Grand final day at Leichhardt Oval had it all.
Famous surnames, half-field tries, thrilling finishes. You name it, the NSWRL’s premier day for the juniors had it.
The day started with an extra-time thriller and finished with a team extending their record run, with a little bit of history in the middle.
Here’s a recap of the junior representative grand final day.
Harold Matthews
The Newcastle Knights found themselves down by four points with less than a minute to play and Manly in possession.
After Manly dropped the ball and Newcastle quickly formed a scrum, they had one last chance to win the game, or send it to extra time at worst.
They got themselves into a decent position, and with the final play of the game, Newcastle went wide, and came up trumps with Patrick Achurch crossing on the touchline of the famous hill.
As the crowd, officials and 34 players that gave it their all watched on, Max Buderus was unsuccessful in his conversion attempt.
Onto extra time we went, where Manly couldn’t contain the ball at a vital stage, gifting possession to Newcastle, who took full advantage with man of the match Jaron Purcell powering his way over the line from close range, giving the Knights an unbeaten season.
Newcastle Knights 26 (Tries: Riley Meyn 2, Christian Ma’anaima, Maile-J Townsend, Jaron Purcell, Goals: Max Buderus 3) defeated Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 20 (Tries: Keegan Turner, Filimaua Filimaua-Tau, Josh Schuster, Albert Hopoate, Goals: Daniel Ala 2)
Tarsha Gale Cup
Women’s rugby league is on the incline, and the Tarsha Gale Cup will provide a pathway for women to play at a higher level for years to come.
Today’s game was a showcase of why this competition was introduced.
Both Penrith and Canterbury played with passion, flair and neither was willing to give an inch.
Canterbury held the lead late in the second quarter, before Penrith staged a game-winning run, scoring 14 unanswered points to wrestle the momentum away from their rivals.
Even when the score was out of their reach at 26-14 with under a minute to play, the Bulldogs kept fighting, and crossed the line with the final play of the game through Grace Li.
Ashlee Harrison was dominant in the 26-18 victory, as she has been during the Panthers three previous finals games, and was given player of the match honours. Yes, they finished in fifth and came out on top in each sudden-death game.
The scene from my vantage point of a limping Cassie Ormsby, with her knee iced up, walking over to her family with the trophy in hand, was worth the price of admission alone.
Penrith Panthers 26 (Tries: Ashlee Harrison 2, Jaime-Lee Davies, Cheryl Varga, Nikita Katoa, Goals: Cheryl Varga 2, Ashlee Harrison 1) defeated Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 18 (Tries: Taalefili Saufoi, Haneen Zreika, Alafou Fatu, Grace Li, Goals: Haneen Zreika 1)
SG Ball
Parramatta came into this game with a record 11 SG Ball Cup trophies, and they added a further one with a nail-biting 30-22 win over the Cronulla Sharks.
These two teams came into the game having only lost the one game apiece in the regular season, however it didn’t look like it when Parramatta raced out to a 12-0 lead inside the space of ten minutes.
Cronulla hit back with a Monty Raper try, and had plenty of ball in the closing stages of the first half, but couldn’t muster any further points, trailing 12-6 at the break. The Eels turned it on in the second half, racing out to a 26-6 lead (including a deserved penalty try awarded by referee Clayton Wills).
Image: Sean Teuma
Then the nerves kicked in for the leaders, as Cronulla scored three tries in quick succession to get within four points of the lead. That dream was shattered after they dropped the ball from the next set after points, allowing Parramatta to extend the lead back out to eight.
Halfback Dylan Brown was named man of the match.
Parramatta Eels 30 (Tries: Ethan Parry 3, Joe Taipari, Dylan Brown, Goals: Kyle Schneider 5) defeated Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 22 (Tries: Monty Raper, Teig Wilton, Jaeman Salmon, Ronaldo Mulitalo, Goals: Luke Metcalf 3)
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