Recap | The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup - Round 20

Warriors' new club record holders

Richard Becht, warriors.kiwi

Winger Sio Kali’s classy – and pure – second-half hat-trick propelled the One New Zealand Warriors to outright ownership of the club’s all-comers record for most consecutive wins when they beat the North Sydney Bears 32-18 in Saturday’s Round 20 The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup match at North Harbour Stadium.

The victory was the Warriors’ 13th on end, moving them clear of the record mark set by the Auckland Warriors’ reserve grade side which won 12 matches in a row to reach the grand final in 1996.

With the victory the Warriors have leapt to 38 points on the ladder with 17 wins and just one loss; for now they’re seven points clear of their nearest rival St George Illawarra.

While their record-setting victory was ultimately convincing it didn’t always play out that way with the seventh-placed Bears cutting the margin to six points at 12-18 straight after half-time.

Then with 13 minutes to play they were within 10 points at 18-28 and also playing against a Warriors side down to 12 players for the last nine minutes after prop Jason Salalilo was sin-binned.

The Warriors kept their nerve, though, and finished the match off in the ascendant when the promising Kali snared his third try in the final moments. The performance was all the more meritorious given the adversity the Warriors faced.

They were forced to play 20 minutes of the match a man short with Tom Ale also sin-binned after only 15 minutes and then Salalilo following later while they were also handicapped by being without a number of their key players in front-rowers Bunty Afoa and Freddy Lussick, hooker Sam Healey, second-rower Eddie Ieremia-Toeava and standoff Luke Hanson.

They opened assertively and put together a slick play from a scrum for right winger Edward Kosi to run in easily after five minutes. While the Bears responded with a converted try through former Warrior Israel Ogeden, the Warriors quickly hit back with two tries.

Ali Leiataua, switched to the halves for the injured Hanson, held up North Sydney’s defensive line superbly to open a hole for second-rower Kayliss Fatialofa to score his 11th try of the season followed minutes later by interchange prop Toby Crosby bumping over from close range.

With halftime nearing, captain Kalani Going scored a stunning individual try when he swooped on a loose pass 35 metres out and dispensed of four defenders on a charge down the sideline to score in the corner. While Jett Cleary could convert only one of the four tries, there was enough to indicate the Warriors should have been able to go on with it.

That came into question when the Bears started the second half well to move within six points but the Warriors aimed up from a penalty set soon after, Salalio carrying powerfully to within a metre of the line and then lovely hands on the left from Cleary, Leiataua and centre Moala Graham-Taufa giving Kali a sight of the corner. He had some work to do but shoved defenders out of the way for his first try.

Six minutes later he had his second, this time showing off his speed. North Sydney attacked to the Warriors’ left but a pass went astray. Kali picked it up and saw open field with the try-line 95 metres away. No one could stop him, Kali throwing up a victory salute 35 metres out before he scored in the corner.

His uninterrupted hat-trick was completed in the final minute, Leiataua flicking out a pass to his left where it hit the ground but bounced up sweetly for Kali to collect and score.

The Warriors are at Go Media Stadium for their third consecutive home game next Saturday when they face the bottom-placed South Sydney.

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs v Manly Warringah Sea Eagles

Bulldogs bounce back with 58-point blitz at Belmore

Anthony Eltarraf

Game summary

Just one week after falling victim to a 50-point thrashing by the Bears, the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs responded in emphatic fashion—putting on a clinic led by dynamic halves Toby Sexton and Mitchell Woods, demolishing the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 58-20 at Belmore Sports Ground.

It was all Bulldogs in the opening 10 minutes, with two rapid-fire tries setting the tone. Luke Smith crossed first, finishing off a slick right-edge play that saw Sexton fire a cut-out pass to Blake Wilson, who raced down the sideline before offloading inside to Smith. Logan Spinks backed it up in the next set, capitalising on a Taniela Otukolo line-break to score out wide.

Manly hit back against the run of play when Joey Walsh grubbered in behind the line, regathered the loose ball himself and dived over to reduce the deficit to eight.

But the Bulldogs quickly reasserted control. Sam Hughes burst through a gap and found Woods in support, who ran away to score another long-range try. Woods turned provider moments later with a brilliant last-tackle play – grubbering for himself before offloading to Cassius Tia, who beat the fullback to touch down in the corner.

