Live Coverage | The Knock On Effect NSW Cup Round 1

Newtown Edge Out The Dragons In A Hard Fought Affair

Jarrod Ryan

A nail-biting finish lead by halfback Braydon Trindall gave the defending premiers Newtown Jets their first win of the season.

A wet playing surface saw a conservative style of football played throughout the first twenty minutes of the game with both teams opting to favour first receiver hit-ups and runs out of dummy half. The Dragons were put under pressure early as they were forced to defend their own half after clever kicks from the Newtown halves gifted the Jets multiple repeat sets.

The first try came after Newtown second row Teig Wilton dove through a worn-down Dragons try line defence. A missed conversion kept the visitors four points ahead for most of the first half.

Both teams exploited the gusty winds and misty rains, sending the ball high in the air or dribbling across the ground to put pressure on the opposing backlines.

The Dragons showed signs of flair as fullback Siti Moceidreke and hooker Billy Brittain poked through the experienced Jets pack.

A short grubber-like line dropout from the Jets gifted the St. George perfect field position to score their first try of the game when Jackson Ford crashed over the line. The try, converted by Moceidreke, had the home team in front as they left the field for the half time break.

The pace of the game changed dramatically after the players ran out from the sheds with both teams opting to spread the ball to their edges early in their sets.

After a forced line dropout, the Jets scored the first try of the second half from an arching cut-out pass from halfback Braydon Trindall, exposing the left edge for winger Edward Aiono to cross over the line.

The Jets’ four point lead was soon reduced as Dragons five-eighth Tyran Wishart slotted a grubber behind the Newtown try line defence which was leapt on by Max Feagai. A missed conversion left the scores even with just over twenty-three minutes left in the game.

Inspired by the close score, the Dragons muscled up through back-to-back sets defending their try line. However they could not stand the pressure from the Jets as halfback Braydon Trindall crossed over after repeated ruck infringements gave the visitors multiple six-again calls. Converting his own try with five minutes to go, Trindall lead the defending premiers to their first win of the season.

Canberra Raiders v Western Suburbs Magpies 

Canberra Raiders Start 2021 In Style Against The Magpies

Finn Williamson

The Canberra Raiders defeated the Western Suburbs Magpies 32-18 to mark the club’s first appearance in the states premier competition since 2007.

The Western Suburbs Magpies opened the scoring in the first two minutes with front-rower Edenn Rogers-Smith crashing over adjacent to the uprights. Jock Madden successfully converted to give the Magpies an early 6-0 lead.

The Canberra Raiders bounced-back with a great back-line play putting centre Harley Smith-Shields over in the corner. 

The Raiders continued their momentum with an incredible effort from new recruit Albert Hopoate who crossed the line for a try in the corner. The try was converted by halfback Sam Williams, giving the Raiders a 10-6 lead.

Western Suburbs hooker Jake Simpkin caught the Raiders defence off-guard and scored under the posts with ten minutes remaining in the first half. This gave the Magpies a 12-10 lead heading into half-time.

The Raiders opened the scoring in the second half through some amazing play from hooker Tom Starling who broke the Magpies defence to put  Caleb Aekins over for a try. Brad Schneider converted to give the Raiders a 16-12 lead.

Raiders five-eighth Matt Frawley set-up winger Semi Valemei with a great mid-field chip kick. Valemei soared above the defence and came down to score an impressive individual try in the corner.

The try extended the Raiders margin by eight to lead 20-12 over the Magpies in the opening fifteen minutes of the second half.

Raiders five-eighth Matt Frawley fooled the defence with a dummy to break the line and go under the posts untouched. Schneider converted to extend the lead to 26-12.

Albert Hopoate crossed for his second try of the afternoon from a great cut-out pass from teammate Brad Schneider. The try gave the Raiders a comfortable 32-12 lead with under ten minutes remaining.

Magpies front rower Alex Seyfarth scored a late try in the final minutes of play. The try was converted by Zach Dockar-Clay on full-time with the Raiders securing a 32-18 victory.

Both sides will be sweating the outcome of the judiciary after Magpies forward Alex Seyfarth was placed on report for a defensive infringement and again for a crusher tackle and Raiders try-scorer Harley Smith-Shields for a lifting tackle.

Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles v North Sydney Bears

Cade Cust Stars As Sea Eagles Soar Past The Bears

Hannah McGrory

The Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles have started their season strongly with a dominant 48-20 victory over the North Sydney Bears at HE Laybutt Sporting Complex.

