It was a busy day at Campbelltown Stadium on Saturday, with six games played to kick off Week One of the NSWRL Junior Representative finals.
Parramatta Eels win two from three
The Parramatta Eels were represented in half of the games played at Campbelltown Stadium on Saturday, with all three of their junior reps sides in action.
The club’s UNE Harold Matthews and UNE SG Ball Cup sides are through to Week Two of their respective finals series, while the campaign of their Harvey Norman Tarsha Gale Cup squad has come to an end.
After finishing third on the ladder, the Parramatta Eels Harold Matthews side were matched up with the sixth-placed Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. The Eels carried a narrow 6–4 lead into halftime, before a strong second half saw them leave the Sharks scoreless in the final 30 minutes to come away with an 18–4 victory.
Affairs were also tight in the SG Ball Cup, with the 5th-placed Western Suburbs Magpies holding a slim 4-0 advantage over the 4th-placed Eels at halftime.
However, much like in Harold Matthews Cup, the Eels were too strong for their opponents in the second half, with a double to fullback Te Hurinui-Twidle proving the difference in the 18–10 win against a valiant Magpies.
While their Harold Matthews and SG Ball Cup clubmates saw success earlier in the day, Parramatta’s Tarsha Gale Cup side were prevented from moving further into the finals by an impressive Illawarra Steelers performance.
An early 8th-minute try to winger Alysha Bell suggested a promising day for the Eels, but four successive tries to the Steelers gave them a comfortable 20–4 victory.
Newcastle Knights enjoy success
The Newcastle Knights' Tarsha Gale and SG Ball Cup sides both downed their respective opponents. Each will now join the club’s Harold Matthews Cup side – who finished 2nd on the ladder and had a Week One bye – in Week Two of the finals next weekend.
In the Harvey Norman Tarsha Gale Cup, the Knights struck out to an early 10-point lead against the Canberra Raiders, with Charlotte Barwick and Lilly-Ann White crossing for tries.
A try to Raider Beth Loco in the 32nd minute put pressure on the Knights early in the second half. However, Newcastle demonstrated their intent by quickly responding when Cheyenne Baker crossed in the 37th minute. Barwick’s conversion created a 10-point buffer that the Knights carried all the way to the whistle, winning 16–4.
The Knights' SG Ball side enjoyed a greater margin of victory, defeating the Sydney Roosters 35-10. The contest was competitive early, with the Roosters holding a 10–6 lead after 20 minutes.
However, the Roosters wouldn’t score again, and Newcastle began to pull away when winger Kyle Colburn crossed in the 24th minute. Colburn eventually completed a hat-trick in the 63rd minute.
Bulldogs defeat Raiders after close regular season results
After they finished the UNE Harold Matthews Cup season with identical records and for-and-againsts, the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and Canberra Raiders had to be separated on the ladder by their respective try totals.
The Bulldogs finished above the Raiders by a single four-pointer in the club rounds, and on Saturday they repeated that effort by downing the Raiders 25-18.
Barely anything separated the teams all season and this 4th-plays-5th fixture didn't disappoint, with the scores locked at 18-all with 10 minutes to play.
It was front rower Itula Seve, who broke the deadlock when he crashed over under the posts in the 49th minute. Bulldogs halfback and captain Mitchell Woods made the easy conversion to create a six-point lead, before icing the game with a field goal that saw the Bulldogs prevail 25–18.