The halves combo continued to shine. Woods set up Spinks’ second try with a towering bomb that the forward plucked out of the air, and Sexton was flawless off the tee, nailing all five conversions to send the Dogs into the sheds with a commanding 30-4 lead.

The second half started slower, but Sexton sparked things again with a pinpoint 40/20. From there, Woods linked up with Tia for the second time, threading a grubber in behind Manly’s line for the centre to score a double.

Manly responded with a successful short kick-off – Esera Chee Kam scoring in the corner from a slick right-side shift. They went back-to-back when a one-on-one strip saw Joey Walsh break through before offloading to Raymond Tuaimalo Vaega, who muscled his way over. Brandon Wakeham converted one of the two, narrowing the gap to 36-14 with under 20 minutes to play.

The Sea Eagles appeared to claw back momentum with a third unanswered try – Clayton Faulalo slicing through a broken defensive line after receiving a sharp offload from Semisi Kioa to bring his side within 16.

But an error in the set after points undid the visitors’ momentum, and Canterbury-Bankstown capitalised instantly – sweeping left for Jonathan Sua to stroll over untouched, pushing the lead to 42-20. Manly tried the short kick-off again but it backfired, with Sexton chipping ahead for Luke Smith to score his second. Sexton missed for the first time all afternoon, but the result was well beyond doubt.

Blake Wilson then added his name to the scoresheet late, scooping up a Manly error and sprinting away to score near the posts, before another failed short kick-off gave the Bulldogs a final crack – which they didn’t waste. Mitchell Woods produced one last classy touch, setting up Taye Cochrane off the boot for the Dogs' 10th try. In a surprise move, Sam Hughes stepped up to take the final conversion and nailed it, sealing a dominant 58-20 win.

Talking points

- The Bulldogs looked like a completely different outfit from the one thumped by the Bears last week. Led by a masterclass from halves Sexton and Woods, everything they touched turned to gold – kicking 40/20s, creating line-breaks, laying on tries, and dominating field position with precision kicking.

- Canterbury-Bankstown's middle forwards laid the platform with relentless physicality. Experienced NRL forwards Samuel Hughes, Daniel Suluka-Fifita, and Kurtis Morrin were simply too much for Manly to handle.

- Manly showed glimpses of their attacking potential in the second half, but slow starts continue to be their Achilles’ heel.

Key moment

In a game dominated by Canterbury-Bankstown, the third Bulldogs try – scored in response to Manly’s first – set the tone for what followed. Sam Hughes bulldozed through the middle with a powerful run before offloading to the classy Mitchell Woods, who finished it off.

What’s next?

The Bulldogs return to Belmore next week as they aim to keep the momentum rolling against archrivals the Sydney Roosters. Meanwhile, Manly’s tough run continues with a clash against the Penrith Panthers at CommBank Stadium.

South Sydney Rabbitohs v St George Illawarra Dragons

Alex Hrissis

Match summary

St George Illawarra Dragons have continued on their winning ways after defeating South Sydney Rabbitohs 32-22 in Round 20 of The Knock On Effect NSW Cup at Redfern Oval.

Despite a late comeback from the Rabbitohs, the Dragons held on to secure the two points and make it three wins in a row.

The Dragons opened the scoring first with Lachlan Ilias and Jonah Glover combining or winger Lyric Craft-Te Moananui to score in the corner. Glover converted the try for an early 6-0 lead.

The visitors went back-to-back after Glover launched a bomb that the Rabbitohs couldn’t handle and the ball bounced perfectly into Ilias’ arms who strolled over for a 10-0 lead.

Souths clawed one back courtesy through Matthew Humphries. His halves partner Ashton Ward put in a tidy grubber which was scooped up by Humphries and the No.7 pulled off a classic show-and-go before crossing the line.

The Dragons bounced back through Jesse Williams to extend their buffer to 16-6. Ilias threw a tidy cut-out ball over the top to Williams who turned on the after burners and sprinted nearly forty metres to score.

Williams made it double right on the stroke of half-time to increase the Dragons lead. It started again with Ilias who found Mat Feagai outside him before he passed for Williams to grab his second for the day. Glover converted from the corner to send the Dragons into half-time with a 22-6 lead.

The Dragons picked up from where they left off when play resumed through a nice combination of offloads between Glover and Raymond Faitala-Mariner.

Glover gave the Bunnies faithful a taste of what to expect next year when the crafty half zipped past several defenders and looked to be tackled just before the line but managed to get the ball down.