In wet and rainy conditions, a tough contest was had by both teams with many players fighting for a spot in first grade.

Blacktown’s Cade Cust impressed with a hat-trick, Toafofoa Sipley and Zac Saddler both finishing with two tries. Captain and five-eighth Brad Keighran also had a great game with the boot, converting 8 from 8.

The home side started strong with Toafofoa Sipley scoring in the opening 10 minutes after a great pass from Cade Cust. Cust and Saddler were next to score for Blacktown, with Keighran making no mistake with the conversions.

Matt Ikuvalu responded for the Bears scoring in the 18th minute in the corner after a cut out pass from Sam Walker. Joseph Suaalii was also looking good after a great contest for the ball in the air, led him to retain possession and reach across the line to score.

Blacktown Workers went into the halftime break with an 8- point lead.

Josh Schuster got involved early in the second half with a great pass to Dylan Smith who gave it to Christian Tuipulotu to score for Blacktown, extending their lead to 24-10.

Bears Captain, Max Brailey showed frustration as his winger, Ikuvalu, got sent off for a chicken wing tackle on Haumole Olakau’atu. Following the chicken wing tackle, Olakau’atu came from the field after suffering a dislocated elbow. Blacktown centre Morgan Harper also got sent to the bin after getting involved in an altercation with the opposition.

Sipley secured the win for Blacktown in the 77th minute, after pushing his way over under the posts.

Keighran was thrilled with the win in the first round, especially after a tumultuous 2020. 

“Felt unreal to get the year off with a win, could not ask for much more”, Keighran told NSWRL.com post game.

“I thought it was going to be tough [coming off a hiatus last year] but they smashed us in pre-season. We had a few tough trials so we came into today firing, and have done a good job.”

Penrith Panthers v South Sydney Rabbitohs

Panthers Hold Off Perseverant Rabbitohs

Anthony Eltarraf

Panthers Stadium held a frenzied first round match between the Penrith Panthers and South Sydney Rabbitohs, which saw the home side salvage their first two points of the season in a 36-26 win at Panthers Stadium.

The Panthers came out firing in the first half, scoring their first points of the season in the ninth minute through a try by Scott Sorensen, who dived on a loose ball in the in-goal, before adding another two within just ten minutes, through the efforts of five-eighth Matt Burton and centre Izack Tago.

Up 18-0 in the 18th minute of the game, it looked set to be a comfortable win for the home side, until Jaxson Paulo touched down for the Rabbitohs’ first try of the season before being taken off for an injury.

There were no shortage of tries in the first half and the tally increased even further when Souths scored through winger Jacob Gagai, who was found perfectly by a Troy Dargan grubber to score his first try of the season, which was converted yet again by Hawkins, the away side heading into the half-time break trailing by four points.

Both teams came out confident they could add some more points on the board, and the Rabbitohs wasted little time continuing their momentum from late in the first half, scoring through Dargan just ten minutes into the restart.

Converted again by Hawkins, the Panthers found themselves behind by two, before the Rabbitohs’ lead extended to eight through hooker Joshua Cook, who bagged himself a try only four minutes later, with Hawkins converting a perfect five-from-five.

Just when it looked like Panthers were down and out, the momentum of the game shifted yet again, when second-rower Billy Burns finally disrupted the away side’s 26 unanswered points with a try of his own, which was converted by Kurt Falls.

The chaos of the opening game of the season for both these sides continued, when the Panthers showed their class and attitude to score through fullback Brent Naden, before Falls converted the try to make it a 30-26 lead for the home side.

The Panthers secured the win in the concluding seconds of the game through Taylan May, who touched down in the corner to seal a 36-26 win for the home side in their opening game of the season.

Newcastle Knights v Mounties 

James Ward

Mounties defeated Newcastle Knights 26-8 in The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup at McDonalds Jones Stadium in Newcastle this afternoon.

Mounties crossed for the first try after ten minutes through Tuipulota Kotoa.

The away side were in again when Aaron Schoupp made is way over the line in the 24th minute.

Schoupp kicked the conversion to make it 10-0.

The Knights were on the scoreboard after a great ball from English recruit Dom Young set up a try for Jacob Kiraz in the corner at the 29th minute mark.

Mounties bolstered their lead when Ben Seufale scored five minutes before half-time.

The away side took a 16-4 lead into the break.

Mounties continued the point scoring after half-time as Vincent Rennie crossed over to put their lead out to 22-4.

Watson Heleta crossed for the final Mounties try four minutes from full time to wrap up a 26-8 victory for the travelling team.