Recap | The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup - Round Nine

Parramatta prevail in high-scoring Henson Park hit-out

Ellery Behan

Match summary

The Parramatta Eels have strung together four-straight wins with a triumphant 28-18 victory over the Newtown Jets in an exciting third-plays-second contest at Henson Park on Saturday afternoon.

After a sloppy start from both sides, Parramatta were gifted field position as Joshua Latham put down a Dean Hawkins bomb under pressure, and the visitors took full advantage. Working their right edge off the scrum, fullback Joash Papalii swept around the back and found Haze Dunster with a brilliant cut-out ball, and the winger fought his way to the line for a 4-0 lead.

After plenty of end-to-end football, the Jets finally managed to hit back. Tuku Hau Tapuha charged onto a Jayden Berrell short-ball with plenty of venom, bouncing and spinning off defenders before offloading for Blake Hosking in support who dived over. Niwhai Puru converted from beside the uprights to notch the Jets ahead by two.

But it wasn’t long before the blue and gold reclaimed their advantage through a moment of brilliance from Will Latu. The formidable back rower charged through a gap on the left edge, throwing defenders to the ground before finding Papalii in support who was wrapped up by Jets defenders but managed to free his arm for an offload to Dean Hawkins who strolled over untouched. The halfback slotted the conversion to put his side ahead by four.

The Eels were again handed possession in dangerous territory and, just as they have done so well in recent weeks, they continued to pile on the first half points.

Shifting the ball to their dangerous right edge, Papalii beat his opposite man to attract the outside defender and quick-wittedly fired a pass to an explosive Richard Penisini who charged over the line in his first appearance of the NSW Cup season. Hawkins converted to give Parramatta a handy 16-6 lead at the break.

Just a few minutes into the second half, the game began to open up with plenty of fast-paced, end-to-end football. The Eels managed to turn their momentum into points in incredible fashion, with Dunster fielding a Hawkins bomb that came down 25 metres out from Newtown’s line before being wrapped up by defenders and magically offloading to Bryce Cartwright who found Hawkins chasing his own kick on the inside to score. The halfback converted his own try for a 16-point lead.

Parramatta continued to ruthlessly turn the screws, clinically executing another right-side shift as Cartwright spun into a tackle and found Papalii wrapping around the back who then fired the ball to Dunster, outpacing Michael Gabrael in a footrace to the corner for his sixth try of the season. Papalii impressively converted from the sideline to notch up 28 points for the visitors.

The Jets clawed back some of the deficit with a second-phase left edge move falling into the hands of Eli Clark who dived over for his third try in as many weeks, much to the delight of the Jets’ faithful.

With the Jets on the hunt for a late comeback, Hohepa Puru split Parramatta’s defence down the middle and found his brother Niwhai in support who raced away to score, closing the deficit to 10 with a few minutes on the clock.

But Newtown’s perfect landing wasn’t enough to cross Paramatta’s 28-point river, with the final whistle declaring a 28-18 victory on the road for the blue and gold.

Talking points 

• The Jets put on an unusually ill-disciplined display by their standards, turning the ball over too often as they ultimately made more errors than they could defend.
• Joash Papalii engineered Parramatta’s scintillating attacking performance with a man-of-the-match display, assisting four of the Eels’ five tries.
• After a gritty first forty minutes, both sides picked up the pace in the second stanza with plenty of end-to-end football that produced a plethora of points and a last minute fightback from the Jets that brought the local fans to their feet.

Key moment 

With the Jets picking and probing at Parramatta’s line in search of first blood, they looked set to score as star halfback Niwhai Puru floated a cut out pass to Eli Clark who set sail for the corner. But the Eels cover defenders swarmed the in-form winger to valiantly bundle him over the touch line and win possession back. Showing discipline and determination as their forwards barraged through the middle, they used the momentum to advance upfield and find the afternoon’s first points, setting themselves up for what was a triumphant victory on the road.

What's next? 

Both teams will travel to Tamworth next week for the NSW Cup’s own Magic Round at Scully Park, where the Jets will look to bounce back against the Dragons and the Eels will aim to keep their hot streak of wins alive as they face off against the Bulldogs.

North Sydney Bears v Warriors 

Warriors wear down Bears at North Sydney Oval

Mason Cernoy

Match summary

The Warriors have posted a half-century against the North Sydney Bears this afternoon, in a dominant attacking display.

The Warriors had a few chances early into the match and the better share of field position, but failed to post points early. When Ben Talty fooled the Warriors’ forward pack and sliced through to give the Bears the opening points of the match, it seemed as though the Warriors’ failure to capitalise early was going to cost them.

