Each week day NSWRL will showcase the best tries scored in each junior representative competition this year in these five categories: don’t argue tries, through-the-hands tries, kick tries, runaway tries and individual effort tries – culminating this week with the UNE SG Ball Cup. Check back into this page for our rolling daily coverage.
Monday: Best don't argue tries
Tuesday: Best through-the-hands tries
Friday: Best individual effort tries
Monday: Best don't argue tries
UNE SG Ball Cup | Best don't argue tries
Sydney Roosters No.3 Jordan Swan scored a double early in the second half en route to a 50-4 win in Round 2. One of those tries saw the centre showing his strength to hold off a sole defender with one arm and forcing his way in to score.
Going up against the St George Illawarra Dragons early in the season, West Coast Pirates second-rower Artilla Wi-Packer put on a fend and busted through a tackle to set up the try for his fullback Jaiden Hanson.
Douglas Levi had his sights set on the try line in the 32nd minute of the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks’ Round 2 meeting with the Parramatta Eels. The Cronulla centre eyed off three consecutive tacklers and cleared each of them out his path to cross over just before halftime.
When the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs faced off with St George at Kogarah in Round 3, Bulldogs prop Faafetai Autagavaia scored the visitors’ second by muscling past four defenders and crossing the stripe.
South Sydney Rabbitohs forward Davvy Moale inspired a late 18-point comeback against the Bulldogs in the second week of competition, taking on a hit-up inside the 10-metre zone and charging through for the Rabbitohs’ first points.
In what was North Sydney’s highlight from their Round 2 loss to the Illawarra Steelers, front-rower Augustino Mauu ran onto a short ball close to the line, carrying a handful of defenders and even the goalpost padding with him to score.
Tuesday: Best through-the-hands tries
UNE SG Ball Cup | Best through the hands tries
Jordan Swann’s second four-pointer in Round 2 was the try of the match for a dominant Roosters outfit. Coming out of their own territory, No.12 Naufahu Whyte broke the defence on the left sideline and flicked the ball inside for Swann, who handed off to his fullback before backing up an offload in a silky piece of play.
A well-executed shift by the Steelers nearly came up trumps against Victoria in Round 5, but just as winger Cooper Tunbridge was about stumble in touch, he found time for an offload back inside for captain Talatau Amone to score.
The double pump was all that Central Coast’s Sandon Smith needed to cause problems for the South Sydney defence in Round 3. The halfback faked a pass for his second-rower to create an overlap, making enough room for winger Luke Heather to stroll over the line.
Sydney Roosters captain Ronald Volkman was about to be chased down by three Canberra defenders in their Round 4 clash, until he produced a no-look flick pass to supporting fullback Moala Graham-Taufa, with No.14 Alan Horten backing up for the try.
The Penrith Panthers found another gear in Round 4 to amass 70 points in as many minutes. Following the halftime break, five-eighth Niwhai Puru became one of their 11 try-scorers on the day when No.15 Lachlan Blackburn made a line-break and sent Puru down the middle of the field to score.
Some great efforts to keep the ball alive were key to Eric Vaafusuaga’s 50th minute try as the Warriors beat the Bears 42-6 in Round 3. After an unlikely offload and some quick thinking from his inside men, the Warriors’ winger was left with task of diving over in the corner to finish off the play.
Wednesday: Best kick tries
UNE SG Ball Cup | Best kick tries
We don’t see an attempted chip and chase from ten metres out, but Sea Eagles flyer Tolu Koula did exactly that in Round 6 when he kicked towards the in-goal and saw the ball bounce favourably for the put-down just centimetres from the dead ball line. Manly Warringah defeated the Bulldogs 34-8.
Illawarra’s Talatau Amone outsmarted the Warriors on a last tackle play during their Round 6 fixture, kicking back infield to find halves partner Tyrone Roberts snatching the ball from thin air and scoring under the posts.
Balmain halfback Hayden Essery put up high ball in Round 5 against Central Coast with the hopes of a try coming down to a one-on-one contest for the ball. As the Tigers’ Livai Saukuru and Roosters winger George Wilson jumped for the football, the Balmain centre came up with possession and raced away to score.
