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

Rabbitohs just fall short to the Bulldogs on Good Friday

Ella Mullins

Game Summary

The South Sydney Rabbitohs hosted the Canterbury Bulldogs at Accor Stadium for a Good Friday special

The first opening minutes of play was a tough affair, with each side gunning to secure the opening try of the afternoon.  

It was the Bulldogs who crossed frst after Joash Papalii made a clean break through the Rabbitohs defensive line. The fullback’s pass found the hands of Hayze Perham, who dived into the right-hand corner of the field. The conversion by skipper Toby Sexton was unsuccessful.

Moments later, Perham was causing havoc for South Sydney once again thanks to an impeccable 20 metre charge from Bronson Xerri. The sequence set up by Xerri gave the visitors the upper hand - making the score 8-0.

Canterbury dominated the territory, denying the hosts the chance to find the try line.

The Bulldogs capitalised on their strong momentum after Sexon meticulously offloaded the ball to Reece Hoffman. The unmarked centre had no trouble scoring down the right wing. The conversion by Sexton was successful, and the visitors led the match 14-0 at the halftime siren.

South Sydney started the second half Leonard Skelton who scored the Rabbitohs first try of the game (14-4).

Despite the early try to South Sydney, the Bulldogs bounced back through Eli Clark who raced down the field to score.

The home team hit back with two back-to-back tries to halfback Lachlan Ilias and Leonard Skelton wo crossed for his second of the day.

South Sydney took the lead for the first time of the game in the 70th minute through fullback Jye Gray who stepped passed defenders to score next to the posts.

A successful conversion from Ilias saw the Rabbitohs lead 22-18.

A late try to Bulldogs playmaker Bailey Biondi-Odo saw the visitors steal the win on full time.

 The final score 20-22 was in favour of the Bulldogs which saw Accor Stadium bleeding blue.

Talking Points

- The Bulldogs early attacking masterclass shut out the Rabbitohs for the first 40 minutes of the match. The efforts from the Bulldogs’ spine led to their timely victory. Hayze Perham and Bailey Biondi-Odo were clinical for their side.

- Despite just falling short, the tenacity from South Sydney was nothing short of admirable. Ending the first half 18 points down, to then lead by two and just fall short 20-22, showed their hunger.

Key Moments

Hayze Perham’s opening double set the tone for this afternoon’s match. Perham’s efforts gave the Bulldogs a strong lead early in the match.

The Rabbitohs first try for the match by Lachlan Illias shifted the tone for the game and gave the Souths a fighting chance to reclaim victory in the second half.

Bailey Biondi-Odo’s last minute try was the cherry on top for an already successful crusade by the Bulldogs.

What’s Next?

Both squads are set to have a super Saturday showdown for Round 5 of the NSWRL Knock on Effect Cup. The South Sydney Rabbitohs will host the Warriors at Accor Stadium and the Canterbury Bulldogs will return home to Belmore Sports Ground to take on the Sydney Roosters.

Newtown Jets v Canberra Raiders

Newtown stun competition front-runners in thrilling draw

Mitchell Roese

Game Summary

Newtown Jets and Canberra Raiders shared the points on Saturday afternoon at Henson Park in a thrilling 28-all draw that came down to the final minutes.

Newtown hit the front early before Canberra showed their might, running in five unanswered tries. Resilience saw the hosts recover the deficit before narrowly missing the chance to steal victory on the siren in round four.

Kade Dykes opened the scores in the second minute in his return to grade football, as he supported a blitzing run from fullback Liam Ison through the middle.

Newtown then stretched their lead in the ninth minute. Centre Chris Vea’ila burst through untouched on the right edge, finding his winger Samuel Stonestreet to beat out Raiders fullback Chevy Stewart for the line.

The hosts made it three tries within the first 20 minutes as Niwhai Puru’s dummy held Canberra’s jagged goal line defence up just enough to open space for Addison Demetriou to scream past and score.

Newtown’s defence eventually broke in the 23rd minute, as Canberra’s Simi Sasagi fended off both Vea’ila and Ison and raced away to put his side on the board.

After a sluggish start, the competition front runners brought their deficit to 16-12 heading into the sheds, as a well-weighted grubber kick from Zac Woolford sat up right on the dead ball line for Trey Mooney to plant it down.

It was a front-rowers dream to start the second half with Canberra’s middle forwards running free.

Hohepu Puru crossed seven minutes out from the half to put the visitors in the lead, before another dangerous gallop from Mooney put the opposition on the back-foot, leading to Kaeo Weekes finding the line in the ensuing tackle.

Canberra converted a failed short drop-out into more points, as winger Jed Stuart gathered the uncontested ball before he carried two defenders over the line and push the advantage to 10 points.

