RAIDERS’ SURGE
Canberra have won only two matches so far in the UNE SG Ball Cup competition, but their last-start win shows what they are truly capable of. The Raiders under-18 side beat West Coast 88-18, with the home side scoring 16 tries and Regan McClennan kicking 12 goals at Seiffert Oval. Canberra currently sit in ninth position and face eighth-placed Manly in a must-win fixture this weekend just five weeks out from the finals series.
TOP OF THE POPS
The battle at the top of the tryscorers’ list is heating up. Currently Illawarra’s Aaron Schoupp (seven tries – SG Ball) and Rabbitoh Joseph Suaalii (eight tries – Harold Matthews) lead the way in the under-18 and under-16 competitions respectively. The real fight, however, is in the Harvey Norman Tarsha Gale Cup, where four players have already scored more than 10 tries. Currently Shark Madison Higgins-Ashby leads the way on 12 tries, followed by three Illawarra players all on 11!
FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS
The Panthers and Knights are the 2018 NSWRL Junior Representative competitions’ most consistent clubs… so far. Penrith and Newcastle are firmly entrenched in the top eight of all NSWRL Junior competitions, with four regular-round matches to play. The Panthers are on fire in Harold Matthews and SG Ball, in first place, coming fifth in the Tarsha Gale Cup. The Knights aren’t far off, though, sitting third in the Harold Matthews competition and fourth in both the SG Ball and Tarsha Gale Cup. Penrith recorded a ‘2-1’ victory over the Novocastrians in their clashes last weekend.