It was one way traffic at Redfern as Craft-Te Moananui picked up his second try for the afternoon. Glover threw a high pass over to Moananui – it was nearly intercepted Terrell Kalo Kalo but was just out of reach – who grabbed his second to push the lead out to 32-6.

Souths clawed one back when Matt French bashed his way through the line to score a try. Ward converted the extras to make the score 32-12.

The home side went back-to-back after Leonard Skelton burst through the line with speed and timed a tidy pass out to Declan Casey who scored to reduce the deficit to 32-16.

Souths scored again as they continued to scramble and push the Dragons. Shaq Mitchell burst through the line with strength and played a flick pass out for Tayson Fakaosi to grab a try. Ward converted the try to make the final score 32-22.

Key moment

Souths looked on track to mount a comeback late in the first half when Humphries crashed over but highly touted Dragons winger Jesse Williams bagged a double five minutes before half-time to push the lead out to 22-6.

Talking points

- It was a superb return to Redfern Oval for Lachlan Ilias who steered the Dragons well around the park to cruise towards a win, setting up a try and scoring one himself.

- Jesse Williams had an impressive day out for the Red V as he showcased his strength and speed as well as scoring two tries.

- The outing against the Dragons makes it four straight losses for the Rabbitohs as the foundation club looks to avoid a wooden spoon.

What’s next?

The Rabbitohs will travel across the ditch to play the first-placed Warriors while the Dragons will face off against Newtown Jets at Henson Park.

Western Suburbs Magpies v Penrith Panthers

Panthers hold of late Magpies comeback as finals loom

George Al-Akiki

Match summary

The Penrith Panthers have survived a late comeback from the Western Suburbs Magpies, taking a 28-24 win in The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup to keep them inside the top five as the finals loom.

Both sides had threatening opportunities in the opening stages, with their defences holding up well before Penrith finally broke the scoring after 20 minutes.

A brilliant Nick Murphy one-on-one strip gave his side excellent field position, allowing Luke Sommerton to go over a few plays later (6-0), before a left side play created an overlap for winger Asu Kepaoa who went over untouched for his 16th try in 13 games this season (10-0).

With three and a half to go in the first half, Alex Lobb produced an unbelievable acrobatic play putting his body up and outside the field of play to plant the ball in the corner, kicking things off for his team (10-6).

It was the Panthers that came out the gates fast in the second half, as centre David Fale turned what looked to be a standard play into something as he wrestled out of a tackle close to touch to find the tryline (16-6).

Just when the Magpies were knocking on Penrith's door, a timely intercept led the boys in pink to go 90 metres in two plays, with centre Sione Fonua finishing the move off (22-6).

But a one-on-one steal this time from the Magpies put them back in striking range, as the side made the most of the opportunity when a barnstorming Peter Taateo took the short ball over the line (22-12).

A series of repeat penalties cost the Panthers dearly, with Riley Price paying the ultimate price in the sin bin, gifting the Magpies an advantage. 

However, on the cusp of points, a charge down off Kurt Falls’ kick landed in the hands of Nick Murphy who sprinted 90 metres to extend the lead by 18 points (28-12).

The Magpies weren’t done fighting yet. A late try to second-rower Eli El-Zakhem, followed up with a powering effort from Solomona Faataape cut the deficit down to just four points with two minutes to go, but a valiant effort sadly came to nothing with Penrith winning 28-24.

Talking points

- Kurt Falls put in a valiant effort for the Magpies. His running game was a serious threat and troubled the Panthers often, while his boot kept his side in the game as much as possible, however needed help from his teammates.

- Penalties piled up against the Magpies early which cost them plenty of field position and forced them into long defensive periods, taking some of the punch out of their attack.

- The Magpies produced a valiant comeback in the dying stages of the game as they have many times this season, but their propensity to leak points in the early stages of the game cost them once again. Their finals hopes are now dwindling as they are seven points off the top five.

Key moment

With 12 minutes to go and the Panthers down to 10 players, Kepaoa denied a sure try on his own line when he pressured Mason into a poor pass, keeping his side ahead. Then ahead by four points with five seconds to go and a kick in-goal coming his way, the winger stayed calm again and batted the ball over the dead-ball line to seal the game.

What’s next?

The Magpies hit the road to face the Bears at North Sydney Oval while the Panthers return home, coming up against a struggling Manly Warringah Sea Eagles outfit.

