Recap | The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup - Round 24

Penrith keep finals hope alive with impressive win over local rivals Blacktown Workers

Stewart Moses

Game summary

The Penrith Panthers’ premiership defence remains alive for now following their 28-18 win over Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles at Parker Street Reserve, Penrith. It’s the Panther’s third win from the last four games they’ve played against top five opponents, with 14 late points to the Sea Eagles masking what was a dominant performance from the Penrith side.

Both teams came into the game knowing a loss would put a significant dent in their finals aspirations, given that just three points separates second from eighth position. Accordingly, the early portion of the game had all the intensity of a finals game come three weeks early.

But it would be the away team who would open proceedings through prop Eddie Blacker. Blacker stormed onto a short pass from hooker Kurt Falls to score from close range, giving Penrith a 6-0 lead after 13 minutes of play following five eighth Jack Cole’s successful conversion.

Only moments later, Penrith extended that lead to ten after a Sea Eagles’ short kick-off attempt backfired badly when lock Preston Riki took possession of the loose ball to score in the 16th minute. 

Another botched Blacktown Workers kick restart that failed to travel the required ten metres enabled the Panthers to take a 12-point lead when Cole opted to take the easy two points on offer after 25 minutes. Penrith took this lead into halftime.

Blacktown had several chances in the opening minutes of the second half to open their account. However, a combination of poor options and stoic defence from the Panthers denied them. A long-range line break from Sea Eagles fullback Jake Toby, followed by repeat sets inside the Panthers 20 failed to materialise points for the home side. They were then made to pay for their lack of execution when Penrith marched upfield in the next set and a short ball from Falls put prop Liam Henry through beside the posts in the 53rd minute. Falls converted to extend the lead out to 18 points.

Ten minutes later, Falls scored a fine solo try, fooling the Blacktown edge defence before stepping back inside and giving Penrith an even more imposing 24-point lead after 63 minutes.

A few plays later, a short kick-off finally paid dividends to the Sea Eagles. The Blacktown Workers side opened their account through winger Jackson Ferris, who grabbed the ball to crash over in the corner and reduce the gap to 20 with 15 minutes remaining.

Penrith put any thoughts of an unlikely Blacktown Workers’ comeback to bed when centre Matt Stimson gathered a deft kick by Toelau to score out wide and restore the Panthers’ 24-point lead with ten minutes remaining.

To their credit, Blacktown Workers continued competing to the end and restored some pride with two consolation tries in the final five minutes of the game. Ferris scored his second after quick hands caught Penrith’s left edge defence napping. Shortly after, Toby broke the line and kicked for centre Clayton Faulalo. Faulalo collected the ball to score what ultimately became an eight point try after Panthers winger Daeon Amituanai was put on report for an incident in the leadup.

The home side had reduced the deficit to ten, but to no avail as Penrith ran out 28-18 winners.

Talking points

Penrith came into this game weakened after half Jack Cogger and hooker Luke Sommerton were withdrawn to play NRL.

Blacktown Workers were looking for their fifth win in succession. They came into this game in 4th position, with their opponents sitting in 8th position. Two competition points behind the Sea Eagles, Penrith needed to win by six or more to skip ahead of Blacktown Workers.

Both teams will be sweating on the match review committee. Blacktown Workers had Kaeo Weekes placed on report early on for a tackle on Panthers’ backrower Mavrik Geyer. The ensuing penalty led to Penrith scoring the opening try of the game. Meanwhile, the Panthers had prop Eddie Blacker, interchange forward John Faiumu and winger Daeon Amituanai all placed on report.

The win for Penrith sees them move into the top five for now, pending results from the remainder of the round. They will finish the round in no worse than 6th, while Blacktown Workers now face the prospect of finishing the round as low as 7th position.

Key moment

Penrith’s resolve in repelling numerous attacking raids from the Sea Eagles early in the second half paid off after their first foray into Blacktown’s territory resulted in Liam Henry’s try. This pushed the visitor’s lead out to three converted tries.

What's next?

