The Eels Junior Representative teams recorded three wins from four starts over the weekend, with the results leaving all teams in contention for finals football with just two rounds remaining.
On Saturday, the Harold Matthews and SG Ball Cup teams registered strong victories over the Wests Magpies, with the SG Ball side maintaining their undefeated record.
Meanwhile, the Lisa Fiaola and Tarsha Gale sides had mixed success against the Wests Tigers at Leichhardt Oval on Sunday. The Gale team returned to the winners list when they proved too strong for Wests. Unfortunately, a loss to the Tigers ended the Eels unbeaten run in the Lisa Fiaola Cup.
Harold Matthews Cup
The Eels Harold Matthews Cup team produced a remarkable defensive effort to overcome the Magpies in a tight contest at Lidcombe Oval on Saturday.
Christopher Moala posted the first Eels try when a right side shift inside Wests red zone saw him accelerate past his opposite to touch down near the corner post.
Soon after, Cobi McCloskey went very close to adding the second when he was tackled into touch in-goal. Following that near try, the Eels defence stood firm against multiple sets in their red zone.
They reaped the benefits of their resilience in their next possession when they drove play down to the Magpies quarter, where Talen Risati, Samuel Polley and Riley Davis combined in an outside/inside play that sent Davis on his way to the line for a converted try.
An inspirational period of defence from the Eels followed once more, as Wests set up camp in the Eels red zone for the next ten minutes.
With just seconds remaining before the break, the Eels had the opportunity to play it safe in their final possession of the half. Instead, they moved the ball to Talen Risati in a bold right side attacking play.
Talen cut through the defence before linking with Cobi McCloskey who then threw an inside pass to Riley Davis who out sprinted the cover defenders to score.
The conversion took the Eels out to a 16 point lead at the break, which was a remarkable scoreline given the possession and territorial advantage enjoyed by the Magpies.
When play resumed in the second half, the Magpies were able to convert their opportunities into points, scoring twice in the first ten minutes.
Now only six points in arrears they continued to apply red zone pressure, with the Eels scramble defence somehow holding them out.
The Eels finally regained the ascendancy on the back of a penalty which allowed them to advance play deep into Wests territory. Once in the red zone, they used the full width of the field in a right side shift that opened the space for Christopher Moala to score.
Parra put the game to bed five minutes later when left centre Cyrus Bloomfield scooped up a loose ball forty metres out and skipped to the right side of the field. He then linked with Samuel Polley and Christopher Moala before the final pass found Cobi McCloskey for the try.
The 24 to 10 victory was a crucial result for the Eels, leaving them on the cusp of the top eight with two rounds remaining. They return to Eric Tweedale Stadium next week to take on the Central Coast Roosters.
Eels 24 (Tries: Christopher Moala 2, Riley Davis 2, Cobi McCloskey; Goals: Talen Risati 2) defeated Magpies 10.
SG Ball Cup
The Eels consolidated their place at the top of the SG Ball ladder when they overpowered the Magpies at Lidcombe Oval on Saturday.
Ryda Talagi scored the first of the Eels six tries when he took a hit up inside the Magpies quarter and spun out of the clutches of defenders to ground the ball on the line.
Some extraordinary unstructured play then produced the Eels second try.
After chasing and catching a wide bomb on the Wests quarter line, Aidan Kebourian rolled an offload along the ground to supports. Quick hands fed the ball to the right to Cameron Bamblett who then kicked the ball back to the left for Aidan Kebourian to regather and dive over in the corner.
Lincoln Fletcher made it consecutive sideline conversions to take the Eels out to a 12 point lead after 14 minutes.
The Magpies struck back with an unconverted try in the right corner, but the Eels were able to establish a commanding lead by scoring two further tries before the break.
Aidan Kebourian grabbed his second try of the match when Lorenzo Talataina and Cameron Bamblett combined to send him over out wide. Lorenzo Talataina then did it all himself as he stepped and weaved his way through defenders on a thirty metre run to the posts.
At 22 to 4, the Eels hit the sheds in complete control, and they went on with the job after the break by adding two more tries.
