Recap | The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup Rd 7

Stewart Moses

Penrith Panthers continue to set the standard in The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup after recording a methodical 19-6 win over a determined Newcastle Knights outfit at BlueBet Stadium, with the Knights defeat being compounded by the loss of five-eighth Dylan Lucas to injury.

The Panthers ran out comfortable four tries to one winners, despite normally reliable goalkicker, Kurt Falls, having an uncharacteristically off-night with the boot.

It was tight for the opening twenty minutes with the resolute Knights holding the competition leaders at bay before the Panthers clicked into gear.

Off the back of repeat sets inside the Knights danger zone, Penrith broke the deadlock in the 23rd minute to take a 4-0 lead after backrower John Faiumu crashed over out wide having caught the Newcastle left-edge defence short for numbers.

A break down the left in the 33rd minute from impressive young centre Izcak Tago led to winger Robert Jennings crossing over in the south-eastern corner, doubling the Panthers’ lead to 8-0 heading into the half-time break.

The Panthers only needed four minutes of the second half to extend their lead, courtesy of a deft kick on the last from Falls which was pounced upon by Taylan May to push the lead out to 12-0.

The Panthers added to that when interchange outside back Thomas Jenkins was on the receiving end of a looping Jaemon Salmon cut-out pass to stroll over in the north-west corner. Falls finally found his radar with his kicking boots to put Penrith in control of the match at 18-0.

It took a blistering backline movement from the Knights to final break the Panthers defence when replacement half Liam Wilkinson crossed over next to the posts in the 68th minute to give Newcastle some hope at 18-6.

Despite the Knights having arguably the better of play in the closing minutes, they were unable to bridge the gap, with the Panthers confirming their sixth win from as many matches after Falls kicked a field goal just before full-time.

Next up for the unbeaten Panthers is a home away from home clash against Blacktown Sea Eagles in Bathurst while the Knights host the North Sydney Bears at Macdonald Jones Stadium.

Newtown Jets v Mounties

Anthony El

Jets bounce back with convincing win over Mounties

With almost 9,000 fans in attendance, the last-placed Newtown Jets bounced back from a disappointing loss to the Knights last week, defeating the Mounties 30-14 at Henson Park.

It did not take long for the tries to start rolling in, with the Mounties scoring the first of the game through Rhys Davies, who touched down for his third try of the season. An unsuccessful conversion attempt from halfback Kamren Cryer kept the opening score at 4-0.

The Jets however, were quick to respond with a try to their halfback Tyla Tamou who regathered the ball from a chip over the Mounties’ defence to run away and score between the posts. Jets’ fullback Luke Metcalf converted easily to take his side to a two-point lead.

Both teams were trading blows in the first half, with Mounties scoring the next try just six minutes later through a beautiful spread of the ball to winger Watson Heleta to score near the corner. Cryer missed the conversion yet again, keeping Mounties two points in front.

With both sides looking dangerous with the ball, it was Luke Metcalf who showed a brilliant solo display to slice his way through Mounties’ line and score in the corner. Converting his own try, the fullback gave his side a four-point lead.

An error by Mounties gave Newtown another opportunity to extend their lead just before half time. The Jets did just that through Nene McDonald, who broke through Mounties line to score next to the posts. Metcalf successfully converted again to take his side into the sheds, 18-8 at half time.

The second half began just as eventful as the end of the first, as the Jets saw their club debutant Will Chambers sent to the sin bin just nine minutes into the half.

Mounties made them pay eight minutes later, through Kieran Moss who fought his way over the line to get his side back in the game. Kamren Cryer converted for the first time in the game to bring Mounties within just four points.

After Will Chambers returned to the field, the Jets looked have all the momentum yet again, before a beautifully worked chip and chase awarded a try to Bronson Garlick. Metcalf missed the conversion for the first time in the game, keeping his side in front by 10.

With the end of the game nearing, Bronson Garlick secured a double and a Jets win by gathering a loose ball from a grubber to score between the posts, before Luke Metcalf converted to secure the Jets’ 30-14 win.

Parramatta Eels v South Sydney Rabbitohs

Mitchell Farrugia

Parramatta Eels, off the back of a near-perfect second half have defeated South Sydney Rabbitohs 38-20 at Ringrose Park.

It didn’t take long for the first points to be recorded, as Bunnies winger Steven Masters bumped off Jordan Rankin to score in the fifth minute of the match.

Parramatta worked hard and off the back of repeated pressure found their reward. Elie El-Zakhem carried defenders to the line as he pushed the Eels in front, holding a slim 2-point lead.

Moments later it was too easy for the Eels as Sean Russell scooped up a dropped ball, racing 65 meters to dive over under the posts.

The Eels persisted with tough defence but eventually were breached, as Souths winger Nick Mougios cashed in on a slick backline move down the right-hand side.

Errors seemed to ruin both sides chances of more points to round out the first half, until a smart kick from Troy Dargan close to the line allowed Masters to pick up his second try of the match. The Bunnies ran into the sheds leading the Eels 16-12.

Inside the first three minutes of the second half, the Eels hit back. The ball seemingly stuck in a pinball machine, ricocheted into the hands of Sean Russell who scored his second try of the match, levelling the scores at 16-16.

