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

Warriors enjoy an eight-try romp over the Roosters

NSWRL

Match summary

Five first-half tries set up the Warriors' third straight victory in The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup with a convincing 46-12 win over the Sydney Roosters at Go Media Stadium in Auckland.

The halftime score of 28-0 then three quick Warriors tries to open the second half meant the Roosters were never really in the hunt. 

Five-eighth Te Maire Martin set the tone early with a double inside the opening 13 minutes. He collected a short pass from his halves partner Tanah Boyd for his first in the sixth minute, and then pushed past or swerved around three defenders in a 55-metre run to the try line for his second.

Add to that fullback Geronimo Doyle following his own kick through from 10 metres out to score, centre Morgan Harper chasing a Martin kick for points, and then a second long-range Warriors try when Rocco Berry intercepted a Jake Elliott kick to race 70 metres, and it made a mighty fine 40 minutes by the home team.

Boyd landed four from five conversions to set up the sizeable halftime lead.

The visitors had their chances. Lock Hayden Barton was held up in-goal, winger Tyreece Tait put his foot into touch as he planted the ball in the right corner, while left-side winger Tom Rodwell spilled a pass with the line open.

In the second half the Warriors extended their lead to 40-0 with two rapid-fire tries to forwards Kayliss Fatialofa and Kalani Going - both off Martin try assists with a short pass and then a favourable bounce from a cross-field kick. 

The Warriors eighth try to second-rower Eddie Ieremia-Toeava (46-0) had the home team thinking of reaching 50, but the Roosters finally had something to celebrate when winger Rodwell crossed in the left corner off a Billy Smith pass.

It had taken 67 minutes but Elliott's conversion from the sideline gave the visitors their first points. 

A bit of luck gave them their second try, when Smith had a clear run to the line after collecting a wayward pass from winger Harper trying to bat away a high ball to his teammates.

But the damage had been done with eight unanswered Warriors tries.

Talking points

• Te Maire Martin terrorised the Roosters' right-side defence early, scoring a double to take him to three tries in two games. He than added three try assists and three line-breaks to become a handful for the opposition all match.
• The Roosters defence has now conceded 84 points in two weeks after the 38-10 loss to Penrith in Round Two and today's result.
• Warriors No.7 Tanah Boyd sits temporarily on top of the point-scorers list for The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup in 2025 with 31 points after his seven conversions in Round Three.
• The Warriors attack is humming with 16 tries after the opening three rounds.

Key moment

The combination of three tries in seven minutes early in the second half, meant the Roosters' chance to stage a fightback was lost.

What's next?

The Warriors head to Campbelltown Stadium full of confidence to take on the Western Suburbs Magpies next Sunday (30 March), while Roosters coach Brett Morris must help his team regroup to meet the Raiders at Belconnen in Canberra on Saturday.

Newtown Jets v South Sydney Rabbitohs

Jets put on the after-burners with eight tries to two win

NSWRL

Match summary

Newtown Jets collected their third win on the trot with a 40-10 victory over South Sydney to start their premiership defence in The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup on a solid note.

Two Jets players scored doubles to drive home the dominance of Newtown at Sharks Stadium on Saturday - centre Michael Gabrael and winger Eli Clark.

The Jets also made nine line-breaks to two to further underline the point.

South Sydney were actually the first to post points, when a Riley Pollard pass was intercepted by Rabbitohs winger Max Lehmann in the seventh minute. He then raced 90 metres to score after pushing off Jets fullback Mawene Hiroti.

But the reply from the Jets was swift.

Gabrael scored in the 11th minute followed by Clark in the 16th, Hohepa Puru in the 22nd off a Jayden Berrell grubber, then Gabrael again just seconds from halftime.

Newtown's 20-4 lead off the back of four tries looked comfortable enough. 

Clark scoring his second two minutes after the break pushed the comfort zone out a little further to 22 points (26-4).

When Jets prop Brad Fearnely was placed 'on report' for a high tackle on five-eighth Ashton Ward the home side did look a little off-kilter for the first time.

Souths then scored their second try through utility Daniel O'Donnell sneaking over from dummy-half. 

But any comeback was snuffed out when Chris Vea'ila put his winger Kristian Dixon over in the right corner before scoring himself with a rehearsed play off the back off a scrum.

Hiroti, who missed two conversions early, finally got on the scoreboard when he scored the Jets eighth try two minutes from full-time.

Last weekend's field goal hero Niwhai Puru landed two sideline conversions among his three goals for the afternoon.  