This was far from the case however, as the Bears failed to put a kick through to complete their set following points. As a direct result, Te Maire Martin came up with a powerful run and found Moala Graham-Taufa in support, who streaked away to level the scores at 6-6.

It wasn’t long before Jason Seu Salalilo picked up another try for the Warriors in the simple fashion, strolling under the sticks one out from the ruck.

Te Maire Martin’s running game created more points for his side shortly after. He swept out the back and made a line-break untouched, then iced a one-on-one to send Setu Tu over in the corner.

Being awarded a penalty as the half-time buzzer sounded, the Bears opted to take the two points, which left them heading into the sheds with a faint chance down 24-8, but the onslaught continued right from the word go in the second half.

Setu Tu’s kick return was the first Warriors touch in the second half, and he shimmied to the outside and ran 40 metres before finding Graham-Taufa in support. They kept rolling up the field with ease and added to their tally when Toby Crosby strolled over under the posts.

Warriors had no intentions of taking their foot off the gas with Freddy Lussick crashing over, and Setu Tu picking up his second off the back of a shift left, iced once again by Te Maire Martin. Martin’s full bag of tricks was on display, and he found another way to lay one on for his outside man when he slid grubber through for Graham-Taufa, who did extremely well to work his way through a traffic jam of defenders to get to the ball and claim his third try.

Nathaniel Roache managed to shut down a Warriors try when he intercepted Geronimo Doyle’s offload right at the try-line. It didn’t end up making a big difference however, as North Sydney then lost the ball 15 metres out from their line and Tanah Boyd sent Kayliss Fatialofa over for a regulation four-pointer, taking the Warriors’ total to 50 points.

The Bears’ faithful who stuck around were finally given something to cheer about in the 72^nd minute, when some slick wraparounds and a cut-out pass led to Matt Komolafe crossing in the corner.

But the Warriors’ Luke Hanson scored another brilliant try to put the icing on the cake for a 56-14 win.

Talking points

• Te Maire Martin had an exceptional performance today, and found ways to set up tries with his power game, pace, ball-playing and kicking game.
• Setu Tu spearheaded the efforts of the Warriors’ back three, who were dynamic when taking yardage carries and returning kicks. Tu ran over 20 metres on multiple kick returns, often breaking tackles while doing so, and allowing his side to start their sets with momentum.
• The North Sydney Bears did themselves no favours this afternoon, coming up with errors in crucial in their own end of the field.

Key moment

When North Sydney failed to get a kick away in the set following Ben Talty’s early try, the Warriors started their set 40 metres out as a result and picked up their first try. This try began to open the floodgates, and the Warriors didn’t look back.

What’s next?

The North Sydney Bears will hope to avoid a third-straight loss for the second time this season when they take on Newcastle Knights for NSWRL Regional Magic Round at Scully Park in Tamworth, and the Warriors will aim to make it four wins on the trot when they take on Canberra at Collegians Sporting Complex in Wollongong.

South Sydney Rabbitohs v Newcastle Knights 

Riley Jones sparks Knights’ grandstand finish over Rabbitohs

Claire Stegbauer

Match summary

The Newcastle Knights have held on in a pulsating contest to edge the South Sydney Rabbitohs 26-24 in Round Nine of The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup — a match that had everything from intercepts and a send-off, to a grandstand finish in front of a vocal Redfern Oval crowd on Sunday afternoon.

The Knights started the procession early after a penalty put them in prime position, and captain Jackson Hastings wasted no time making his mark. With a perfectly weighted grubber to the right edge, he found Fletcher Hunt diving over for the first four points of the day (6’). Connor Votano added the extras for a 6-0 lead.

Hastings continued to cause havoc shortly after, again targeting the right side. Matthew Arthur came within inches of grounding another well-placed kick, but the Rabbitohs scrambled to clean up the danger.

Souths slowly worked their way into the contest. A line drop-out gave them back possession and some much-needed momentum, with Ammaron Gudgeon leading the charge through the middle. Off the back of a strong set, five-eighth Josh Schuster caught the Knights napping and slammed the ball down under the posts (17’). Ashton Ward converted to level the scores at 6-6.

With confidence building, Souths rolled through the middle and backed their forward pack, inching further into Knights territory. However, two penalties gave the visitors a reprieve, until Knights forward Thomas Cant was placed on report for high contact, swinging the pendulum once more.

Shaquai Mitchell came on with a noticeable impact, charging into contact and setting the tone physically. Then came what could’ve been the play of the half when Schuster snatched an intercept and took off downfield, palming away a defender in open space. But just as it looked like scoring he lost the ball over the line in an otherwise brilliant effort.