Newtown Jets v Sydney Roosters

Roosters rally to conquer Jets at Henson Park

Ellery Behan

Game summary

The Sydney Roosters have produced an unbelievable comeback at the iconic Henson Park to flip a 24-0 deficit into a 26-24 triumph over the Newtown Jets, one of their fellow foundation clubs, on Saturday afternoon.

The Jets put themselves under early pressure with Niwhai Puru placing a kick at the end of their first set out on the full. But the home side turned defence into attack as the shifty halfback bounced back from his mistake, playing a short ball to Michael Gabrael who charged through the line, drew in the fullback, and found the man who started it all on his inside to score. Puru converted his own try from in front of the sticks, putting the Jets ahead by six.

After plenty of back-and-forth football, Newtown managed to double their advantage with almost a carbon copy of their first try. They found space down their left edge through winger Samuel Stonestreet, and Puru was once again lurking in support on the inside to race away with the football and score. He slotted the conversion to notch Newtown up 12-0.

The Jets crossed twice more in quick succession by capitalising on their opponents’ errors, as Gabrael picked up a dropped ball from Reece Foley and sprinted the length of the field to score, before another Easts knock-on under a Niwhai Puru high ball saw brother Hohepa scoop up possession and glamorously swan dive over the stripe. The home side had fought their way to a convincing lead of 24-0 with no signs of hitting the brakes.

But the Roosters managed to cross the line before half-time, with Tyler Moriarty making an exceptional break to gain territory and lay the platform for the halves pairing of Rodwell and Foley. They linked up to find Trey Peni out wide who snuck into the corner for his sixth try of the campaign, trimming the deficit to 20 at the break.

Advancing upfield off the back of a penalty on the first play of the second half, the Roosters crossed for their second-consecutive try with a heads-up play from Junior Tupou seeing him burrow his way over from dummy-half, making it 24-8 with plenty of time left on the clock.

Having well and truly shifted gears, the Roosters found the try-line again with a superhuman effort from halfback Toby Rodwell, who sold a dummy to the defence before darting through and leaving the Jets’ fullback clutching at thin air with an unstoppable right-foot step. Rodwell steered the conversion between the sticks to cut the deficit to 10.

The pendulum had swung heavily in favour of the visitors, piling on another two tries on consecutive sets after kick-off, with Toby Rodwell assisting both Hayden Barton and Reece Foley before converting from out wide to lock the dramatic encounter up at 24-all.

With only a few minutes left on the clock, a Roosters field-goal attempt was called back for a penalty as the Jets defenders left the mark early. Rodwell slotted it with ease, giving the visitors a 26-24 advantage, which saw them through to the final hooter.

Talking points

- Both halfbacks put on an exceptional display, with Niwhai Puru of the Jets steering them to their initial 24-0 advantage with pinpoint kicking and silky playmaking. His opposite number, Toby Rodwell, put on a blistering display in the second half as his electric running game and ball-playing spearheaded the Roosters’ comeback.

- The Jets’ four-game winning streak concluded in astonishing fashion, scoring 24 points to open the game before conceding 26 with no answers for what the Roosters threw at them, and failing to score a point in the second half.

- The Roosters came up trumps in a game they would have marked in their calendar, with the last clash between these sides seeing the Jets defeat the tricolours in a 54-0 humiliation in Round 12.

- With the game going down to the wire, the outcome would have been lingering in the mind of Toby Rodwell who struck three of his conversion attempts onto the uprights, coming agonisingly close to putting his side ahead before eventually kicking the penalty goal which sealed the victory.

Key moment

Having conjured up 26 unanswered points after trailing by 24 in the first half, the Roosters found themselves with a slim lead to defend in the closing stages. Fighting out of their own end, the Jets received a penalty which brought them upfield, much to the delight of the home crowd.

Picking and probing for a way through the defensive line, Newtown had no choice but to float a chip kick across field on the last play. With a formation of Jets bombarding the in-goal, it was young five-eighth Reece Foley who went airborne, leaping above the pack with arms outstretched to grasp onto the football, securing the win for the Roosters.

What’s next?

The Jets will look to bounce back as they host the St George Illawarra Dragons at Henson Park next Saturday, whilst the Roosters will be on the road as they visit the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs at Belmore.

Canberra Raiders v Parramatta Eels