Junior Reps Wrap: Finals Loom For All Grades

The Eels Lisa Fiaola Cup side returned to the winners list when they defeated the Steelers in wet conditions at Eric Tweedale Stadium on Saturday.

Though it was a tight contest for most of the match, the Eels eventually proved too strong, with victory ensuring that they retained third place on the ladder.

The Eels established an early territorial advantage, and went close to scoring when Irae Savea had the ball punched from her grasp when attempting to ground it over the line. 

Parra’s dominance was eventually rewarded on the back of a fiery tone setting run by Mitzsy Cairns that had the Steelers on the back foot in their red zone. From there, Kaizen Morgan-Pritchard took on the retreating defence, slicing between defenders to win the race to the line. 

Bailey Ma-Chong landed the challenging conversion and the Eels took a six nil lead to the break.

The arm wrestle continued for most of the second half but the physicality of the Eels in the waterlogged conditions finally took its toll on the visitors.

A dynamic run out of dummy half by Cody Tuimaseve saw her collared just short of the line with the Steelers struggling to recover. A couple of tackles later Temieke Withers slipped a late pass to Georgia Wansey who was able to dive over through contact to score a crucial try. 

Ma-Chong then added the extras from out wide and the match was close to wrapped up.

Not long after, Bailey Ma-Chong landed a penalty goal to extend the lead to 14 points with less than five minutes remaining.

Finally, the exclamation mark was delivered just before full time when Sharon Latapu darted through the tiring Steelers defence for the Eels third converted try.

Next Saturday, the Eels face the undefeated Bulldogs in the first match to be staged at the Eels Centre of Excellence at Kellyville Park.

Eels 20 (Tries: Kaizen Morgan-Pritchard, Georgia Wansey, Sharon Latapu; Goals: Bailey Ma-Chong 4) defeated Steelers 0.

Tarsha Gale Cup

There was heartbreak for Parra’s Tarsha Gale Cup team when the second placed Steelers came from ten points down to snatch victory at Eric Tweedale Stadium on Saturday.

The Steelers began well and enjoyed the territorial advantage for much of the first half, with the Eels trapped in their own quarter for extended periods.

With their defence repelling wave after wave of Steelers attack, the Eels gradually grew in confidence. When the opportunity to return fire finally arrived, the Eels were ready.

After a scrum win near the Steelers quarter, a big run from Fontayne Tufuga took play towards the posts. Ryvrr-Lee Alo then challenged the defence on the left edge before offering a delightful pass to Tess McWilliams who planted the ball for the try.

Just before the break, Sualo Lafoga was denied a try when the officials deemed the cut out pass from Aaliyah Soufan was forward, but it mattered little as the Eels scored on their next possession.

It came when Alana O’Loughlin centred the ball to the posts with some good leg speed, and then secured a quick play the ball. From there Armani-Lea Auvae stormed into and through the defence for a try that took the Eels out to a ten point lead at the break.

An error by the Eels from the kick off gifted the Steelers an opportunity to strike back and they did just that when a last tackle kick was backed up by a fine chase and catch. The conversion left the Steelers just four points adrift, and a second try minutes later, again from a kick, levelled the scores.

As time ticked away, it was looking like the team that could minimise their errors in the wet conditions would emerge victorious. Unfortunately, the Eels struggled with their completions and a penalty to the Steelers close to full time would prove to be crucial.

On the back of that call, the Steelers advanced play to the Eels red zone and Parra’s defence finally cracked with the visitors scoring a converted try.

The Eels had a late chance to force a draw when Illawarra knocked on in the set after points, but another dropped ball in the Steelers quarter secured their fate.

Next week the Eels face the table topping Bulldogs in the final match of the regular rounds at the Eels new Centre of Excellence at Kellyville Park.

Steelers 16 defeated Eels 10 (Tries: Tess McWilliams, Armarni-Lea Auvae; Goals: Dallis Graham-Withell).