The Knights pushed upfield and went back to their right edge where Tyson Gamble linked up with Logan Aoake, who found Fletcher Hunt once again, showing incredible balance to plant the ball down just before being taken into touch for his second (25’). The conversion was unsuccessful, giving the Knights a narrow 10-6 lead.

But the Rabbitohs hit straight back. After a Knights error, Schuster continued his dominant first-half performance with a looping cut-out ball to winger Haizyn Mellars, who charged over to score in the corner (28’). The missed conversion kept things level at 10-10.

Both sides struggled to complete sets late in the half, with fatigue and pressure creeping in. But it was the youngster Ashton Ward who delivered for the Rabbitohs. Spotting tired markers, he slid through untouched off a clever dummy (39’) and nailed the conversion to hand Souths a 16-10 half-time lead.

The second half began scrappily, but it was Newcastle who cracked the line first with Riley Jones finding a gap and slicing through to score (46’). Votano's kick sailed wide, leaving the Bunnies clinging to a narrow 16-14 lead in what was fast becoming a grind for two points.

A moment of brilliance came from Souths after Fletcher Hunt threw a wayward pass straight to the opposition and the Rabbitohs pounced. Shaq Mitchell, an unlikely dummy-half, sent a short ball to Salesi Ataata who bulldozed his way over the line (62’) to push the lead out to 20-14. The conversion was missed, keeping the game within a converted try.

Newcastle sparked into life off the back of a monster 80-metre set, with Hastings floating a kick toward the posts. Connor Votano soared above the pack, gathered cleanly and dived under the posts for the try (66’), before converting his own effort to tie the game once again at 20-20.

As the temperature and tension rose, Hastings again turned to his boot. Another kick on the right edge was tapped back and Riley Jones, backing up, scooped it up to bag his second of the day with a match-winning four points (73’). Votano coolly slotted the conversion to hand the Knights a 26-20 lead with just under five to play.

With two minutes remaining Souths needed a miracle and the Knights gave them a lifeline. A penalty marched the Rabbitohs upfield, and then came a send-off for Tyrone Thompson for dissent (78’), leaving Newcastle one man short.

The Rabbitohs rolled the dice on the last tackle, shifting right where Leonard Skelton muscled through two defenders and slammed the ball down in the corner, igniting the crowd and setting up a heart-stopping grandstand finish (79’). The sideline conversion attempt from Ward had the crowd on the edge of their seats, but it drifted just wide.

A two-point game, a missed kick, and a wild contest from start to finish, the Knights emerged victorious in one of the most entertaining NSW Cup clashes of the year.

Talking points

• Josh Schuster and Jackson Hastings went head-to-head in a standout battle of the halves, with both men playing pivotal roles steering their sides in a tense 80 minutes. Schuster’s creative spark and physicality kept South Sydney in the fight, while Hastings’ poise and kicking game laid the foundation for the Knights' attacking raids.
• Fullback Riley Jones proved the difference on the scoreboard, grabbing a double including the match-winner in the final minutes to snatch momentum back and silence the Redfern crowd.
• While the Rabbitohs remain at the bottom of the ladder, their spirited performance showed promising signs of a resurgence, with today's contest a clear step forward in their push to climb back up the NSW Cup ladder.

Key moment

With the game hanging in the balance at 20-all and both sides battling fatigue, the Knights launched a kick towards the right edge in the dying minutes. As bodies flew through the air, the ball was tapped back into open space and fullback Riley Jones reacted fastest, pouncing on the loose ball to snatch his second try and swing the momentum back Newcastle’s way. It proved the difference in a seesawing contest, sealing a two-point victory in one of the season’s most thrilling finishes.

What’s next?

Round 10 will see 10 NSW Cup teams converging in Tamworth next week for the NSWRL Regional Magic Round at Scully Park. The Knights will take on the eighth-placed North Sydney Bears in what promises to be a fiery clash, while Rabbitohs will enjoy a much-needed bye for a chance to regroup and come back stronger in Round 11.

Western Suburbs Magpies v St George Illawarra Dragons 

Dragons down Magpies in Lidcombe Oval blowout

George Alakiki

Match summary

Western Suburbs Magpies have fallen to their third-successive defeat in a 60-28 loss to the visiting St George Illawarra Dragons at Lidcombe Oval in The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup.

Some early Magpies errors led to a nicely worked play through multiple hands down the right side for the Dragons to open the scoring inside seven minutes through winger Ben Rumble, before doubling down four minutes later (10-0).

Western Suburbs continued to knock on St George Illawarra’s door and finally broke through via a Max Lyles dummy, which split the defence and allowed the makeshift centre to go over unscathed (10-6).

