The Rabbitohs NSW Cup side was the sole winner from the weekends of Pathways footy, putting on an inspiring display against the Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles.
Our Harvey Norman NSW Women’s Premiership went down to an elite Sharks side, in a game where the scoreline didn’t truly reflect the performance on the day.
The Jersey Flegg side showed plenty of improvement, but were ultimately denied in the late stages of a courageous comeback, as they went down to the Sea Eagles
Harvey Norman NSW Women’s Premiership
The Rabbitohs NSW Women’s side was outclassed by a tough Sharks outfit on Friday night in Gosford.
It was a tough game for Souths, after going behind in the opening stages, the Sharks ran away with the game and proved to be too clinical with the ball in hand.
The Sharks were tested by the Rabbitohs attack, however their resilience in defence resulted in a scoreless day for the girls.
Tiana Penitani and Maddie Studdon got the Sharks off to an incredible start, with tries in the opening five minutes.
As the errors began to plague the Rabbitohs in attack, the Sharks pounced with their third try of the afternoon through Andie Robinson.
Cronulla went into the break-up by 16 points, with the Rabbitohs unable to convert on any of their chances close to the line.
South started off the second-half on a positive note, forcing the Sharks on the backfoot with a few set-restarts, giving them a massive boost in momentum.
After getting through a tricky opening period, the Sharks reclaimed control of the game as Kiana Takairangi found the line, shortly before Penitani tallied up a double.
The final ten minutes were a struggle for Souths, giving the Sharks to opportunity to extend their lead, which they firmly took.
Alexandra Weir and Takairangi capped off the scoring for the Sharks, as they walked away with a comfortable 36-0 win.
It was a disappointing day, but one that the girls can take plenty of positives from.
Ellie Johnston put on a courageous display in the forward pack, giving her all throughout the match and lifting the side in attack.
Monique Donovan was inspirational defensively, with targeted her edge being targeted throughout the game, she stood tall and contained the potent Sharks attack.
Sharna Piccinelli got through a mountain of work in defence, putting on a true captain’s display in a losing effort.
The Rabbitohs NSW Women’s side are set to play at Ironmark High Performance Centre for the first time this season, when they take on the Knights next Saturday morning.
NSW Cup
South Sydney’s NSW Cup side has extended their winning streak to three, with another impressive showing against the Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles.
After getting through a disrupted build up to last week’s game, the Rabbitohs welcomed back some of the regular starters, whilst continuing to bleed in some younger faces.
With a stellar first-half in the books, the Rabbitohs backed it up with a strong showing in the second-half, holding off the Sea Eagles for another win.
It was a disappointing start to the game for the Rabbitohs, after being unable to hold onto the ball and gifting the Sea Eagles some key set restarts.
The visitors got on the board first, after James Segeyaro broke through the line and set up James Roumanos for the opener.
This try only ignited the Rabbitohs attack, returning the favour minutes later, after a brilliant solo try from Jake Tago in the 16th minute.
Jaxson Paulo sensationally finished off a dangerous kick from Dean Hawkins, giving Souths their first lead of the game.
The Rabbitohs quickly doubled their lead minutes later, after another strong solo effort, this time from Peter Mamouzelos.
Both sides struggled to hold onto to the ball throughout the backend of the half, causing a back and forth period of the game.
Josiah Karapani continued on his excellent form, with a try on the eve of halftime, capping off a brilliant line break with a four-pointer.
It was a back and forth start to the first-half, with the Sea Eagles finding the upper hand with a try from Bilal Maarbani.
After holding out a determined Sea Eagles side after the Maarbani try, the Rabbitohs swung the momentum in their favour and begun to shut down the dangerous play of the opposing halves.
Maila Chan-Foon put the result beyond doubt in the last ten minutes, with a notable try to put the Rabbitohs ahead by 14.
After being on the bench but not playing in the NRL fixture, Jaxson Paulo impressed in the centres, running for 188 metres and getting the try that put the Rabbitohs ahead
Josiah Karapani undoubtedly had his best game in NSW Cup, leading all players with 220 run metres, three line breaks, 11 tackle breaks and a crucial four-pointer on the brink of halftime.
Trent Peoples continued on his outstanding NSW Cup campaign with another notable showing, leading all players with 46 tackles, whilst tallying up an important line break assist and try assist.
It was another impressive result for the Rabbitohs, who head into their game next week against the Knights, full of confidence in search of a fourth straight win.
Jersey Flegg Cup
The Rabbitohs Jersey Flegg side went down in a tight outing against the Sea Eagles, resulting in an unfortunate fourth straight loss.
After heading into the break level at six points apiece, the game was there for the taking.
However with a few crucial decisions and errors falling the way of the Sea Eagles, the visitors capitalised on a strong start to the second-half, holding on for a narrow victory.
The visitors got on the board first through Iverson Mapu-Satiu, making the Rabbitohs pay for a critical mistake.
Souths begun to swing the momentum in their favour, gaining a massive set-restart and scoring on the heels of an impressive run from Trent Griffiths.
After a rather even first-half in the books, the Sea Eagles exploded out of the blocks, putting the hosts on the backfoot in the early stages after the restart.
Sunia Siasau capped off the successful period for the Sea Eagles, with his try in the 44th minute.
The Sea Eagles doubled their lead moments later, as Gordon Chan Kum Tong caught the Rabbitohs defence off-guard and crashed over for the third try of the afternoon.
The visitors continued to push forward and forced Souths into some uncharacteristic penalties close to the line, giving the Sea Eagles two penalty goals in the process.
Tyron Munro gave the Rabbitohs a lifeline with 15 minutes remaining, capping off a memorable debut with a four-pointer.
It just wasn’t the Rabbitohs day, having a try under the post ruled out in the final minutes, which would of left them with a grandstand finish.
Leon Te Hau backed up from his impressive showing last week, putting on another clinic and becoming a real leader from the back.
Tyron Munro sensationally made his mark on Jersey Flegg, getting a try on debut and fitting in seamlessly.
Romano Cook had another impressive game from hooker, leading the Rabbitohs in defence whilst catching the Sea Eagles defence off-guard on several occasions in attack.
Head of Pathways, Joe O’Callaghan noted his pride in the showing from the NSW Cup side, whilst stating the improvements shown from Jersey Flegg and the Women’s
“The NSW Cup bench did an incredible job, that’s where we’ve dropped off lately, I thought it was a weekend where everyone needed to step up and those four players off the bench stood up and impressed throughout,” he said.
“They’re a very strong side the Sharks [NSW Women’s], they’ve been together for a few year and have lots of NRLW experience, I thought the girls showed plenty of positives and it just blew out at the end,”
“I thought we did a really good job in the middle period of the game, but the Sharks were just too classy and showed the girls what I believe a top-two side in this competition looks like.”
“Jersey Flegg could of gone either way, there were a few important calls and errors that cost them on the day and try disallowed in the end didn’t help,”
“The boys hung in showed a lot of effort, they showed a lot of improvement, now we just got to find a couple more points and the results will begin to fall our way.
