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

Bears claw back against Red V for first season win

George Alakiki

Match summary

The North Sydney Bears are finally up and running in 2025 for The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup with their first win coming at the expense of the St George Illawarra Dragons at a wet Jubilee Stadium, 28-24.

St George Illawarra had a dream start when they marched all the way down the field with their first possession to release a lethal overlapping left edge attack. which sent centre Nathan Lawson over for his first NSW Cup try (4-0).

The ‘Red V’ were at it again in a similar play which this time saw Lawson tap the ball on to his winger Sione Finau for a try in his 40th NSW Cup appearance. Halfback Jonah Glover this time converted from his second attempt on the sideline to make it a quick 10-0 lead.

The Bears bit back at their first opportunity, also going to their left when late inclusion Jonah Pezet produced a pin-point looping pass above the opposition defence to winger Matt Komalafe (10-4).

St George piled on the pressure through their forwards, taking up residence inside the Bears 20m zone before Sione Finau made it a double in yet another similar training-drill type play (14-4).

Bears half Harrydin Wilson teed up centre Compton Fuatimau who straightened with a right foot step to break the line for his first NSW Cup try, before the Dragons near flawless middle pack collapsed with just over a minute to play. Sean Vaivelata marched through four men to push his way over under the sticks to give the Bears the lead for the first time (16-14).

The rain became heavier in the second half as both teams each took turns with the lead.

The Bears were first victims, coughing up the ball in their own half early to the Dragons who stretched the North Sydney defence either side before putting winger Hayden Buchannan over. It was then the Bears turn as debut hooker Trey Brown placed a short ball perfectly on the chest of Ben Talty for the crash play (24-18).

St George returned once more to their favoured left edge as five-eighth Lyhkan King-Togia sent Raymond Faitala-Mariner over untouched with a deceiving short ball to lock up the scores before the Bears again put their noses in front through Komolafe’s second of the day (28-24).

A couple of last-ditch attempts by the Dragons to crack the Bears quickly evaporated in the rain as the Bears held on for their first win of the season.

Talking points 

• It was a game of great left-side attack and poor right edge defence for both teams. Six of the afternoon’s 10 tries came down the same channels.
• The Dragons were dominant early through the middle, making the hard yards up the pitch and also pinning the Bears down to minimise their metres, but as the game wore on they slowly diminished.
• The freshly re-signed Ben Talty was immense for the Bears. He built off the team's 81 per cent completion rate in the rain to contribute 15 carries, 116 run metres, three tackle breaks and a try.
• Dragons five-eighth Lyhkan King-Togia had a field day terrorising the Bears with four try-assists. All the right passes to put his team over the try line and his vision will be crucial as the Dragons look to keep up a promising start to the season. 

Key moment

Winger Matt Komolofe produced the match winning defensive highlight when he ran across the field to the opposing wing inside the last few minutes to dive on a grubber which would have seen King-Togia score.

What’s next?

The Bears will look to build on the moment of their first win when they take on the Penrith Panthers next Saturday, while the Dragons will challenge a strong Parramatta Eels outfit away at Commbank Stadium.

Newtown Jets v Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 

Jets soar to comeback win over Bulldogs

Claire Stegbauer

Match summary

The Newtown Jets staged a remarkable second-half comeback to defeat the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 28-18 in a thrilling contest at Henson Park.

Canterbury dominated and came out firing, striking within two minutes as Luke Smith split the defence and backed himself to score. Blake Taaffe added the extras for a 6-0 lead.

Moments later, luck was on the Bulldogs’ side when Josh Hutchinson’s boot found a perfect bounce for a 40/20, putting them in a prime attacking position.

Sensing a defensive mismatch, the Bulldogs exploited the Jets' left edge, allowing Cooper Toy to dive over untouched. Taaffe’s conversion made it 12-0.

Newtown’s first attacking opportunity came after a desperate scramble defence, but back-to-back penalties saw them back on their own line. The Bulldogs nearly extended their lead but lost control of the ball over the try line. Another penalty and a break from Smith put the visitors in attacking range, forcing a goal-line dropout. Winger Jethro Rinakama soon capitalised, crossing on the left edge for an 18-0 advantage following Taaffe’s third conversion.

With momentum against them, Newtown needed a spark. A high tackle penalty and repeat infringements finally gave them field position. Canterbury’s discipline crumbled as captain Josh Hutchinson was sent to the sin bin for repeated offside penalties. The extra-man advantage and loss of captaincy paid off when Riley Pollard’s pinpoint kick found Kristian Dixon in the right corner on the half-time buzzer. Niwhai Puru’s conversion reduced the deficit to 18-6.