The Panthers enjoy a nine-day turnaround before an exciting clash with likely 2023 minor premiers North Sydney, next Sunday at North Sydney Oval. The Sea Eagles face an equally daunting task when they travel to NZ to take on the second-placed Warriors next Friday night.

South Sydney Rabbitohs v St George Illawarra Dragons

Souths scorch Dragons to move into top five and stake finals claim

Sam Kosack

Game summary

The South Sydney Rabbitohs have moved into a finals position in emphatic fashion, downing the St George Illawarra Dragons 50-12 at Redfern Oval.

The Rabbitohs walked into today’s game needing a win to stay in the top five, with the result ensuring they won’t be lower than fourth at the end of the round. With only one game left before their bye, the large margin also provided the Bunnies with a much-needed boost to their point differential as they potentially head into finals.

The home team opened the scoring through winger Izaac Tu’itupou Thompson in the 5th minute. A quick play the ball from Peter Mamouzelos allowed for a sweeping right-side raid, catching the Dragons short, and giving fullback Blake Taaffe the overlap needed to put Thompson over in the corner.

The Dragons would respond not 5 minutes later through fullback Benjamin Rumble. Wearing number 5 but slotting into the fullback role to start the game, Rumble used his explosive speed to accelerate through an opening in some lazy Rabbitohs defence, scoring untouched, and giving the Dragons a 6-4 lead.

Some desperate cover defence from the Dragons was the only thing preventing Tu’itupou Thompson from claiming his second in the 20th minute, with his offload going astray and landing in the arms of Dragons halfback Zach Herring, who was subsequently trapped in goal. However, following a failed short kick off, sustained pressure on the Dragons line delivered a diving Tu’itupou Thompson his second two minutes later, as the winger managed to contort his body to stay above the sideline. Hawkins failed to convert for an 8-6 scoreline.

Josiah Karapani extended Souths lead in the 27th minute, scoring off a great short ball from five-eighth Dion Teaupa. Off a scrum 10m out from the Dragons line, Teaupa made a half-break through the line, popping the pass to finding Karapani on his left, who crossed untouched to give Souths an 8-point lead.

The old adage - ‘never let a ball bounce’ - proved very true for the Dragons as the Rabbitohs scored their fourth of the half  off a bouncing St George bomb. Dragons and Souths players alike didn’t attempt to catch the swirling Dragons kick, allowing Blake Taaffe the space to run onto the bouncing ball at speed, making a line break from his own 40m line. From here, a simple draw-and-pass to try scorer Dion Teaupa allowed the five-eighth to run the final 30m, giving the Rabbits a 14-point lead.

The Rabbits struck quickly again in the 38th minute through captain Dean Hawkins, capping off a dream opening half for the home team. Centre Jacob Gagai produced a fantastic offload as he was falling to give Taaffe room to work down the sideline. The Rabbits’ number 1 proceeded to kick the ball back inside for Hawkins to regather, extending the Rabbitohs lead to 18 at half-time.

Souths reopened their account 6 minutes after half time, thanks to a full field team effort that delivered Izaac Tu’itupou Thompson his third try of the game. Second rower Ethan O’Neill made a half-break at the middle of the field before popping an offload to Shannon Gardiner who ran 20m down field. The ball then found its way to Tu’itupou Thompson, who had come flying in from the opposite side of the field. Ignoring his support player, Tu’itupou Thompson carried three Dragons players to the try line before reaching out and planting the ball.

The Dragons responded in the 52nd minute, with Hamish Stewart crashing over after some crafty work by halfback Zach Herring to create, and put him through, a hole in the Rabbits defence. Lobb converted to reduce the deficit to 18.

Any chance of a comeback was snuffed out when Rabbitohs winger Tom Carr scored his first of the afternoon. With 14 minutes to go, the Rabbits forced a Dragons error on the half way line, giving them prime field position. They then worked it down to the Dragons’ 10 metre line before Teaupa delivered the fatal blow, rolling a pinpoint grubber into the in-goal for Carr to ground. Hawkins converted from the sideline for a 36-12 scoreline.

