from five-eighth Marc Tannous and diving over the try-line. Halfback Alex Conti was successful off the boot to put the Tigers 6-4 ahead, with the scoreboard unchanged at the halftime break.
The home side found an extra gear early in the second half to jag two quick tries via winger Dominic Farrugia (33rd minute) then hooker Zaidas Muagututia (38th). Farrugia nailed both conversions to help the Eels to a 16-6 lead.
The Tigers replied with a flurry of their own when centre James Safi crossed in the 44th minute, followed by No.9 Soteila Fatui eight minutes later. Conti stayed 100 percent from the tee to give Balmain a four-point margin at 18-16.
With the Eels facing a narrow deficit and only moments left in the contest, the hosts shifted to the right for winger Lorima Rokosuka to touch down in the corner, securing the win for Parramatta.
Click here for more UNE Harold Matthews Cup results.
Mounties start season in winning ways
After an opening round bye in the Harvey Norman NSW Women’s Premiership last week, Mounties began their 2023 campaign on Sunday with a hard-fought 14-12 win over the Central Coast Roosters in Round Two.
The matchup was defence-oriented for the most part with points scored in bunches, but Mounties finally broke the deadlock after 26 minutes. Heading to the left corner, fullback Mackenzie Wiki was found sweeping out the back and sliced through the defensive line to score.
A few minutes later the away side were in again, this time through centre Alanna Dummett clutching onto an offload for the try. With points seemingly at a premium, Mounties suddenly found themselves eight points in front at halftime.
They kept the foot down straight away after the break, as prop Elianna Walton powered over just one minute into the second half. Two more points from halfback Matilda Power gave Mounties a solid 14-nil lead.
The Roosters mounted a comeback at the 42-minute mark with centre Joeli Morris scoring a brace of tries three minutes apart. Morris then secured a hat-trick at the stroke of 60 minutes, but Central Coast were unable convert on three occasions as Mounties held on for the two-point win.
Click here for more Harvey Norman NSW Women’s Premiership results.
Click here for UNE SG Ball Cup results.
Click here for SLE Andrew Johns Cup results.
Click here for SLE Laurie Daley Cup results.