The Jets carried that momentum into the second half. An early break put them on the front foot, and sustained pressure forced a Bulldogs handling error. On the very last play before Hutchinson returned, Michael Gabrael crashed over on the left edge. Another successful conversion from Puru closed the gap to 18-12.

With their captain back, the Bulldogs steadied but Newtown controlled the arm-wrestle, camping inside Canterbury’s 40-metre zone with repeated attacking sets. Niwhai Puru orchestrated the equaliser, threading Bradley Fearnley through a gap to score under the posts. Puru converted, leveling the game at 18-18 with 30 minutes remaining.

The Jets wasted no time taking the lead, capitalising on a Bulldogs knock-on for back-to-back tries. Hohepa Puru powered over, set up by his brother Niwhai giving Newtown their first lead of the match. The simple conversion pushed them ahead 24-18.

With fresh legs off the bench, the Jets found their rhythm. Gabrael completed his double soon after, extending the lead to 28-18, though Niwhai Puru’s conversion attempt was his first miss of the match.

With six minutes left, the Bulldogs desperately searched for six points. A penalty gave them a late attacking chance, but they struggled to find space. As tensions rose, a last-minute line break nearly sparked a Bulldogs miracle, but Newtown’s defence held firm to complete an incredible comeback victory at home.

The game was one of halves with bulldogs winning the first half by miles after securing over nine penalties in 30 minutes

Captain of the Jets Billy Burns stated in a post-match interview, “Doggies came out nice and hard, they startled us there, but we found our groove our bench came on and certainly made an impact.

“We spoke a bit about our discipline; we had about 9 penalties in the first half, when we cleared that up and got the footy back we knew we would could come over the top.”

Talking points

• The Jets now sit at the top of the ladder after securing their fourth consecutive win, with their sights set on a back-to-back premiership as they continue to build momentum.
• Michael Gabrael’s crucial double, including a try that helped spark the comeback was instrumental in the Jets’ second-half turnaround and ultimate victory.

Key moment

The key moment of the match came when the Bulldogs' captain, Drew Hutchinson was sent to the sin bin. This gave the Jets a crucial one-man advantage, which they capitalised on immediately. With the momentum shifting, Newtown’s attack found their rhythm and just before half-time, Kristian Dixon crossed the line in the right corner off a perfect kick from Riley Pollard, who also had a stand-out game.

What's next?

The Jets will head to Canberra to take on the Raiders in their next match. With their recent win putting them at the top of the ladder.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs will face the Knights at Allianz Stadium in a crucial middle-of-the-ladder battle. Both teams will be aiming to gain ground and improve their standings as the season progresses.

South Sydney Rabbitohs v Penrith Panthers 

Panthers hold on despite spirited Souths comeback

Stewart Moses

Match summary 

The Penrith Panthers have held off a fast-finishing effort from the South Sydney Rabbitohs to record their third win in succession, 26-22 this afternoon at a rain-soaked Redfern Oval.

The Panthers, having dominated the first half to lead 16-6, before extending that lead to 20-6 early were forced to withstand a second half comeback from the Rabbitohs that saw the hosts at one point trail 20-18.

A Matt Eisenhuth try with ten minutes to go gave the Panthers some breathing space at 26-18 but when Ashton Ward scored with a minute remaining to reduce the gap to four, it took David Fale’s kick smother on the last play of the game to finally secure the two competition points for the visitors. 

But it would be Penrith who off an early Souths error inside their own half, scored first through Blaize Talagi, with the five-eighth crashing over from close range to score out wide, missing his own conversion attempt to have the visitors up 4-0 after five minutes of play.

However, a Penrith error in the following set inside their own half invited Souths to hit back straight away when half Lewis Dodd put through a deft kick at the try-line for his fullback, Fletcher Myers to come through and regather to score and with five-eighth Ashton Ward’s successful conversion, the home side led 6-4 after 10 minutes.

Penrith would soon regain the lead when a cross-field kick inside the Souths 20 was unable to fielded by the Rabbitohs and back-rower Harry Hassett was on the spot to swoop on the loose ball to score out wide and with Talagi’s conversion, the Panthers led 10-6 after just 14 minutes of play.