Keeping their opposition to just a penalty goal while down a man, the Jets crawled their way back with back-to-back tries from Vea’ila and Jackson Ferris to draw level. Puru was ice cold as he converted both from the sideline, setting up a grandstand finish.

In the end neither side could hit the front in the dying stages as Puru’s field goal as the siren rang was waved wide, but nonetheless a hard-fought 28-all draw for both sides.

Talking Points

- Only conceding two points being a man down was immense for Newtown securing a point. Canberra had been all over them previously but to hold them out and even score a try themselves was a huge effort.

- Canberra’s Trey Mooney was unstoppable through the middle. The forward scored a try right on half-time while he wreaked havoc through the opposition’s middle defence with some large metres gained.

- Jets five-eighth Kade Dykes was dangerous in his return to the field after a year-long hiatus from an ACL injury. The youngster scored the opening try and assisted their second.

Key Moment

A controversial decision to award a try to Canberra’s Trey Mooney right on halftime evidently swung momentum away from the hosts who could not contain their opposition in opening stages of the second half.

The ball looked to have been placed on the dead-ball line, though the referee was confident in his decision.

What’s Next?

The Raiders remain undefeated and return home to their faithful at GIO Stadium to face the Parramatta Eels, while the Jets have the bye round.

St George Illawarra Dragons v Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles

Dragons dominate Sea Eagles in 38-10 win

Bailey Whitton

Game Summary

A middle of the ladder clash between St George Illawarra Dragons and Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles saw the Dragons dominate the match in a 38-10 win, taking all the momentum in the first-half and making it too hard for the Sea Eagles to come back from.

After a Dragons kick-off, they got an early intercept putting them in a strong attacking position from the get-go, which they quickly jumped on. The Sea Eagles failed to catch a kick from Josh Ralph, ricocheting off his chest and getting the Dragons a fresh set, followed by a penalty for being held down.

The continued pressure proved too much with the Dragons scoring shortly after with Alec Tuitavake powering over the line for the opening try.

Unfortunately for the Sea Eagles, the rest of the half would not fare much better, as despite some attempts to win momentum back, including a strip from Sea Eagles hooker Gordon Chan Kum Tong, powerful Dragons sets, and Sea Eagles errors kept allowing the Dragons to dominate the field position and score two more tries in the half.

Both tries came through harbour bridge passes from Josh Ralph finding Christian Tuipulotu in the corner in the 13th and 26th minutes, without the Sea Eagles being able to hit back leaving the first half 16-0.

The Dragons started the second-half looking to pick up where they left off and managed to do just that with an early linebreak and a Sea Eagles error to put them back in dominant field position and getting the Dragons a shot at the goal line.

Ben Murdoch-Masila was able to bend the defence but was ultimately held out, before the Dragons spread the ball to the right and put Sione Finau over in the right corner extending their lead to 20-0.

The Sea Eagles managed to win back some momentum early but were unable to convert it into points.

However, it wasn’t enough to stop the Dragons, as they quickly took the momentum back through a linebreak to Sione Finau through the centre of the field. Ralph put up another well-placed kick and Jonah Glover provided the chase, catching and turning around to score the Dragons fifth unanswered try of the game.

The Sea Eagles fought their way back in and this time managed to hold the momentum, with Gordon Chan Kum Tong a particular highlight of the Sea Eagles fight back, getting several important linebreaks and spreading the ball well.

Within 10 minutes of the Dragons last try, the Sea Eagles scored their first of the second-half, beating the Dragons for numbers down the wing for a Cameron Brown try.

With this try, the Dragons were unable to continue their earlier dominance and the game fell into a back-and-forth battle for control. Christian Tuipulotu was next to score in the 61st minute, getting himself a hat-trick through another harbour bridge pass to the winger.

In the 68th minute the Sea Eagles attempted to hit back with a high kick to the left wing but were stopped from getting to goal, before sending the ball back for another kick attempt, this time across field to the right wing which was scooped up on the run by Cameron Brown for a double.

The Dragons refused to let the Sea Eagles have the last word however and sent Tuipulotu over one final time through the left edge in the 76th minute to end the game, 38-10.

Talking Points

- Gordon Chan Kum Tong was impressive in defeat, fighting hard to get Blacktown on the front-foot throughout.

- Christian Tuipulotu put on a very impressive performance during the game, scoring four of the Dragons tries.

- Ben Murdoch-Masila continued to prove a nightmare for defence, with his ability to draw multiple players in to stop him close to the line turning into many try scoring opportunities for the Dragons.

Key Moment

For the Sea Eagles to fight their way back into this match, they needed to reset at half-time and take the fight to the Dragons right away, but Sione Finau’s try to start the half put them right back on the back foot and kept the momentum rolling for the Dragons.

