The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup Minor Premiers Newtown Jets will make their first finals appearance on Saturday 10 September when they welcome back NRL players Kade Dykes, Kayal Iro, Matt Ikuvalu and Luke Metcalf for their heavyweight clash against the Penrith Panthers.
The match will be part of another huge day of finals action for the NSWRL with the Major Semi-finals and Minor Semi-finals to be played for both The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup and Jersey Flegg Cup with all four games to be played at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium on Saturday 10 September. They will also all be live streamed on NSWRL TV.
The Jets and the Panthers will meet in a Major Semi-final with the winner to progress straight to the Grand Final at CommBank Stadium on 25 September while the loser will face the winner of the Minor Semi-final between North Sydney Bears and Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.
The Panthers, who just missed out on finishing the season as Minor Premiers, will also be at full strength with a host of NRL players returning including Charlie Staines and Sean O’Sullivan after they missed the first week of the finals playing for the NRL team against North Queensland.
Dykes, the son of former Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks five-eighth Adam Dykes, will line up against Staines in a battle of the fullbacks. The clash between the number sevens will be just as intriguing with Warriors-bound Metcalf taking on O’Sullivan, who has done a great job for the Panthers in the absence of suspended halfback Nathan Cleary and has signed with Redcliffe Dolphins from 2023.
The Minor Semi-final between the Bears and Bulldogs will see the winner progress to the Preliminary Final and the loser bow out for the season. The Bears also have named a strong team including England international Oliver Gildart and the competition’s leading try scorer Tom Carr, while the Bulldogs have NRL players Brandon Wakeham and Jackson Topine.
The Major Semi-final for the Jersey Flegg Cup will see Minor Premiers Sydney Roosters take on the Newcastle Knights with the winner progressing through to the Grand Final while the loser will face the winner of the Minor Semi-final between the Penrith Panthers and St George Illawarra Dragons.
FINALS VENUES AND SCHEDULE
Saturday 10 September
Netstrata Jubilee Stadium
Jersey Flegg Cup Minor Semi-final
11am: Penrith Panthers v St George Illawarra Dragons
The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup Major Semi-final
1pm: Newtown Jets v Penrith Panthers
Jersey Flegg Cup Major Semi-final
3pm: Sydney Roosters v Newcastle Knights
The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup Minor Semi-final
5pm: North Sydney Bears v Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