A Lewis Dodd kick charge down when in good attacking position was regathered by Penrith  allowing the visitors to go 80 metres in two plays to score.  A quick play the ball enabling winger Jesse McLean to make a long line break straight up the middle of Redfern Oval being tackled 20m out with fullback Jaxson Edgar unmarked in support. But the missed opportunity didn’t matter as a quick shift left where Penrith had all the numbers, allowed winger Asu Kapaoa to score next to the posts to extend the visitors lead out to 16-6 after 24 minutes.

Back-to-back penalties late in the half, put Souths on attack inside Penrith’s 20 but again another error when in good attacking position let Penrith off the hook and head into half-time leading 16-6.

Panthers were back on attack 20m out with hooker Luke Sommerton able to get a sublime pass away to Mavrik Geyer, as he was falling to the ground, who shifted left to Hassett, who found David Fale in support and the centre acrobatically put the ball over in the north-west corner to evade the cover defence and extend the lead out to 20-6 after 50 minutes.

An error from the kick-off compounded by penalty conceded inside their own 20, allowed the Rabbitohs to quickly hit back with a try to centre Carson Kaho, who was on hand to ground Dane O’Donnell’s deft grubber kick from close range and with Ward converting from out wide, the home side suddenly trailed 20-12 after 55 minutes. 

The Rabbitohs made it back-to-back tries when an offload from Jaxson Edgar to support backfired badly for Penrith, with centre Talanoa Penitani stripping the ball and finding an unmarked winger, Dane Towns to score next to the posts to reduce the gap to 20-18.

An error from Souths put Penrith on attack, and they once again capitalised when a Billy Scott kick from dummy half allowed Matt Eisenhuth to pounce on the kick to score behind the posts and with Talagi’s simple conversion, the visitors once again enjoyed a handy 26-18 lead with 10 minutes remaining.

But a penalty enabled Souths to once again bridge the gap to within four and set up a thrilling last minute of play, when Ward produced a fine individual effort to score next to the posts from close range in the 79th minute.

But despite Souths best endeavours to score on the last play of the game, Fale’s smother of a kick ahead enabled the Panthers to hang on for an important 26-22 win.

Talking points

• Penrith came into the match in fifth but their third win in succession over the 12th placed Rabbitohs sees the Panthers move up into third on for and against. 
• Some concern for Penrith in the days ahead will be whether Samuel Lane is charged by the match review committee having been placed on report in the first half. 
• Similar concerns for Souths with Talanoa Penitana placed on report midway through the second half.
• Penrith had some key ins and outs for this game with Blaize Talagi and Matt Eisenhuth in for Brad Schneider (NRL) Preston Riki (suspended) respectively.

Key moment

Asu Kepaoa looked certain to score his second try of the afternoon early in the second half only to be bundled into touch in the north-west corner by some desperate Souths cover defence. 

But that same Souths cover defence couldn’t prevent David Fale from scoring in the same spot minutes with the centre producing some spectacular acrobatics to put the ball down and give Penrith just enough of a cushion to starve off the Rabbitohs comeback later in the half.

 What’s next?

The Panthers return home to Parker St Reserve next Saturday where they will host the improving North Sydney Bears, who themselves are coming off a gutsy win over the Dragons. 

Souths will be looking to regroup when they again play at Redfern Oval, this time against traditional foes, the Sydney Roosters next Sunday.

Canberra Raiders v Sydney Roosters 

Roosters hold off Raiders in a waterlogged Canberra

Tahlie Gavin

Match summary

The Sydney Roosters have left the Raiders winless in the nation’s capital after scoring a try in the final five minutes to secure a 34-26 win at Raiders Belconnen. 

A close first half saw the Raiders jump to an early lead before the Roosters found their feet in the wet conditions to take an 18-16 lead at half-time. A back-and-forth second half ended when the Roosters produced a 76th minute try to cement the win.

The Raiders started strongly finding the first points of the afternoon just six minutes into the game on the back of a loose ball from Roosters winger Tom Rodwell. A pass from dummy-half from Raiders skipper Danny Levi saw newly-signed Raiders lock Myles Martin barge his way over the try line. Ethan Sanders successfully converted, taking the Raiders to an early six-point lead.

The Raiders found themselves attacking within close range just six minutes later with hooker Danny Levi setting up Raiders’ Pasami Saulo, who dragged the defence over the line with him to score their second try of the afternoon. Sanders converted again to extend the lead to 12-0.