What’s Next?

The Dragons head to Newcastle to take on the Knights looking to get their second win over them for this season, while the Sea Eagles head to Brookvale as they look to bounce back against the unbeaten Penrith Panthers.

Warriors v Newcastle Knights

Warriors back to winning ways with victory over Knights

Tom Gibbs

Game Summary

The Warriors recorded their first win since Round One of The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup on Sunday, turning around an early deficit to beat Newcastle Knights 26-12 at Go Media Stadium in Auckland.

Despite conceding a try within two minutes when Knights five-eighth Will Pryce pounced on a grubber, the home side were able to turn things around and run away with a 14-point win.

The Warriors hit back in the 13th minute through fullback Ben Farr. Five minutes later centre Moala Graham-Taufa forced his way over in the left corner, before Farr converted to lead 10-6 – which became the halftime score-line.

The hosts continued their momentum 10 minutes into the second half as winger Edward Kosi crossed the stripe on the right edge, soon followed by Farr weaving through the Knights’ defence from close range for his second try. Farr converted each of them to go ahead 22-6.

Warriors five-eighth Geronimo Doyle put the result doubt with eight minutes remaining when he raced through a gap for the corner.

The Knights found a consolation try via winger James Bradley, with Pryce converted to round out the 26-12 final score.

Talking Points

- The Round Four victory marks the Warriors’ second win from two matches at Go Media Stadium in 2024.

- Warriors fullback Ben Farr starred for the home side, producing 14 points from his two tries and three successful conversions.

Key Moment

At 10-6 the match was certainly still in the balance and the next side to score would go a long way to determining the eventual winner. The Warriors did just that in the 50th minute when Kosi strolled over the try-line on the end of some strong lead-up play, and the hosts never looked back on the way to 26 unanswered points.

What’s Next?

The Warriors head to Accor Stadium to face the South Sydney Rabbitohs in Round Four, while the Knights take on St George Illawarra Dragons at McDonald Jones Stadium on Friday night.

Sydney Roosters v Penrith Panthers

Panthers continue unbeaten run with fourth-straight win

Stewart Moses

Game Summary

The Penrith Panthers have gone to the top of The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup ladder after a convincing 22-6 win over Sydney Roosters at Wentworth Oval on Sunday.

The visitors set up the win with a dominant first half performance, scoring four tries to one for a 22-6 lead at the break before the Roosters went point-for-point with the Panthers in the second half.

The Panthers were without Mavrik Geyer (NRL debut), Riley Price (injured) and Preston Riki (suspended), but coach Ben Harden’s selection of Daine Laurie at fullback and Isaiah Iongi to the bench proved to be a masterstroke, with Laurie notching up a try assist and two linebreaks in the opening 40 minutes. The visitors also enjoyed the return of five-eighth Jack Cole from injury.

The Panthers started the game with a bang, scoring a slick backline try in the third minute through Cole before doubling their lead in the ninth minute, when skipper Tyrone Peachey ran onto a short ball from hooker Soni Luke to reach out and score from close range.

Roosters fullback Harry McKeon capitalised on a Panthers error from the ensuing kick-off when he fooled the Penrith defence a few plays later with a show and go close to the line to bridge the gap to six after 15 minutes.

Quick hands to the right enabled Laurie to put winger Jesse McLean over in the northwest corner in the 26th minute, to give the Panthers a handy 10-point lead despite Alamoti’s conversion attempt hitting the post from the sideline.

The weight of possession late in the half proved telling as the Panthers converted their time inside the Roosters’ 20 into points, when half Trent Toelau steamed onto a Soni Luke pass and reached out to score next to the posts to give Penrith a commanding 22-6 lead at the main break.

The Roosters capitalised on a long-range linebreak from back-rower Corey Ross just minutes into the second half, which put the home team on the attack inside Penrith’s 20. They were soon rewarded when a sweeping backline movement caught the Panthers’ short for numbers with McKeon again pivotal, providing the final pass for centre Ethan Clark-Wood to dive over in the 44th minute. Savala’s unsuccessful conversion left the hosts trailing 22-10.

Poor discipline proved costly for the Roosters when back-to-back penalties enabled the Panthers to attack once more inside their 20, resulting in a barnstorming try to prop forward Luron Patea, giving Penrith the biggest lead of the game at 28-10 after 51 minutes.

A penalty in the 71st minute allowed Paul Alamoti to put the match beyond doubt, kicking a penalty goal from 20 metres out to give the Panthers a 30-10 lead.

The Roosters were rewarded for their persistence when a kick ricocheted off the Panthers’ defensive line back into the hand of interchange hooker Michael Coleman to score out wide.