From there the Red V sat in cruise control. Jonah Glover’s short ball put Jacob Halangahu in space to hand off to Nick Tsougranis before the tackle-busting centre set up Cody Ramsey for his first of the afternoon (22-6).

Glover was soon at it again via a looping cut-out pass to give Rumble a double in the corner, before Lachlan Ilias got in on the action when he pounced on Ramsey’s chip kick.

The Magpies luck went from bad to worse as an attacking play near the try-line went wrong, allowing Ramsey to scoop up the scraps and dash 95 metres to put the Dragons ahead 40-6 at half-time.

The Magpies came out with purpose in the second half and were first to score points with a well-worked short side play to put Eli El-Zakhem over in the corner (40-12).

But Ilias had his own short-side play up the sleeve a few sets later as he put Buchanan through a hole before receiving the ball back to claim his own double (44-12).

The No.7 had his fingerprints all over the second 40, putting Raymond Faitala-Mariner through a hole before Glover kicked his side to a half century.

The Magpies showed some resilience with back-to-back tries through fullback Krystian Mapapalangi and halfback Kurt Falls, and had the last try in the 79th minute try via Luke Jack, but was little too late as the Dragons had run away with the 60-26 win.

Talking points 

• Jonah Glover has proved he is a versatile half for the Dragons. Despite the No.6 on the back of his shirt instead of the usual No.7, the playmaker was up to his usual antics setting up tries, finding holes and conducting his team.
• Ilias had an impressive game of his own to round out a brilliant performance by the Dragons’ halves, scoring two and setting up a handful.
• The Magpies left-edge defence was exposed with ease by the Dragons, conceding 28 of the 40 first-half points in that area.

Key moment

Ben Rumble had a game to remember, securing his hat-trick late in the match in a strong performance by a well-oiled Dragons team who are staking their claim for the NSW Cup in 2025.

What’s next?

The Magpies will look to break their losing streak when they open NSWRL Regional Magic Round in Tamworth next Saturday, while the Dragons take on the Newtown Jets.

Penrith Panthers v Canberra Raiders 

Raiders make it three in a row with grinding win over Panthers

Stewart Moses

Match summary

Canberra Raiders withstood a late attacking onslaught from Penrith Panther to run out 16-10 winners at the Blacktown Exercise Sport and Technology Hub this afternoon.

As the score-line suggests, scoring opportunities were few and far between. But an initial flurry of points in the opening 15 minutes saw Penrith skip out to a 10-4 lead courtesy of a double to fullback, Daine Laurie.

A Chevy Stewart try late into the opening half saw the visitors draw level 10-all, and the Raiders were the only side to convert any opportunity into points in a grinding second half, with another try-scoring effort from dummy-half.

Penrith were made to pay for some early ill-discipline with the Raiders scoring first in the fifth minute after some quick hands ended with winger Michael Asomua crossing over untouched in the northwest corner to give the visitors an early 4-0 lead.

Similar discipline issues from the Raiders enabled the Panthers to hit back four minutes later when Laurie crashed over out wide from close range, and with Zac Lamont’s conversion successful the home side led 6-4.

Another early-tackle penalty conceded by the Raiders from the following set resulted in a second try to Laurie in the 14th minute, which pushed the Panthers’ lead out to 10-4.

Canberra took advantage of some repeat sets inside the Penrith 20 to level the scores in the 33^rd minute courtesy of a burrowing try from dummy-half to fullback Chevy Stewart, converted by Adam Cook, to make it a 10-all score-line heading into the half-time break.

The Raiders repelled several sets inside their own 20 early in the second half before a late-tackle penalty and ensuing six-again infringement, enabled the visitors to regain the lead in the 56^th minute, when experienced hooker Danny Levi burrowed his way to score next to the posts to give Canberra a 16-10 lead.

Panthers winger David Fale, twice in the last 10 minutes, had the opportunity to score in the northwest corner only to be denied by some brilliant cover defence, then being denied by the touchline before touching down in the in-goal moments later. It enabled the Raiders to record their third win in succession.  

Talking points

• Coming into Round Nine the Panthers sat in fifth position while the Raiders were two points back in seventh position.
• This match was the first The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup game to be played at the Blacktown Exercise Sports and Technology Hub.
• Sunday’s game was the first of the season for Panthers forwards Austin Dias and John Segaga.

Key moment

In a second half where point-scoring opportunities were at a premium, some poor Panthers discipline late in the tackle count invited the Raiders into their opponents’ 20. Hooker Danny Levi used all his guile and experience to break the 10-all deadlock with a strong effort from dummy-half and give the Raiders a six-point lead they would never relinquish over the remaining 25 minutes of the game.