The Dragons’ afternoon went from bad to worse, with Tom Carr scoring his second in the space of three minutes. The Dragons kicked short off a forced drop out, only for it to be collected by Carr who burnt his opposition number to fly down the sideline and score a diving try. The Rabbits would go on to continue their scoring frenzy six minutes later, with second rower Ethan O’Neill crashing over in the 75th minute. Hawkins failed to convert, giving Souths a 32-point lead.

The Rabbits brought up their half-century with 2 minutes to go as Blake Taaffe got a well-deserved try to finish up the scoring. A beautiful inside-outside play on their own 40m saw Dean Hawkins put Taaffe through a hole. With players to choose on, Taaffe found Hawkins on his inside, before Hawkins handed it back to his fullback, who burnt any Dragons chasers to the line. Souths prop Yileen Gordon would be handed the final conversion, slotting the kick from right in front to cement the 50-12 final score.

Talking points

The Rabbitohs have firmed as finals contenders with several standout performers. 

Blake Taaffe pushed for a return to first grade with a very strong performance. Taaffe was electric across the field, using his damaging speed and ball playing abilities to torment the Dragons defence. The Bulldogs-bound player finished the evening with three try assists and a try of his own, as well as being very reliable in defence, fielding multiple kicks under intense pressure. 

Five-eighth Dion Teaupa was also impressive, scoring a try and getting two try assists, while Izaac Tu’itupou Thompson scored a hat-trick, made a couple of line breaks, and was tough to stop when returning kicks. 

The Dragons’ Hamish Stewart was placed on report in the 33rd minute for a crusher tackle.

Key moment

The Rabbitohs were on top from the opening whistle to the last, but the try to Dion Teaupa late in the first half proved the straw that broke the Dragon’s back. The electric speed of Blake Taaffe put the Rabbits up by 14, and the momentum from that point firmly swung in the home team’s favour, with the floodgates opening after that.

What’s next?

The Rabbitohs look to solidify their spot in the top five when they take on Newcastle away next Saturday in their final game of the regular season, while the Dragons will look to rest and recover on their bye.

Newtown Jets v Canberra Raiders

Green avalanche sees Canberra move into top four

Mitchell Roese

Game summary

Canberra Raiders have leapt into the top four with a clinically dominant 30-12 victory over Newtown Jets at Henson Park on Saturday afternoon.

The ‘Green Machine’ jumped out to a 14-point lead at half time, and despite Newtown crossing first in the second half, were unfazed and able to continue the onslaught of points in their round 24 fixture.

Canberra opened the scoring after producing an extra set from their first red zone raid. Joshua James was on the end of a right edge shift and sliced through, Newtown unable to number up.

Jets hit back with their first chance in Canberra’s end as Niwhai Puru dabbed in a grubber for Kyle Pickering to chase through and slide over, bringing the scores level.

Miscommunication at the back for Canberra almost gifted Newtown their second through another chip kick into the in-goal. Tom Rodwell claimed the try, though was deemed offside from Jayden Berrell’s kick.

Raiders went back-to-back in consecutive sets. First, Joshua James set up Raiders’ next try with a looping cut-out ball to winger Jed Stuart. Utuloa Asomua then reeled in a spectacular aerial catch and flicked to Trey Mooney to push the lead past a converted try.

Chevy Stewart made it three straight tries for the visitors, busting over and converting to extend their lead, before holding out the ‘Blue Bags’ in their final set of the half and left the scores at 20-6.

Canberra again came out firing in the second half, but it was Newtown to strike first through Caleb Uele. An error from a tap restart gave Newtown another crack at the line, and the interchange forward crashed over under the posts.

Undeterred by a Newtown fightback, Trey Mooney broke through down field, as Jets were at sixes and sevens and couldn’t recover, with Hohepa Puru stepping off the right foot to drag the lead past two converted tries.