Talking Points

- Penrith five-eighth Jack Cole returned from injury in style, scoring an early try to put the Panthers on the path to victory.

- The 30-14 win ensures the Panthers are the only side to have won all four games to start the season.

- Roosters fullback Harry McKeon was a shining light, scoring a clever try in the first half before showing silky skills with ball in hand to put Ethan Clark-Wood over in the second half.

- Roosters players Salesi Foketi and Suia Wong have a nervous wait from the Match Review Committee after both forwards were placed on report for first-half incidents.

Key Moment

Rookie Panthers prop Luron Patea, playing in his fourth NSW Cup game, recovered from a potential game-ending head knock to score his maiden NSW Cup try, with an incredible barnstorming effort early in the second half. The Roosters were threatening to mount a comeback having scored first in the second half to reduce the gap back to 22-10, before Patea’s try put the result beyond the home side’s reach.

What's Next?

The undefeated Panthers will be looking for five wins in succession on Saturday when they travel to 4 Pines Park to take on the Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles, while on the same day the Roosters will be looking to return to the winner’s circle at Belmore Sports Ground to take on the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.

Parramatta Eels v Western Suburbs Magpies

Magpies grab their first win of the season

Alex Hrissis

Game summary

Western Suburbs Magpies have secured their first win of the season in a thrilling 32-26 come-from-behind win over local rivals Parramatta at Commbank Stadium on Easter Monday.

The Magpies upset the Eels’ home fans when they stole the game in the final five minutes with two tries. Parramatta had led since the 42nd minute.

But it was the travelling Magpies who opened the scoring following some tidy passing along the left edge, which ended with centre Josh Feledy busting through a tackle to crash over for his first try of the season. Alex Lobb nailed the conversion to give his side an 6-0 lead.

Western Suburbs made it double when even minutes later some strong running from Iverson Matai created a gap along the right edge. Matai soon found Brent Naden in support who in turn found Lobb on the wing to dive over (10-0).

Parramatta bounced back and scored their first try of the day in the 25th minutes after they forced a dropout. Some nice passing found Bailey Simonsson who tapped the ball across to Jake Tago to score in the left corner.

Eels scored again right on the stroke of half time following some individual brilliance from fullback Daejarn Asi. The rising talent spotted a gap in the Magpies’ defence and took on the line himself to score a fine solo try and convert it to level scores 10-10 at halftime.

The home side picked up in the second half where they left off in the first, with a stunning individual try from rising half Ethan Sanders to put Parramatta in the lead for the first time (16-10).

Just minutes later hooker Matthew Arthur broke through the line and found Sanders in support, who then blitzed down the field and passed back inside to Arthur who was tackled just short of the line.

It was Asi who then spotted the gap from the play-the-ball to score his second and extend Parramatta’s lead (22-10).

The Magpies finally bounced back when half Latu Fainu cut through the defence with a tidy grubber before Feledy pounced on the ball for his double (22-16).

The scoreboard increased to 26-16 when Simonsson scored one for himself after his earlier try assist.

Parramatta had a hand 10-point lead with 15 minutes on the clock but the Western Suburbs Magpies refused to go down without a fight.

Forward Bailey Hodges found big prop Reuben Porter on the burst to force his way through three tacklers for his first try of the season. Lobb converted to bring the score to 26-22 and the comeback was on.

Two off-loads up the middle led to Solomon Alaimalo scoring in the corner to level up the score – Lobb’s conversion put the Magpies ahead (28-26) for the first time since midway through the first half.

The Magpies rubber-stamped the win, when a tidy kick landed in the box and centre Declan Casey pounced on the ball.

Talking Points

- Both sides headed into this game win-less and occupying the bottom two places on the Ladder, which ensured a gritty and entertaining encounter

- Daejarn Asi was a standout in the match despite being on the losing side. He scored two tries and kicked three goals for a personal tally of 14 points

- There were two 40-20s which both led to tries in the next set. Matthew Arthur kicked one in the 42nd minute and Brent Naden in the 73rd

- Naden enjoyed a solid afternoon at fullback for the Magpies with his hard running and strong kicking game giving Parramatta plenty of problems. He set up two tries as he fights his way back from shoulder, wrist and ankle injuries.

Key Moment

Western Suburbs were looking down the barrel of a 26-16 loss but found their groove late in the game with Reuben Porter getting the ball down through a sea of defenders legs. His try set the Magpies in motion for their next two four-pointers which sealed the result.

What’s Next

In Round 5 of The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup the Parramatta Eels will travel to Canberra to play the Raiders, while the Western Suburbs Magpies will be away to take on the North Sydney Bears at home.