Harold Matthews Cup

The eighth placed Eels rose to the occasion when they overcame the second placed Central Coast Roosters in the penultimate round of the Harold Matthews Cup at Eric Tweedale Stadium on Saturday.

Though the wet conditions made completions difficult during the opening 25 minutes, the Eels enjoyed the better of the territorial battle in what was a very physical contest.

After setting up camp in the Roosters quarter, the Eels finally broke through when a lofted pass by Riley Davis found Cobi McCloskey ten metres out from the line and the winger grounded the ball in the corner despite the efforts of the cover defenders.

The Roosters had more opportunities to attack in the latter part of the first half, but the Eels defence held strong and they went to the break with a four nil lead.

That arm wrestle continued in the second half as both teams lifted their intensity. A series of errors by the Eels then left them under immense pressure and the Roosters attack started to find its groove.

After receiving numerous opportunities in the Eels red zone, the Roosters finally scored their first try and the conversion took them to a two point lead with fifteen minutes left on the clock.

Then, with eight minutes remaining and a player from each team in the sin bin, Talen Risati levelled the scores with a thirty metre penalty goal. 

As spectators moved to the edge of their seats, the play of the day finally arrived with less than sixty seconds on the clock.

Talen Risati worked a blindside move down the right wing, delivering a perfect cut out pass to Cobi McCloskey. The Eels winger broke clear before drawing the Roosters fullback and passing inside for Riley Davis to score the match winner.

Victory in this match enabled the Eels to retain their place in the top eight, but they will need to defeat the Sea Eagles at Narrabeen next Saturday to secure their place in the finals.

Eels 10 (Tries: Cobi McCloskey, Riley Davis; Goals: Talen Risati) defeated Central Coast Roosters 6.

SG Ball Cup

The undefeated Eels SG Ball side overpowered the fifteenth placed Bears to remain at the top of the ladder, but the Round 8 Eric Tweedale Stadium clash was not all one way traffic.

In a tight first half, the Eels struggled to complete their sets, and did not post their first points until the 30th minute when Christopher Petrus crossed off a crash play next to the posts.

Then, in the final minute before the break, the Eels dealt a shattering blow to the Bears. After applying pressure to the Eels line, the Bears appeared to have scored when a perfectly weighted kick found the Eels in-goal and the ball seemed to be grounded by the chaser.

Unfortunately for the visitors, the match officials deemed it a knock on and Cameron Bamblett realised that the opportunity was there for a quick re-start and sprinted to the quarter line for the tap. 

With the Bears defence not yet in position, the Eels fullback linked with Lincoln Fletcher, who quickly offloaded to Lorenzo Talataina, and the five-eighth raced sixty metres to score in the corner as the siren sounded.

The ten point half time lead was arguably undeserved, but there was no question about the superiority of the Eels as they posted five tries in the second stanza.

Andes Johansson scored the first of these just three minutes after the break when he spun out of contact on the Bears line and touched down. The Eels were winning the battle through the middle and Lachlan Coinakis was next to grab a try when he snuck over from dummy half despite the attention of multiple defenders.

Parra added the fifth try of the day in the set after points when Nathan Howlett beat the Norths fullback to the ball in a determined chase of a Lincoln Fletcher kick. 

Eels left winger Lorima Saukuru provided the finish to a backline shift in scoring Parra’s penultimate try, then the Bears grabbed their only points of the match when Buster Hindmarsh grounded the ball following a kick into the Eels in-goal.

Finally, Lincoln Fletcher and Lorenzo Talataina put the icing on the cake when they combined in a scrum play on the Bears quarter line that sent Aidan Kebourian on a charge to the right corner for the Eels seventh try.

The Eels wrap up the regular season when they travel to Narrabeen this coming Saturday to take on the Sea Eagles.

Eels 38 (Tries: Christopher Petrus, Lorenzo Talataina, Andes Johansson, Lachlan Coinakis, Nathan Howlett, Lorima Saukuru, Aidan Kebourian; Goals: Lincoln Fletcher 5) defeated Bears 4.