Tuku Hau Tapauha was called back after breaking into open space due to a forward pass, and Canberra welcomed the advantage as Harley Smith-Shields muscled through tired Jets defenders on the left edge to score.

Capping off a sensational victory, Matt Frawley and Chevy Stewart combined with a chip kick before offloading to Shaun Packer as he carried three Newtown defenders across the white line to stretch the score line to a comprehensive 36-12 victory.

Talking points

With 131 NRL games between them, Tom Starling and Matt Frawley’s NRL experience showed as they each had a key hand in majority of their sides’ tries.

The victory sees Canberra jump from eighth into the top four.

Newtown struggled early and Canberra made them pay. Jets had 12 first half errors at 59% possession, conceding three straight tries in almost consecutive sets.

Conceding seven tries in their loss puts Newtown’s finals hopes in jeopardy approaching the final two rounds of the competition.

Key moment

Scoring first out of the break, Newtown brought the deficit to within eight points and swung back momentum. However, it was a try to Hohepa Puru that halted a Jets resurgence and broke their spirit.

What’s next?

Canberra return home to Canberra Belconnen and host Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in a week’s time while Newtown face Western Suburbs Magpies at Lidcombe Oval to finish round 25.

Warriors v Western Suburbs Magpies

Warriors hold off Magpies in Hamilton

Richard Becht, Warriors Media

With their third straight win today the One New Zealand Warriors have retained second spot on the New South Wales Cup ladder midway through the 24th round of the regular season.

When Setu Tu scored two tries in the opening minutes of the second half the Warriors were well-placed to secure a big victory but they failed to produce another four pointer, adding only a penalty in the final seconds for a solid rather than spectacular 26-16 win.

Tu, originally named on the wing, was switched to fullback while Patrick Moimoi was brought into the centres and NRL veteran Bunty Afoa started at prop. That gave the side an all-NRL front row with Freddy Lussick at hooker and Tom Ale the other prop.

The contest couldn’t have started any better for the Slade Griffin-coached side with Moimoi over for a try in just the third minute.

For a long period the score-line remained 4-0, the Magpies throwing plenty at the Warriors but finding no way through their staunch goal-line defence.

Having soaked up the defensive pressure, the Warriors countered with tries to teenaged second rower Leka Halasima and NRL centre Viliami Vailea in the 28th and 34th minutes. Halasima again showed his aerial skills, launching skywards to snaffle a mid-range Ronald Volkman bomb.

At 16-0 the One New Zealand Warriors had a great platform to launch only to concede a try just before halftime.

Tu’s double stretched the lead to 24-4 after 50 minutes but then the scoring stalled as the Warriors faltered with a number of errors.

While the Magpies came back to 10-24 with 17 minutes to play and then 16-24 after 73 minutes the Warriors held their nerve, Eiden Ackland kicking a penalty in the final seconds for a 10-point triumph.

It was the team’s 13th win of the season and the fifth in its last six starts to move to 31 points with two rounds to go in the regular season.

Newcastle Knights v Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs

Lucas hat-trick propels Knights to 14-point victory

Daneie Geddes

Game summary

A hat-trick from Dylan Lucas helped the Newcastle Knights to a hard-fought 42-28 win over the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in their Round 24 clash at McDonald Jones Stadium on Sunday.

Three minutes in, the Knights opened their account through Lucas, set up by a line-break from halfback Adam Clune. Liam Sutton converted for a 6-0 lead.

Four minutes later the Knights had a second, when centre Simi Sasagi cruised over the line untouched. Sutton converted again for a 12-0 lead.

The visitors hit back in the 19th minute following a Knights error, when prop Jayden Tanner barged his way over the line. A successful Paul Alamoti conversion made it 12-6.

Lucas fired again for his second with support from Clune, who barged his way through the Dogs' defence. Sutton converted for an 18-6 lead.

A line drop-out from the Knights put the Bulldogs inside the 20-metre zone as lock Kurtis Morrin answered with a brilliant charge to the line beneath the posts. Alamoti’s conversion made it 18-12.

