Jamie Parsons
The opening round of the Proten Cup kicked off at Ivanhoe last weekend, with Ivanhoe hosting an ‘Indigenous Round’, wearing a one-off Indigenous strip designed by Carolyn Williams that was auctioned off at the club later that night.
Round One proved to be largely uneven with some big scores including the biggest margin in the men’s competition to date. The day started with a Welcome to Country by Sharon Kennedy and a smoking ceremony.
Women’s Games
* Barellan traditionally start the season fast and that was the case after they beat Hillston 46-4. Barellan started quick with three tries early before Hillston pegged one back, but the second half belonged to the Rams. Sophia Kelsey, Sophie Taylor and Tommi Booth all scored doubles to help the Rams to top spot on the table.
* Hens gave a good account of themselves with a 34-10 win over Goolgowi, with several Barellan girls backing up for the short Goolgowi side. Ivanhoe started well managing to keep Goolgowi out early until Aleeysha Munday scored for the Rabbitohs.
Ivanhoe dominated the game from that point on, with Falesiu Chauncy-Moli bagging a double and Shailyn Williams scoring 18 points from two tries and five goals.
All photos courtesy of Andrew McLean Photography
Men’s Games
* Deniliquin face some big road trips in their first season, but there were other clubs facing the same situation in Round One. Hillston managed the trip a lot better than the newcomers with three early tries before both sides had a player each sent off after a melee.
Hillston overcame playing a man down much better with a full bench, while Deni only had two interchange players with a couple Narrandera boys filling in.
Goolgowi’s Henry Taylor backed up for the Bluebirds and ran riot in the second half with four tries, while fullback Jed Webster kicked nine goals.
* Barellan looked better early against Narrandera but were unable to capitalise despite one try to captain Noah Forbutt.
Jamaine Jones went through the middle to bring Narrandera level before quick hands through the backs had Jahrel Tereva over in the corner for the Lizards to lead.
A break from a kick return by Fred Herrmann put Forbutt over for another for the Rams to lead in the break before they ran over the top of an injury-affected Narrandera to win 28-10.
* The Ivanhoe v Goolgowi late game saw strong defence dominating the early exchanges until Ethan Harris managed to cross over in the corner.
Phillip Hunter scored on the other sideline soon after for the Roosters to go in 8-0 at the break. The second half was a similar story, despite Ivanhoe conceding numerous penalties on their own line but their defence held strong. Two more tries late in the half gave them a 16-0 win.
Full Results
Women’s
Barellan 46 (Tommi Booth 2, Sophia Kelsey 2, Sophie Taylor 2, Natasha Ambrose, Monique Higgins tries; Monique Higgins 7 goals) defeated Hillston 4 (Lakisha Kennedy try)
Ivanhoe 34 (Falesiu Chauncy-Moli 2, Shailyn Williams 2, Aimee McGuckin, Rachael Burns tries; Shailyn Williams 5 goals) defeated Goolgowi 10 (Aleeysha Munday, Sophia Kelsey tries; Mackenzie Dowell goal)
Men’s
Hillston 62 (Henry Taylor 4, Ratu Ketewai, Tale Delai, Tommy Brettschneider, Akariva Tawake, Jardin Morcome, Josh Cahill, Larry Goolagong Sloane tries; Jed Webster 9 goals) defeated Deniliquin 0
Barellan 28 (Noah Forbutt 2, Gary Braddick 2, Rodney Gibbs tries; Noah Forbutt 4 goals) defeated Narrandera 10 (Jahrel Tereva, Jamaine Jones tries; Jamaine Jones goal)
Ivanhoe 16 (Ethan Harris, Phillip Hunter, Jake Whyman, Tyrone Johnston tries) defeated Goolgowi 0