A line break from Sydney Roosters second-rower Hayden Barton put them in great field position to answer back. With one tackle left in the set, the ball made its way to fullback Ethan King, who used impressive footwork in slippery conditions to get the ball over the line. Minutes later, the Roosters levelled the score after five-eighth Jake Elliot, found the line off the back of a late offload from prop Makahesi Makatoa. Hugo Savala converted both tries to level the scores at 12-all.

As the Roosters controlled possession, they managed to shift the momentum of the game through a game changing to centre Billy Smith. Smith led the chase off a Savala grubber kick close to the line before grounding the ball in-goal. A successful conversion saw the Roosters take the lead.

The Raiders weren’t done with yet, finding one last try before half-time through winger Michael Asomua who very narrowly got the ball over the line before being taken over the sideline. A missed conversion from Chevy Stewart saw the Roosters take a slender 18-16 lead into the break.

The Raiders were quick to snatch back the lead after an attacking raid caught the Roosters defence off-guard. Ethan Alaia found his second-rower Noah Martin on the wing who slipped a quick pass for Albert Hopoate who scored. A successful conversion by Stewart saw the Raiders leading again 22-18.

Back-to-back tries from Rodwell saw the Roosters hit back and take a 30-22 lead before a brilliant solo try from Stewart reduced the deficit to 30-26 with 16 minutes left on the clock.

With four-minutes remaining in the game, the Roosters sealed the win when winger Ben Johnson found his way over the line.

Talking points 

• Raiders new recruit Ethan Sanders was removed from the field 15-minutes before half-time for a HIA and did not return.
• Roosters Aholoka Tioa was also taken from the field due to a HIA during the second half.
• Roosters winger Tom Rodwell’s double sees him with five tries in the opening four games of The Knock-On NSW Effect Cup. 
   

Key moments

Goal kicking proved to be the difference both teams scoring five tries apiece. Roosters’ Hugo Savala landed his first five shots at goals while the Raiders could only manage three.

What’s next?

The Canberra Raiders will look for their first win of the season as they take on premiers, Newtown Jets, in Canberra next Saturday. The Sydney Roosters head to Redfern Oval hoping to extend their winning streak as they take on the South Sydney Rabbitohs on Sunday.

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles v Parramatta Eels 

Manly Warringah secure strong win for home faithful

Mason Cernoy

Match summary

Two old rivals faced off in a classic contest in Round Four at 4 Pines Park, where Parramatta Eels had the upper hand early but weren’t able to hold off Manly Warringah Sea Eagles once they got a roll on.

Parramatta didn’t waste time getting things going, executing their first opportunity in the fourth minute when Arthur Miller-Stephen polished off a shift to the right edge.

Manly spent a bit of time down the other end in the opening 20 minutes but Parramatta were dominating the field position for most of the early stages. They were unfortunately unable to add to the scoreboard and it was only a matter of time for Manly to strike back.

It took a towering bomb from Brandon Wakeham and a busy contest to break the Eels’ defence, where Caleb Navale was able to pick up the scraps and streak away to level things up in the 28th minute. This completely flipped the momentum the Eels were building, as Aaron Schoupp and Navren Willett crossed for tries in the following 10 minutes.

Just as it seemed Manly had taken full control of the game, a failed intercept attempt from Aaron Schoupp gave Parramatta one more attacking set before half-time, where the spine combined to lay on a near identical try for Miller-Stephen in what was the last play of the half, trimming their half-time deficit to eight points.

Finding themselves back on the attack early in the second half, the Sea Eagles were quick to make amends for the try they leaked on half-time when Navren Willet crossed for his second off the back of some quick hands from Jake Arthur and Schoupp.

When Broden Konz crossed just three minutes later it looked like it was destined to get ugly for Parramatta, but they fought their way back when Felix Niutili-Schmidt steamed onto a short ball from Josh Lynn to keep them in the fight.

Navren Willett found himself playing fullback later on in the contest after Clayton Faulalo was forced up the tunnel due to injury, and slid a lovely face ball to Raymond Tuaimalo Vaega who crashed over for Manly’s sixth try of the afternoon. Manly were well and truly in control of the match once again and didn’t concede anymore points until Lynn and Niutili-Schmidt combined for another try in the 73rd minute, which proved too little too late.

Talking points

• Caleb Navale was extremely impressive, always looking dominant in contact. He also picked up Manly’s first try of the afternoon and shut down Joash Papalii, who looked set to score out wide, with a bone rattling shot that forced an error.
• Parramatta successfully executed the exact play for two tries, with the Papalii-Miller-Stephen combination in the first half and the Lynn-Niutili-Schmidt combination in the second.
• Jake Arthur played his role well and steered the side around with his strong kicking game.