Talking points

• Lock Hohepa Puru scores his first NSW Cup try in Newtown colours after transferring from the Canberra Raiders for 2025 to join his twin brother, Niwhai
• Billy Burns had two try assists and three line-break assists in a damaging afternoon in the back row.
• Souths fullback Terrell Kalo Kalo failed a HIA and didn't return for the second half with centre Fletcher Myers moving to No.1.
• Cronulla-Sutherland's Jersey Flegg Cup captain in 2024 Sam McCulloch made his NSW Cup debut playing 25 minutes off the bench for the Jets.

Key moment

Souths got a little wind in their sails when utility Daniel O'Donnell scored in the 50th minute. But Jets centre Chris Vea'ila sent a sublime flick pass for his winger Kristian Dixon to score in the 65th and then scored himself six minutes later to put the victory beyond doubt. 

What's next?

The Jets are home at Henson Park against Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs next Saturday, while the Rabbitohs host Penrith Panthers at Redfern Oval the same day.

Western Suburbs Magpies v North Sydney Bears

Match summary 

Anthony Eltarraf

Four-try Hope Leads Magpies to Stunning Comeback Victory

The Western Suburbs Magpies produced a remarkable comeback to secure their first victory of The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup season, overturning a 20-point deficit to defeat the North Sydney Bears 32-24 in an exhilarating contest at Lidcombe Oval.

Both teams entered the clash in search of their first win of the season, and the opening exchanges reflected that desperation, with scrappy play dominating the early proceedings. However, it was the Magpies who struck first through a right side shift that saw Solomona Faataape dummy and go over untouched for a 4-0 lead.

North Sydney found their response through the powerful running of Ben Talty, who stormed through the middle to score. Harradyn Wilson’s conversion put the visitors ahead 6-4.

The Magpies’ lack of discipline later hurt them, with Heath Mason sin-binned after repeated warnings for dissent. The Bears capitalised immediately, as Ofahiki Ogden muscled his way over to extend their lead. Another successful conversion saw the Bears take a 12-4 advantage into halftime.

The visitors carried their momentum into the second half, exploiting their numerical advantage as Sean Vaivelata dived over beneath the posts just two minutes after the restart.

Harradyn Wilson’s pinpoint grubber was then pounced on by Matt Stimson, extending North Sydney’s lead to 24-4 with half an hour remaining.

In need of inspiration, the Magpies found their catalyst in hooker Tristan Hope, whose show and go fooled the opposition defence, reaching over to score between the posts. The hosts looked like a different team after, marching down the field before a deft grubber by Max Liles found Josh Feledy who brought his side within ten points.

Hope was far from finished. With ten minutes remaining, he again burrowed over from dummy half to bring the Magpies within striking distance.

Just minutes later, he completed his hat-trick in almost identical fashion, levelling the scores, before Lobb converted again to give his side the lead with five minutes to go.

The Magpies’ elusive dummy half struck for the fourth time, replicating his previous efforts to slice through a fatigued Bears defensive line and plant the ball beside the posts, sealing an extraordinary 32-24 comeback victory.

Talking points

• Tristan Hope pulled off an amazing late display, taking the game into his own hands, scoring an amazing four tries to lead his side to a stunning comeback victory.
• Heath Mason’s move from five-eighth to fullback following the inclusion of Max Liles allowed the young star to play his natural game, dominating at the back end of the game and giving his side momentum in attack.
• The Bears found success driving straight through the middle of the Magpies in attack, however looked too tired through the middle defensively late in the game.

Key moment

Tristan Hope’s third try levelled the contest and capped the Magpies’ incredible 20-point comeback. His sharp footwork and deceptive dummy caught the Bears’ defence off guard, allowing him to dive over beside the posts before Alex Lobb put his side in front by two.

What’s next?

The Magpies will look to build on this remarkable victory when they host the New Zealand Warriors at Campbelltown Stadium, while the Bears continue their search for a first victory when they travel to Kogarah to face St George Illawarra.

Newcastle Knights v Penrith Panthers

Match summary 

Mason Cernoy

Schneider steers Penrith to gritty win

It was a windy afternoon at Raymond Terrace, which posed a challenge to all the playmakers on the field, who had to endure a half of kicking into the wind. This resulted in a match with both sides spending extended periods stuck inside their own end, and the aim of the game being who can absorb the most pressure.

Penrith were running into the wind in the first half, but despite this they managed to open the scoring early through Jaxon Edgar after receiving back to back penalties off the first set of the game.

It didn’t take long for the Knights to get into attacking territory however, when the Panthers couldn’t handle the kick-off following points resulting in a dropout.

Brad Schneider’s yardage kicks were heavily affected by the wind and the Panthers were struggling to escape their end of the field, and when Jackson Hastings forced another Penrith drop out the pressure continued to build.

