Junior Reps Seasons Come to a Close in Preliminary Finals
The South Sydney Rabbitohs’ junior representative sides’ seasons came to a close at Redfern Oval on Sunday afternoon with the SG Ball Cup and Harold Matthews Cup teams losing their preliminary finals matches.
Meanwhile, the Rabbitohs’ senior pathways teams both fell to the Eels at Redfern Oval on Saturday.
The South Sydney Rabbitohs SG Ball Cup under 19s men’s team fell to the minor premiership-winning Parramatta Eels, 34 points to four, in their preliminary final played at Redfern Oval on Sunday afternoon.
The Eels got away to a strong start, leading 22-nil at one stage and 22-4 at half time, with the Rabbitohs gifting too many opportunities to the Eels who were much bigger and more aggressive than their opponents.
The Rabbitohs try was scored by left winger Jacob Fong after some quick thinking by fullback Yasin Kuscu. The play prior was shut down on the left side of the field, and Kuscu charged to dummy half, went the short side and drew the defence to open the gate for Fong to score in the corner.
Three more second half tries to Parramatta sealed the win and a berth in next Saturday’s Grand Final.
Front rower Daniel Lua was the standout performer for the Rabbitohs, and was ably assisted by his front row partner Maddax Fui and hooker Cody Hill.
It was a strong season for the young Rabbitohs with a number of players set to progress up to the Jersey Flegg Cup under 21s men’s squad, with quite a few players in the squad still eligible to play SG Ball Cup again next season.
We look forward to following their progress this season and next.
Parramatta Eels 34 defeated South Sydney Rabbitohs 4 (Jacob Fong try)
The South Sydney Rabbitohs Harold Matthews Cup under 17s boys’ team went down to the Warriors, 28 points to eight, bringing to a close a wonderful season for the young Rabbitohs at Redfern Oval on Sunday afternoon.
Two tries, one in each half, to fullback Darcy Feltham, was not enough to keep the Rabbitohs in the match against the big Warriors outfit.
The Warriors hammered the South Sydney middle third all afternoon and it paid dividends late in the second half when the defensive fatigue set in and the middle started to open up.
The Rabbitohs only trailed 10-4 at half time with Feltham’s first try being scored in the left corner after he single-handedly bamboozled the Warriors’ defensive line.
The Rabbitohs repelled repeated attacks on their own line in the first half, include seven straight sets where they held up their opponents over the line on numerous occasions, and they were right in the contest and fighting hard.
Feltham was the first to score in the second half, this time scoring in the right-hand corner, slicing through to score out wide, reducing the deficit to two points.
The Warriors began to punch holes in the South Sydney line through the middle in the back end of the match, scoring three tries either under or adjacent to the posts to seal their berth in the Harold Matthews Cup Grand Final at Leichhardt Oval next weekend.
The Rabbitohs’ best were Feltham, centre Taj Aufai-Farani, halfback Charlie Bateup, front rower Anthony Mailangi, lock and captain Keone Anitelea Tsioussis and interchange prop Jahzelle Lokeni.
Similarly to the SG Ball Cup team, there are a number of players in their first year of Harold Matthews Cup football, meaning they can represent the Rabbitohs at this level again next year, with the other players will be looking to progress up to the SG Ball Cup squad in 2026.
It was a fantastic season for the Harold Matthews Cup team and we look forward to following the progress of these players in 2026 and beyond.
Warriors 28 defeated South Sydney Rabbitohs 8 (Darcy Feltham 2 tries)
The Rabbitohs NSW Cup men’s team fell 50 points to 20 at Redfern Oval on Saturday.
South Sydney trailed 32-6 at the half time break with the only points coming from a try to winger Max Lehmann and a conversion to halfback Ashton Ward.
The second half was more fruitful with winger Leonard Skelton crossing in the first set of six after the break, followed by tries to replacement hooker Jordan Plath and second rower Javvier Pitovao.
The Eels were too strong in the end, scoring nine tries to four to seal the two competition points. Hooker Ryan Gray, front rower Toesami Toevai, fullback Ammaron Gudgeon and centre Carson Kaho were the Rabbitohs’ best.
Parramatta Eels 50 defeated South Sydney Rabbitohs 20 (Max Lehmann, Leonard Skelton, Jordan Plath, Javvier Pitovao tries; Ashton Ward 2 goals)
The South Sydney Rabbitohs Jersey Flegg Cup under 21s men’s team went down 32 points to 22 to the Parramatta Eels on Saturday at Redfern Oval.
The Rabbitohs led 12 points to four at the half time break courtesy of tries to winger Daniel Wright and hooker Riley Frame, with both tries being converted by five-eighth Brent Hawkins.
Second half tries to second rower Josh Alhazim and a second try to Wright were not enough to seal victory with the Eels scoring five tries in the second stanza to come over the top of the Rabbitohs.
Wright, Frame and front rower Nazareth Taua were the Rabbitohs’ best players in a hard-fought game.
Parramatta Eels 32 defeated South Sydney Rabbitohs 22 (Daniel Wright 2, Riley Frame, Josh Alhazim tries; Brent Hawkins 3 goals)
