Live Coverage | The Knock On Effect NSW Cup Round 2

North Sydney Bears Secure Hard-Fought Win Over Magpies

Anthony Eltarraf 

The North Sydney Bears secured their first win of the season, defeating the Western Suburbs Magpies 24-16 at Campbelltown Stadium.

The Magpies piled the pressure on the Bears early and made the most of their early opportunity with Jake Simpkin exploding from dummy half to score the first try of the game after just five minutes.  The try was converted by Jock Madden to give the home side an early 6-0 lead.

The Bears answered back with a try of their own through Matt Ikuvalu, who leapt over his opposing winger to catch a perfectly placed bomb and score the Bears’ first try of the game and his second for the season, but a missed conversion from five-eighth Sam Walker left the away side trailing by two.

The Bears extended their lead just minutes later, with Harrison Edwards exploding through a gaping hole in the Magpies’ defence to score next to the posts. This time, Walker was able to convert the try, taking his side to a 10-6 lead.

Simpkin showed his threat when attacking the opposition’s line again, getting his second try of the game to level the scores, before Madden converted again to extend his side’s lead to two.

The first half saw no shortage of tries, with the Bears scoring their third through Ben Thomas, who barged his way over the line to score near the posts, making it easy for his five-eighth Walker to convert and take the away side to a four-point lead yet again.

A penalty on the buzzer gave the Bears the opportunity to go into the sheds at half time leading by a converted try. Walker made sure to take advantage, converting the penalty goal and giving his side an 18-12 lead at the break.

The second half began in reasonably opposite fashion to the first, with both sides defending their own goal-lines strongly, and points looking harder than ever to come by.

However, it was right on the third quarter of the game that the Bears broke the second half deadlock, scoring another converted try through prop Tukupa-Ke Hau Tapuha to increase their lead.

With just 13 minutes to go in the game, the Magpies were desperate to answer back with a try, and they did just that through a smooth spread of the ball at their attacking line, ending with winger Allan Fitzgibbon touching down near the corner. A missed conversion attempt from Madden left the margin at eight with a little over ten minutes to go.

Late errors plagued the home side’s chances at a comeback, with the score remaining unchanged until the end of the game, with the North Sydney Bears securing their first win of the season.

Mounties v Penrith Panthers

Panthers prove too strong for Mounties in wet weather affair

Jarrod Ryan

The Penrith Panthers remain undefeated in 2021 after defeating Mounties 28-8 in horrendous conditions.

The first try of the game came from Mounties five-eighth Ryse Davies who scored off the back of his own kick. Mounties kick chase pressure led to the Penrith left-edge spilling the ball on the try line leaving Davies to clean up what he started.

The try clearly inspired the Mounties forward pack with Chris Smith breaking the line in the first set after the kick-off. Playing to the conditions, the ball was sent high into the air where it was dropped by Robert Jennings, gifting the Mounties a repeat set.

Sensing a tired defence line, the ball was sent through multiple sets of hands to the right edge where winger Watson Heleta cut back in field to score the second try of the game. Another missed conversion had the home team ahead by eight points 14 minutes into the first half.

Clever kicking from Penrith five-eighth Matt Burton gave the Panthers their first points of the game with less than 10 minutes to go in the first half. Burton slotted behind the goal line defence where Izack Tago out-paced Mounties centre Aaron Schoupp to dive onto the ball and score. Kurt Falls converted from the edge of the field to keep the visiting team within two.

Five-eighth Matt Burton looked dangerous whenever he had his hands on the ball. With less than one minute left in the first half, Burton spun the ball across the Mounties right edge, opening the field for Izack Tago to score his second try of the game. Kurt Falls converted after the siren and gave the visitors a four point lead at half-time

It was a one sided affair in the second half and Penrith opened up the scoring when Kurt Falls poked through the Mounties defence, offloading to Billy Burns. Showcasing impressive footwork, Burns stepped past the Mounties fullback Declan Casey to dive over.

After providing plenty of opportunities for his teammates, Burton scored one of his own after slicing through Mounties defensive line. Falls extended Penrith's lead to 16 with 20 minutes remaining.

A high tackle from Reuben Porter gifted the Penrith side another two points to add to their lead as Burton converted the penalty from in front of the posts. The Panthers were able to extend their lead to 28-8 after successfully converting another penalty.

It was a complete performance from Penrith who have proven yet again why they are one of the competition heavyweights for 2021.