Matthew Soper-Lawler knows a thing or two about winning the Men’s Country Championships, but he believes the Newcastle Rebels' 36-4 victory over Central Coast Pelicans to secure a historic fourth title is one of the most dominant that he has been involved with.
Soper-Lawler has played in the past two Men’s Country Championships wins – he was named Player of the Match last year – but he was among only a handful of survivors from last year’s team to take the field today.
Despite the sea change, the Rebels still proved too strong after cruising to an 18-4 lead at half-time before powering away for a decisive win in the second half. Hooker Luke Huth, who scored a try, had a hand in another and is another Men’s Country Championships veteran having won three deciders, was named Player of the Match.
“I think there’s only about five of us that played last year so it just goes to show that we lost 12 players, 12 more come in and we still get a job done,” Soper-Lawler said.
“I think that was quite dominant. That was one of the most dominant wins which I’m really impressed with. It’s awesome.”
The Rebels were chasing another slice of history in the Men’s Country Championships after winning the previous three editions against the Riverina Bulls (2023), Monaro Colts (2024) and Northern Rivers Titans (2025). The Pelicans were hoping to become the first team to break the streak in a match that was essentially a local derby.
The first 10 minutes were torrid with both sides refusing to yield before Soper-Lawler showed his trademark class after popping a one-handed pass for winger Jacob Afflick to finish off and score in the corner. Fullback Luke Knight landed the conversion from the sideline for a 6-0 lead.
The Rebels went further in front when hooker Luke Huth picked up Knight who dummied to his outside before stepping back inside and past the goal-line defence to score. He converted his own try to extend the lead to 12-0.
The Pelicans needed something to stay in touch and fullback Kiran Page answered the call when he tipped a pass on for winger Corey Fenning to score. Fenning was unable to convert his try from the sideline, but the Pelicans had closed the gap to 12-4.
From that moment on it was all the Rebels. They steadied the ship just before half-time when a grubber kick from Ryan Glanville bounced fortuitously for back-rower Reid Alchin to pick up off the ground and race over to score. Knight converted for an 18-4 lead at half-time.
They put their foot on the accelerator in the second half with tries to Liam Wiscombe, Huth and Zac Montgomery to close out the win and rewrite the history books again.
“We all came together, we had a lot of guys pull out but it’s really good to have the next man up mentality and it shows the strength of our competition,” Soper-Lawler said.
“It’s a different feeling to playing in the Newcastle Rugby League. These guys all come from different clubs and to build those connections in a few weeks and to come out and win it for a fourth time, I’m just super proud of the group.”