The game continued to swing, with Souths putting their foot back on the gas. An Eels mistake allowed the Bunnies to throw the ball around, gifting Nick Mougios his second try, the third double of the match.

Parramatta, only trailing by four points worked upfield past some tired Souths defence, sending Haze Dunster through close to the line, again levelling the scores.

Brilliant ball playing from chief playmaker Jakob Arthur saw Ryan Matterson, in his first match since round two, waltz over for the Eels.

Parramatta’s left edge continued to fire. A crash play saw lock Keegan Hipgrave join in on the point scoring, as the Eels drifted away to a 12-point lead.

The second half went from bad to worse for the Bunnies, with Tautau Moga sent from the field, presumably for decent toward the sideline official after a forward pass call.

Parramatta wasted no time capitalising on the extra man advantage, scoring in the following set. Jordan Rankin converted his try, pushing the Eels ahead by 18 points.

South’s braved on a man down, unable to fight their way back into the match and the Eels were victorious in the end, defeating the Bunnies 38-20.

Western Suburbs Magpies v Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles

Jarrod Ryan

Western Suburbs winger Kiah Cooper starred with four tries to his name as the Magpies dominated the Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles with a 46-6 win at Bankwest Stadium.

The Magpies started the game strongly after storming up the field on their first set. A back-to-back ruck infringement and six-again call gifted the home team perfect field position.

Magpies prop Thomas Mikaele feigned a pass to his right edge at first receiver, cutting back towards the ruck with some impressive footwork before barrelling through the Sea Eagles goal line defence to score the first try of the game.

The Western Suburbs team showed their class when halfback Jock Madden sent an arching pass over the Blacktown Workers right edge to Cooper, who strolled over the line for his first try of the afternoon.

Cooper crossed for his second try after backing himself to make a play at a wayward Sea Eagles pass despite a clear overlap. The 70-meter intercept put the home team up 12-0

The Blacktown Workers could not contain the Magpies momentum, conceding yet another four-pointer after dummy-half Jacob Liddle dribbled a grubber kick into the left-hand goal post before Tom Freebairn scurried onto the loose ball to score.

With less than two minutes to go in the first half, the Sea Eagles finally managed to get onto the scoreboard after captain Brad Keighran darted out of dummy-half before passing to Zac Saddler who cut back into the ruck defence to score.

The Magpies continued to exploit the Sea Eagles errors at the start of the second half to work themselves into key attacking position. Liddle spotted a gap in the Blacktown Workers defence, darting from behind the play-the-ball to score within minutes of play resuming.

The Sea Eagles were unable to curtail the Magpies attack, allowing two tries in the space of three minutes. The first came off the back of a Jock Madden bomb for interchange forward Regan Hughes to score between the posts while Cooper grabbed his hat-trick after breaking the line to put his team up by 30 points.

The Magpies added two more tries to finish things off, including a Cooper’s fourth for the day and an impressive hot-potato team effort for Allan Fitzgibbon to grab one more on the final siren.

North Sydney Bears v St George Illawarra Dragons

Hannah McGrory

The North Sydney Bears have secured their third victory of the season after a hard-fought 26-12 win against St George Illawarra Dragons at North Sydney Oval.

The result was even more impressive when you consider the Bears lost halfback Coby Thomas early in the first half. Replacement Shannon Gardiner racked up more minutes than expected with Jesse Marschke slotting into the halves next to Josh Ralph.

Bears captain Max Bailey was thrilled to get the win in front of a home crowd.

“We knew today was a big day for us, really happy to get the win,” Bailey told nswrl.com.au.

“We spoke about it being a special day and being here at North Sydney we love playing here. We said at the start of the season we didn’t want to lose here and hopefully we can keep the wins coming.”

“After losing Coby we were really lucky we had Shannon on the bench. He he slotted in really well.”

The Dragons started strong scoring in the opening six minutes of the match. After receiving a repeat set, Max Feagai charged his way over to score underneath the posts with five-eighth Siti Moceidreke landing the conversion.

Following the restart, the Bears kicked it out on the full, rewarding the Dragons with a penalty on halfway but they were unable to capitalise on the opportunity.

In the 17th minute, Bears winger Sione Hopoate spun away from the defence and went over for the home side. The conversion was unsuccessful.

It was déjà vu from the restart as the Dragons kicked the ball out on the full, gifting Bears with a penalty.  

The home side crossed again in the next set after Thomas found a gap and pushed his way over. The conversion was unsuccessful but the Bears had an 8-6 lead.

Unfortunately, Thomas played no further part in the match after leaving the field with a suspected elbow dislocation.

The Bears received another penalty after the Dragons were not clearing the ruck in time. They went over through second rower Naufahu Whyte. The conversion was unsuccessful as the Bears went into the half time break with a six-point lead.

In the 55th minute, a great play down the middle saw second rower Jerry Key reach his way over cross the tryline. Tom Carr successfully converted to extend their lead 18-6.

The Bears were in again after a great set-up from Marsche, who found Tom Carr who then found Moala Graham-Taufa to finish the job.

The Dragons showed grit before on the back of a scrum feed and utilising possession with Jackson Ford crossing. The successful conversion by Tyran Wishart closed the gap to ten points.

In the final minutes of the match the Bears forced a goal line drop out before the ball made its way to the wing as Tom Carr found space to lock in the victory.