This set saw Newcastle cross for their first after Tyrone Thompson doubled down on a scoot from Jacob Davis to give his side a 6-4 lead 13 minutes

After spending four sets attacking their line, they finally had their breakthrough when David Fale found some open space and found Mavrik Geyer in support who crossed and brought scores out to 10-6 just on half time.

In the final set of the half, Penrith decided to run it on last in pursuit of another four pointer, but Schnieder’s pass was picked off by Taj Annan who raced away to steal the lead and send his side into the sheds up 12-10 at halftime.

As the second half began the effects of the wind became much more apparent as Schneider’s kicks began to cover far more distance. Upon returning his first of the half, Wilson De Coursey made an error whilst playing the ball which proved costly when Schneider took the line on and crashed over to ice Penrith’s first attacking set after halftime.

As the game continued, it was now the Knights who had to deal with the breeze, which was tapering Hasting’s kicking game significantly. As a result, Newcastle spent a large portion of the half defending their line, and were struggling for territory.

Their defence held strong for a while until they made the strange decision of running on last after finally getting out of their 40. In the set that followed, Penrith chalked up their fourth try of the match when the halves combined on a left side shift out to Fale, who created just enough space for Asu Kepaoa to tiptoe down the sideline and extend his side’s lead to eight.

In the final 5 minutes of the match, Schneider forced a dropout that made Newcastle’s job seem too far from reach, and officially put the game to bed moments later when he sliced through untouched for his second try of the game.

Key moment

Following Latoi’s knock on, the Knights had a really good opportunity to score a try to get themselves back to a two point deficit with 15 minutes to play, but no matter what they threw at Penrith their goal line defence held strong, and showing some resilience in this period of the game made Newcastle’s chances of winning dwindle heavily.

Talking points

• Brad Schneider had a mixed first half, struggling with the wind and throwing an intercept that resulted in a try on halftime, but was the best on the field by far and showed lots of character in a match that was tough for all of the playmakers and lead his side to victory, forcing three dropouts and scoring two tries.
• Tyrone Thompson had lots of impact and bent the line on multiple occasions, offering plenty of go forward and opening the scoring for the Knights. They were a different side when he was off of the field.
• David Fale played well, setting up two tries and always looking dangerous when he found space.

What’s next?

The Newcastle Knights have the bye next week, and the Penrith Panthers will make their way out to Redfern Oval to take on the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

Parramatta Eels v Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs

Eels too slippery for fast-finishing Bulldogs

Stewart Moses

Match summary 

Parramatta Eels maintain their unbeaten start to The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup season with a 23-16 win over Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, played in greasy conditions at CommBank Stadium.

The Eels' win was built on a strong first-half performance that saw the home side lead 12-0 at the break and 18-0 early in the second half.

But the Bulldogs showed great tenacity in getting back into the game, trailing 22-16 late in the second half before a Ronald Volkman field goal in the dying minutes finally put the win out of reach.

With the game played in wet and slippery conditions early on, both sides struggled to acclimatise. But it was the Eels who broke the deadlock after 26 minutes when fullback Joash Papalii cut back inside with a right foot step to evade defenders and score next to the posts against his former side (6-0).

The Eels doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time when hooker Brendan Hands' kick from dummy half deflected into the in-goal and interchange forward Saxon Pryke was first on hand to ground the loose ball.

Ill discipline from the Bulldogs in the opening set of the second half was duly punished when the Eels scored in the 42nd minute through Papalii turning provider - this time making the line-break from 25m out before providing the perfect pass for his winger Sean Russell to cross over in the south-east corner (18-0).

However an error from the kick-off from the Eels enabled the Bulldogs to finally open their account, when a quick shift right created the numbers for winger Jonathan Sua to score in the north-east corner to trail 18-6 following the successful sideline conversion from fullback Blake Taaffe.

Another Bulldogs error was the catalyst for the Eels to again extend their lead beyond two converted tries, when a quick shift right deep inside the Bulldogs 20-metre zone resulted in centre Bailey Simonssen providing a late off-load for his winger Haze Dunster to dive over from close range (22-6).

A long-range line-break from centre Danny Gabrael allowed the Bulldogs to score from the next play in the 65th minute, when quick hands allowed halfback Cassius Tia to provide a deft pass for interchange forward Fahmy Toilalo to storm through a yawning gap. The gap was reduced to 12 (22-10).

The Bulldogs were right back in the game when a last tackle penalty inside the Eels 20-metre line was duly capitalised upon, with Tia slicing through to put the visitors to within a converted try, with nine minutes remaining.

