Saturday’s double-header at Leichhardt Oval featured the Preliminary Final of both the Sydney Shield and Leagues Clubs Australia Ron Massey Cup, with two convincing wins deciding the respective Grand Final matchups for Saturday 13 September.
Manly through to decider for top-two showdown
An quick two-try lead kickstarted a comfortable 30-18 win by Manly Leagues over St Marys Saints in the Sydney Shield Preliminary Final, turning around a 44-10 loss from just a fortnight earlier when the two sides met in the Qualifying Final.
As a result, Manly have now booked a top-two clash against Wentworthville United in the 2025 Grand Final at Leichhardt Oval.
Max Lehmann’s strong finals form continued when the fullback muscled over to score on the right after four minutes, before halfback Braith Alexander snuck through from dummy-half at the 11-minute mark. Winger Lachlan Burt was successful on both conversion attempts to lead 12-0.
Saints hooker Joel Saldaneri produced a much-needed try for his side just shy of half-time when he also scooted from dummy-half, twisting to put the ball down. St Marys trailed 12-6 at break following Kaleb Farr’s conversion.
Saldaneri was again among the action early in the second half to send second-rower Zac Duclos over the try-line and help level the scores at 12-12.
But from there Manly bounced back with three tries in succession, through Khan Symonds-Magee off an Alexander chip, Justin Burt on the end of a Max Davies flick pass, then centre Benjamin Keene-O’Keefe defusing a kick in his own end before a stunning 90-metre dash to score. Lachlan Burt converted two of the three to lead 28-12.
St Marys managed a another try late in the contest through second-rower John Faiumu, but Manly did enough to hold out the opposition, with an additional Burt penalty goal rounding out the 30-18 final score.
Magpies’ fairy-tale finish headed for Grand Final
The Wentworthville Magpies’ incredible run of form throughout the Leagues Clubs Australia Ron Massey Cup Finals Series is set to reach its conclusion on Grand Final day at Leichhardt Oval, after ambushing the Ryde-Eastwood Hawks with a 26-10 victory in Saturday’s Preliminary Final.
By finishing the regular season at fourth in the top five, Wenty were required to survive three do-or-die matches to make the decider, and in doing just that the Magpies are set to take on St Marys Saints with a chance to lift the Ron Massey Cup.
The Magpies opened the scoring about 10 minutes into the contest when five-eighth Ryan Pritchard found a gap before Austin Quast backed up at speed to dive under the posts. Then winger Beau Newlands was next on the scoresheet with a first-half double in the left corner, as Dylan White’s two conversions pushed Wenty to a 16-0 lead.
Quast was in again before the main break by tiptoeing down the sideline from close range to score, giving his side a near-unassailable 20-0 lead.
The trend continued early in the second half as centre Alfred Smalley found open pasture and scored to extend the Magpies’ lead to 26-0.
While the Hawks came up with a pair tries as the clock ticked down, the Magpies comfortably secured the 16-point win as Wenty set their sights on next week’s Grand Final.
Sydney Shield and Leagues Clubs Australia Ron Massey Cup Grand Final day takes place at Leichhardt Oval on Saturday 13 September with tickets $10 at the gate, and free entry for kids under 12. Both matches are also streamed live on BarTV Sports. Click here to subscribe.