What’s next?

This Saturday the Panthers are looking to avoid three losses in a row when they open NSWRL Regional Magic Round at Scully Park, Tamworth, against the Western Suburbs Magpies. A few hours later the Raiders will face competition front-runners, the Warriors, at Collegians Sporting Complex in Wollongong, as they attempt to extend their winning streak to four matches.

Sydney Roosters v Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 

Roosters claim victory with remarkable second-half comeback

Alex Hrissis

Match summary

Sydney Roosters have produced a remarkable second-half comeback to defeat Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 38-31 in Round Nine of The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup at Wentworth Park on Sunday afternoon.

The Roosters were down 31-12 with 25 minutes to go but scored five unanswered tries to secure the two points.

The home team scored first points following a strong attack down the left edge when the ball made its way to Tom Rodwell who attempted a grubber on the last tackle. The ball ricocheted off a Bulldogs player and Rodwell scooped it up and dived over the try-line. Chad Townsend nailed the conversion to put the Roosters ahead 6-0.

Roosters scored again minutes after through the combination of Dominic Young and Townsend. Some crisp passing down the right eventually found Young who used his speed and strength to blitz down the wing and find his halfback inside him who crashed over for a try. Townsend converted his own try to extend the lead to 12-0.

Bulldogs bounced back soon after through some tough work from their middle forwards. Taniela Otukolo bashed his way through the middle before skipping past a defender and flick-passing out to Joseph O’Neill who dived over for a try. The kick was converted directly in front to bring the score to 12-6.

The away side scored back-to-back tries to level the scores 12-12. Rising outside back Jonathan Sua spotted a gap in the defensive line and took it on himself, skipping through several players before offloading to Ragarive Wavik who scored comfortably.

Bulldogs scored a third try to put them in the lead for the first time. Cassius Tia found Wavik outside on the right edge who then tapped the ball along to Blake Wilson, who dived into the corner for his first points of the day. The conversion was slotted from the side-line by Tia to give his side a 16-12 lead.

Canterbury-Bankstown scored a fourth successive try to give them a healthy lead thanks to some tough work through the middle. A short ball found Larry Muagututia who barged his way through the defence and crashed over for his first NSW Cup try. The conversion was slotted for a 24-12 lead.

Thirty seconds remained in the first half, and with Bulldogs on the Roosters’ 10-metre line, a short ball found Cassius Tia who slotted a field goal from directly in front to give his side a 25-12 lead going into half-time.

Canterbury-Bankstown picked up where they left off in the second half as they scored another try through the middle. Forward Logan Spinks bashed his way through the Roosters defence and looked to be held up, but managed to extend his arm out and secure the four-pointer. The lead was extended out to 31-12 following the conversion.

The Roosters managed to get a try back at the halfway point of the second half to fight their way back into the contest. Some tidy passing down the left edge found Ashton Warwick who ran a tidy line to score his second try of the season and tighten the margin to 31-16.

The Roosters scored back-to-back tries as the momentum looked to swing. The left edge was in full flight as Chad Townsend found halves partner Jake Elliott outside him, who found a gap in the defensive line and scored himself a try. Townsend converted the try to make it 31-22.

Roosters scored three in a row as they tightened the gap to make it a one-score game. Dom Young blitzed down the right wing and passed inside to Kyron Fekitoa who scored with ease. The kick was converted to bring the score to 31-28.

The home side took the lead with five minutes remaining as Ethan King threw a cut-out pass over to Dom Young who strolled over to score a comfortable try and give his side a 32-31 lead.

Roosters all but confirmed the victory when that dangerous left edge found its way out to Tom Rodwell who leaped into the corner to score his second. Townsend nailed the kick from the side-line to make the final score 38-31.

Talking points

• Bulldogs half Joseph O’Neill continued his impressive form this week as he took over the kicking as the dominant half and scored himself a try.
• Dominic Young had himself an impressive game in an attempt to get back into first grade. He showcased his speed, set up two tries and scored the winning try.
• Jake Elliott had himself a strong game with the rising half showcasing his short kicking game, producing a line-break and scoring a try.

Key moment

Roosters looked down and out as the Bulldogs led 31-12 but a tidy try from Ashton Warwick kicked off the comeback, as they scored an additional four unanswered tries.

What’s next?

In Round 10 of The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup the competition heads to Tamworth for NSWRL Regional Magic Round, with the Roosters facing off against Manly Warringah Sea Eagles while the Bulldogs will play traditional rivals, the Parramatta Eels.