Eels winger Francis Faaofo Tuitino seemed to have successfully shadowed a heavy Roosters grubber over the dead ball line in Round 3, but no one told that to lurking Roosters centre Corey Ross as he caught up to Tuitino and reached his arm out to keep the ball in play. Winger Isaac Guba simply placed the loose ball for the try on the way to the Roosters’ 26-22 victory.
When Jonah Pezet’s 40/20 attempt didn’t quite go to plan, the Newcastle Knights produced an even better result. Although the ball bounced high on its point near the 30-metre line, the Knights’ chasers kept on going and, with a slice of luck, the second bounce landed perfectly into the chest of winger Tyrone Nean.
Thursday: Best runaway tries
UNE SG Ball Cup | Best runaway tries
Warriors halfback Sione Moala did very well to defuse Canberra’s try-scoring opportunity early in Round 2, but Moala wasted no time to make the most of his. The Warriors’ captain took off just as quickly as he found his footing and no one could stop him from there.
Fullback Kaeo Weekes stamped his authority in the Sea Eagles’ Round 6 victory over the Bulldogs, finding the smallest of gaps from an inside pass through the middle of the ruck at the halfway line. The No.1 proved too quick for his last defender as he sprinted for the uprights.
Rabbitohs prop Davvy Moala took no backward steps when he set foot on a barnstorming run from the kick-off in Round 6 against West Coast. The first line of defence couldn’t contain the charging front-rower, then as the Pirates tried to chase him down, Moala offloaded for his winger Evan Manning to score.
Victoria Thunderbolts winger Lene Feterika had a performance to be proud of against the reigning champions in Round 5, yet before scoring his match-winning second try, Feterika’s first came in the 6th minute when he ran 75 metres from dummy half to secure an early eight-point lead.
Halfback Tyrone Roberts had the final say as the Steelers ran out to a 24-point win against the Magpies in Round 4. Roberts almost dropped an intercept chance near his own goal line, but after re-taking possession before the ball hit the turf, the No.7 hit his stride and never looked back.
If getting out of the in-goal area with a wall of defenders was a challenge for Lene Feterika, it’s hard to beat what he did next against Canberra in Round 3. The Thunderbolts winger dangerously tapped a kick down and had to escape from the dead ball area, so he went wide and beat two defenders, then broke through a third before passing to captain Sione Finau in open space.
Friday: Best individual effort tries
UNE SG Ball Cup | Best individual effort tries
Eels fullback Tyrone Sau shrugged off one defender, almost stepped past the second and also hit the ground - all in one run - when Parramatta opened the season against the Raiders, but the No.1 still found a way to score.
The quick tap paid dividends for the Bulldogs after drawing a penalty in their own end when they met the West Coast Pirates in Round 1. Canterbury-Bankstown led 4-0 when hooker Danny Ghantous caught the Pirates defenders flat-footed and extended the lead for the hosts.
You can’t coach speed, and the Balmain Tigers couldn’t stop it on this occasion in Round 2. The Sea Eagles’ Tolu Koula played second receiver from a scrum with four opposition players and 75 metres ahead of him, so instead of going through the defenders, the Manly Warringah fullback turned on the afterburners and ran around them at pace to score.
Victoria fullback Sualauvi Faalogo produced a hat-trick in the final round as the Thunderbolts recorded a 56-6 win against the North Sydney Bears. Faalogo was just 10 metres from the line for one those four-pointers, but he made the hard way look easy as he skipped through six defenders before diving next to the posts.
Siua Fotu found himself in the open when the Sea Eagles clashed with the Pirates in Round 5 until he was caught around the ankles just before the 30-metre line. It didn’t stop the centre though, beating two defenders while getting to his feet and another three as he slid in to score.
The Bulldogs’ left edge needed just five metres between them to go 55 metres down the sideline and set up a stellar try in Round 3 against St George. Centre and captain Compton Fuatimau took care of two defenders before handing off to No.5 Abiarthur Toi Tuilaepa, who made it all the way to the try line and offloaded for Bilal Yazici to run the ball under the sticks.