Key moment

The key moment in this match was Caleb Navale’s first try, which really got the ball rolling for Manly and allowed them to score three tries in less than 10 minutes. This really swung the momentum in their favour, as they had spent most of the first half on the back foot. It was an effort play from Navale who was the only one poised to clean up after a busy bomb contest, but it kicked the Sea Eagles into gear and they never forfeited their lead after getting ahead shortly after.

What’s next?

The Eels will return home to face the St George Illawarra Dragons next Saturday, and the Sea Eagles host Western Suburbs Magpies next Sunday.

Western Suburbs Magpies v Warriors 

Warriors set fire to jungle with valiant victory over Magpies

Ellery Behan

Match summary

The Warriors have climbed to the top of The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup ladder with a dominant 34-20 triumph over the Western Suburbs Magpies at Campbelltown Sports Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The visitors got off to a hot start, breezing downfield off the back of a six-again and forcing a Magpies drop-out. Wests opted for a short kick which found the turf and bounced into the path of Luke Hanson who tiptoed down the sideline and found Sio Kali on his inside to open the Warriors’ account. Tanah Boyd added the extras for a 6-0 advantage.

The black and white found themselves pressing the Warriors’ line once again, and with seemingly no space to work with, five-eighth Max Lilies grubbered between two defenders and chased his own kick, regathering the ball just in time to step off his right foot and beat the fullback to reduce the Warriors’ lead to two.

Finding themselves back at the northern end after the Warriors’ kick-off sailed over the dead-ball line, the home side found their first lead of the game as halfback Kurt Falls placed a dangerous chip towards the in-goal that was fielded and planted down by a flying Izaac Tu’itupou.

But it wasn’t long before the Warriors got their noses in front once more, as Heath Mason came off second best to a towering spiral bomb from Tanah Boyd and 20-year-old Kayliss Fatialofa cleaned up the scraps to cruise over the line. Boyd converted from in front to put his side ahead 12-8.

An error from the Magpies put the visitors back on the attack just moments later, and it was Boyd again who crafted the points for his side as the trusty No.7 executed a swift right-side move with a stunning cut-out pass to put Daeon Amituanai over untouched in the corner.

Flying out of the blocks in the second half, the Magpies started chipping away at the deficit as Tristan Hope scooted out of dummy-half and sent a barnstorming Charlie Murray through the defensive line and over the stripe. Alex Lobb converted from beside the posts to make it 22-14.

Following a 15-minute period of gritty, physical play through the middle, the visitors got the scoreboard ticking over again as Kalani Going played an unsuspected short ball to Tanner Stowers-Smith who exploded through the defensive line for his side’s sixth try of the afternoon. Boyd converted from in front to put the Warriors 28-14 ahead.

The dynamic duo linked up for another four-pointer shortly after, as Going played his line-running partner in crime Stowers-Smith through a gaping hole in the Magpies’ line to score and Boyd converted yet again for a 20-point buffer.

In the dying moments of the clash, Tristan Hope played a classy short ball to Vaka Aho who crashed over for a Magpies consolation try, but the Warriors triumphed in an impressive 34-20 win.

Talking points

• The Warriors continue their unbeaten start to the 2025 campaign and find themselves in pole position on the ladder.
• Tanah Boyd had a man-of-the-match performance, calling all the shots for the Warriors as he directed them to an impressive victory.
• Warriors front-rower Tanner Stowers-Smith ran off a short ball from Kalani Going to score in the 58^th minute, and the pair recreated the exact same try just six minutes later to pile on the points.

Key moment

The Magpies hit their first lead of the afternoon in the 26^th minute with a try to Izaac Tu’itupou which preceded a physical scuffle in the in-goal that saw both sides lose a player to the sin bin. Steered around the park by their veteran halfback Tanah Boyd, the Warriors capitalised on the open space as they piled on three tries before half-time, all of which were spearheaded by the experienced No.7. Forcing an error off a spiral bomb, finding his teammates off chip kicks and executing perfect cut-out balls, Boyd took the opportunity to put the Magpies to the sword.

What’s next?

The Warriors have a well-deserved rest with the bye next week, and the Magpies will travel to 4 Pines Park on Sunday afternoon to take on a Manly Warringah Sea Eagles outfit who are looking to build some momentum off the back of their win over Parramatta Eels.