However, the Bulldogs late comeback was quashed with key errors providing the Eels with the opportunity to score one last time, which they did in the 77th minute when Volkman nailed a simple field goal attempt from 15 metres out, right in front.

Talking points

• Plenty of players enjoyed high-quality games with the Eels best being Volkman, Hands, Dunster, Simonssen, Charlie Guymer and Russell, while the Bulldogs had the likes of Taaffe, Drew Hutchinson, Tom Amone and Zyon Maiu'u.
• Former Bulldogs Joash Papalii and Kelma Tuilagi played big roles against their old club to get the Eels win
• Bulldogs centre Luke Smith was placed on report for a high tackle midway through the first half

Key moment

Volkman was dropped from the  Eels NRL side but provided the one-point field goal to put any ideas of a last-gasp try by the Bulldogs to bed. 

What's next?

The Bulldogs having suffered two early season losses will be looking to regroup when they head to Henson Park next Saturday to take on the defending premiers, the Newtown Jets, while next Sunday the Eels will be looking for three wins in a row when they travel to 4 Pines Park to face Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles v Canberra Raiders

Manly Warringah clinch first win of the season in resilient fashion

George Alakiki

Match summary

The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles pulled off a thrilling late comeback to score their first win of the 2025 season in Round Three of The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup, downing the Canberra Raiders at home 28-26.

Canberra struck early in the third minute when Manly fullback Charlie Thompson dropped a last-tackle kick on his 10-metre line, landing in the hands of opposition halfback Ethan Sanders to put late inclusion Jed Stuart away in the corner (6-0).

A strategic one-on-one strip by Danny Levi in his own half on Sea Eagles centre Jordan Swann put the Raiders back on the attack minutes later, this time swinging left to allow their other winger Michael Asomua to go over untouched, keeping up with the clock at 10-0.

Manly’s woes continued even on the attack, which quickly shifted to defence when a last-tackle kick by halfback and captain Jake Arthur landed with Chevy Stewart, who beat four before offloading to centre Manaia Waitere who ran away to score make it a 16-point lead. 

But the Sea Eagles clawed their way into the game off the back of an Asomua drop from Brandon Wakeham’s bomb, giving them a fresh set inside Canberra’s red zone. They finally found their way through the Green Machine right under the sticks as prop Toafofoa Sipley barged his way over (16-6).

Manly halfback Arthur finally took control of the game late in the first half, swinging across to the left side of the field after to produce a perfectly lobbed pass over two of Canberra’s edge defenders to put Raymond Tuaimalo Vaega over, making it a six-point game going into halftime (16-10).

Arthur took off in the second half where he left off in the first, putting up a pinpoint kick for high-flying winger Navren Willet who snatched the ball out of the air to bring the Sea Eagles within two points (16-14).

Arthur was at it immediately after with a looping pass to Willet who ran almost the length of the field, reconnecting with his halfback who went desperately close to scoring. 

They wouldn’t be denied for long as deja vu hit the Raiders when the winger leapt through the air to put his team ahead for the first time in the game, this time the kick coming from five-eight Brandon Wakeham (20-16).

Canberra hit straight back and stretched the margin back to six with some classy footwork and powerful speed from fullback Stewart, and then once more through Asomua in the corner, but Manly weren’t finished yet.

The home team found yet another equaliser with four minutes to play when Arthur dodged a rushing defender to lob a pass putting Vaega away (26-26), before a costly Manly penalty on Canberra’s 30-metre line in the ensuing set allowed Wakeham to calmly slot home the penalty and get the win for his side with less than a minute on the clock (28-26).

Talking points

• Ethan Sanders controlled the game early, while quick movements out of ruck by Levi tired Manlydefenders through the middle, but they went quiet as the game went on.
• The home side showed grit to get back into the contest with improved possession of the ball and good field position but lost the ball often when mounting a serious attack. They’ll need to be more clinical in those moments to beat teams more consistently.
• Manly’s hooker on debut Zaidas Muagututia had limited minutes off the bench, but proved an injection of fresh pace with serious potential as he helped speed up the ruck and subsequent attack from the Sea Eagles side. 

Key moment

Canberra had their chances to kill off the game with three early chances in the second half, but couldn’t capitalise. From there Manly’s defence inspired their attack, in particular through the Jake Arthur. The captain took control and dominated the rest of the game whether by boot or through the hands. He assisted three of Manly’s five tries. 

What’s next?

The Raiders head home to Canberra to take on the Roosters to try and open their 2025 account, while the Sea Eagles will look to maintain their home field advantage when they host the Parramatta Eels in seven days' time.