Lincoln Fletcher scored the first of these in the 47th minute when he ran off a pass from Lorenzo Talataina inside the Wests quarter and outpaced the defence to the corner.
He then registered his second try of the match by combining with Max Popo on a play to the right of the ruck.
The Magpies posted a converted try in the final ten minutes to take their score to double figures, but the Eels still ran out comfortable winners to continue their undefeated record.
The Eels return to Eric Tweedale Stadium next Saturday when they face the North Sydney Bears.
Eels 34 ( Tries: Aidan Kebourian 2, Lincoln Fletcher 2, Ryda Talagi, Lorenzo Talataina; Goals: Lincoln Fletcher 5) defeated Magpies 10.
Lisa Fiaola Cup
The Eels Lisa Fiaola Cup team lost their undefeated status when they fell to the Wests Tigers at Leichhardt Oval on Sunday.
Early on, the team was on track to continue their winning ways when they posted the opening two tries of the match. Temieke Withers crossed first when she feigned to pass in front of the posts, then evaded the Tigers defence in a sharp fifteen metre dash to the line.
Leonia Vei was next to score after the Eels created a period of sustained pressure inside the Tigers red zone. After taking the first pass off the ruck, Vei stepped and powered her way through defenders in a twenty metre charge to the posts.
With Bailey Ma-Chong adding the extras for both tries, the Eels had established a 12 to nil lead after twenty minutes.
Unfortunately for Parra that lead was short lived as they conceded two tries late in the first half. With the scores locked at the break, it was the Tigers who took all of the momentum into the sheds.
The Tigers were on a roll and went on to establish their dominance by adding the first three tries of the second half. They found their rhythm in attack and Parra’s indiscretions and errors gifted them far too much territory and possession.
A sixteen point lead was going to be difficult to run down, though the Eels did reduce the margin to ten points when Mitszy Cairns cut through the Tigers goal line defence to score her side’s third try.
However the Tigers had the final say when they crossed just before the siren.
Following that loss, the Eels remain in third place on the ladder. They’ll be looking to return to the winners list when they face the Steelers this week at Eric Tweedale Stadium.
Tigers 34 defeated Eels 18 (Tries: Temieke Withers, Leonia Vei, Mitszy Cairns; Goals: Bailey Ma-Chong 3).
Tarsha Gale Cup
The Eels Tarsha Gale team ended a short losing streak when they overcame a spirited Tigers side at Leichhardt Oval on Sunday.
A line break by Tess McWilliams set the platform for the Eels first try when her run took play to the Tigers quarter line. From there, Taylah Falaniko charged on to a pass from Khyliah Gray, before brushing aside defenders on her way to planting the ball between the posts.
The remainder of the first half became an arm wrestle between the quarter lines, with neither team gaining the ascendancy. As a consequence the score remained at six to nil when half time was called.
Though just the lone try was scored in the first stanza, five more were added after the break.
The first of these came after just five minutes when Avena Racoma Ngata was tackled just short of the right corner post and Mariah Fasavalu-Faamausili dived over from dummy half.
Wests struck back ten minutes later when their prop broke free of Eels defenders to score next to the posts, and with the Eels lead reduced to four points it was game on.
Tess McWilliams was denied a try in the Eels next possession when the ref ruled that she knocked on when grounding the ball in-goal, but it mattered little when Ava Jones scored from dummy half soon after.
Following the kick off, the Eels extended their lead when Khyliah Gray and Matoisha Kalepo combined in a left side shift to send Jessamine Aloalii on a sprint to the corner.
Though the Tigers brought it back to a ten point game with a try in the final seconds, it was the Eels who registered a much needed victory to move to third place on the ladder.
The Eels return to Eric Tweedale Stadium next Saturday when they face the Steelers in the penultimate match of the regular rounds.
Eels 20 ( Tries: Taylah Falaniko, Mariah Fasavalu-Faamausili, Ava Jones, Jessamine Aloalii; Goals: Dallis Graham-Withell 2).