Two minutes from halftime, hooker Ryan Gray snuck under the posts and Alamoti converted to tie up the scoreboard at 18-all at the end of the first half.

Eight minutes into the second half Sasagi had his second try on the left side, with Lucas converting for a six-point lead.

Two more tries for the Knights saw them extend the lead 18. Captain Jack Johns barged through the Dogs' defence beside the posts and Moceidreke planted the ball down on the right edge.

Lucas secured his third try of the afternoon with a line-break down the right side. A successful Sutton conversion made it 42-18.

With 11 minutes remaining, Bulldogs second-rower Jayden Okunbor put his side back in the game with an offload to fullback Joesph O'Neill, who carried the ball over the line. Alamoti converted for a 42-24 score-line.

A try to Okunbor in the 76th minute proved only a consolation as the Knights secured the 42-28 victory.

Talking points

Knights second-rower Dylan Lucas dominated all afternoon with a hat-trick and a second-half line-break.

Bulldogs lock Kurtis Morrin went to the sin bin halfway through the second half, leaving the door open for Johns and Moceidreke to add two tries to the scoreboard for the Knights.

The victory saw the Knights break their four-game losing streak while the Bulldogs remain in fourth position.

Key moment

The Bulldogs needed to fight back once the hosts held a 24-point lead, and they tried their best to do just that with two tries in the game's final minutes. Despite failing to win the game, the Bulldogs put on a valiant effort to stay in it, with Okunbor setting up Joseph O'Neill in the 69th minute and planting one down himself with four minutes left on the clock.

What's next?

The Knights return home next week to take on the South Sydney Rabbitohs, while the Bulldogs take on the Raiders in Canberra next Saturday.

North Sydney Bears v Sydney Roosters

Bears secure Minor Premiership after home win

Ella Mullins

Game summary

After an evenly matched first half, the North Sydney Bears defeated the Sydney Roosters 18-10 at North Sydney Oval in Round 24 of The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup.

Each squad put up a stern fight but the Bears entered the second half strongly, resulting in an eight-point win for the home side.

After 15 minutes of tit-for-tat play, the Roosters were first to secure points after a miscommunication by the Bears’ defensive line. Roosters second-rower Riley Meyn took advantage of the open space on the left edge, flicking a pass to Corey Allan for an early lead. The conversion by Jaxon Paulo was successful to lead 6-0.

The Bears were not shaken by the Roosters’ lead, as centre Allan Fitzgibbon towered over three defenders to score. He helped tie the scores at 6-6 after a successful conversion from the returning Sam Walker. After a gritty first half, the scores remained 6-6 at the halftime siren.

After only six minutes of play in the second half, Bears forward Elie El-Zakhem scraped by and reached for the try-line. With two defenders on his back, El-Zakhem managed to extend his left arm for his first try. Walker successfully converted for his second goal.

After a quiet 20 minutes of play, a sloppy pass lead to an intercept from Bears hooker Ben Marschke. On the third tackle, winger Tuipulotu Katoa side-stepped Robert Toia before making a sprint for the try-line. After the conversion from Walker the Bears held a 12-point lead.

Emotions were running high when five minutes remained and the Roosters were in need of a resurgence. They had hope when Henare-Schuster outmanoeuvred the opposition, laying down a try in the left-hand corner. The conversion by Paulo was unsuccessful.

The Roosters put up a strong fight, but it wasn’t enough to outplay the Bears. The full-time score was 18-10, with the Bears coming out as Minor Premiers for the 2023 season.

Talking points

After a 15-week hiatus through injury, Sam Walker made his return for North Sydney in the halfback position.

The Roosters put up a strong fight with some stoic defence, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the first-placed Bears.

Key moment

The Bears’ change in momentum during the second half was exactly what they needed to solidify top spot in the competition, starting with El-Zakhem’s early try. This momentum shift was pivotal in the victory over the Roosters.

What’s next?

The Roosters will face the Parramatta Eels Friday evening at CommBank Stadium in Round 24. On Sunday the Bears will host the Penrith Panthers at North Sydney Oval.