Ron Massey Cup/Sydney Shield 2016

[rightleftin]

Last week Evan Lee switched to Wenty after spending the entire season with Asquith without receiving a debut with North Sydney. After one game Lee has been promoted to NSW Cup.

Now Lindon McGrady has left Auburn to join Wenty and has immediately been added to the NSW cup side. In addition Josiah Tomasi has returned to the Wenty RMC side after playing the first half of the season with Hills District.

An interesting selection is Topou Soapaga at half back for Windsor. Soapaga has played 21 games in the NRL over the last 3 season but all have been in the back row. Salaula Houma, who had his contract with Cronulla cancelled at the end of last season, joined Windsor 2 weeks ago but has now signed with Newtown before the transfer deadline.

 

[CC_Roosters]

Astonishing day back at Lidcombe today. HUGE turnout for an RMC game and the NSWRL really need to get behind this and continue it. I'd love to see an RMC game get televised on Fox each week, possibly on a Sunday night as a replay or Wednesday afternoon. It's great footy being played that doesn't get the audience that it deserves.

How many would you guess in attendance?

 

[rightleftin]

Tony Dosen's RMC Wrap

Western Suburbs Magpies maintained their lead at the top of the Ron Massey Cup table with a convincing 28-10 win over Concord-Burwood Wolves at Lidcombe Oval last Saturday.

Before around 1,100 people - the biggest crowd to attend a Ron Massey Cup match this year, as part of the successful “Back To Lidcombe” Wests Old Boys day promotion – the Magpies were coming away from the Wolves in the second half.

In a tight first 40 minutes, Wests winger Thomas Capper opened the scoring in the 11th minute when he finished off a neat move in the corner.

The Wolves replied after concerted pressure in the 25th minute when hooker Jackson Garlick burrowed his way over from close range to level the scores. That was as close as the visitors got for the rest of the day.

Josh Davis regained the lead when he burst over off a Brendan Waters pass six minutes before half-time to give the Magpies a 10-four lead at the break with Shannon Gallant’s conversion.

Wests effectively won the match with a burst of two tries in three minutes early in the second half against a Wolves side that struggled to overcome the loss of backrower Rodney Mason with an ACL injury to his right knee late in the first stanza.

Luke Williams fed off a pass from man of the match Dayne Craig in the 50th minute for 16-four with Gallant’s conversion, before Gallant superbly finished off a Brendan Waters kick three minutes later to give the Magpies a commanding 22-4 lead to the roars of the big crowd.

With the Wolves offering little in their disjointed attack – even when boom young half Riley Travers was injected – Wests defence held the Wolves safely.

Sione f**kof**ka got a converted try in the 72nd minute to give Concord-Burwood late hope, before Capper finished off a Waters chip kick from yet another Craig burst to bag his second try in the last minute and put the icing on the cake at 28-10 with Gallant’s last conversion.

Gallant led an emotional singing of the Wests team song on the Lidcombe Oval bike track in front of - and with the crowd after the win.

Mounties replied with an emphatic statement of their own the next day across town at Storey Park when they turned the 2015 Grand Final rematch against Asquith into a one sided mismatch – thrashing the Magpies by an incredible 68-4.

After a tight first 10 minutes, Chad Porter’s first of his hat trick of tries in the 11th minute was the signal for the most devastating display seen by a visiting team to Storey Park in many years.

Mounties laid on six more tries in just 25 minutes to lead 34-4 at the break – with second rower Sonny Bristow opening up the lead in the 15th minute, centre Allen Mulia Malau adding to the lead in the 19th minute, followed by the first of winger Finlay Dibley’s hat trick of tries three minutes later, before NRL reality TV Rookie contender Jordan Martin joined in the party with his try three minutes after that for 28-nil after just later.

Magpies full back Alex Nicholls-O’Neill got the one bright moment for Asquith with his 15th try of the season in the 28th minute from a Brad Wall grubber kick in goal.

Normal service then resumed when Porter bagged his second try seven minutes from half-time against the nonplussed defence to open up the 30 point lead at the break.

With super fast speed at the ruck and at the ground - and a rampaging back row of Steve Tavita, Sonny Bristow and boom young forward Jake Goodwin running riot, “the Mulga” were ruthless in the second half with six more unanswered tries to complete the Magpies’ miserable afternoon.

Goodwin muscled his way over through four defenders from close range to open the second half scoring and kill off any hopes of an Asquith revival at 40-four with Porter’s conversion.

Then Mounties stepped into overdrive with five more majors.

Porter completed his hat trick of tries with a clever burst for 46-4, before replacement hooker Mitch Beggs-Mowzcan crashed over shortly after bring up the half century.

Dibley completed his hat trick with his second and third tries using his blinding speed, before Mat Whitehouse dived over in the final minute to warn the rest of the competition that “The Mulga” mean business heading into the back half of the season.

Porter finished with a remarkable personal tally of 32 points in the rout with 10 goals from 12 attempts to go with his three tries – seeing the pivot move past 100 points for the season.

St Marys burst back into the Top Eight at Asquith’s expense with a hard fought 26-18 win over the Auburn Warriors at St Marys Leagues Stadium last Saturday.

After Warriors hooker Connor Jones opened the scoring in the 14th minute, star Saints half Adrian Davis again took charge for the home side.

Davis scored his first try in the 25th minute, then laid on a try for five-eighth Sam Jones 10 minutes later, before completing his double on the stroke of half-time to give St Marys an 18-6 lead at the break.

When centre Ray Lesoa finished off a left side movement started off by (who else) Davis 4 minutes into the second half, the Saints were threatening to blow the Warriors away at 24-6. Davis had landed all four conversions to boot.

Then came a stalemate over the next 25 scoreless minutes as both sides struggled to land the knockout blow.

Warriors winger Ben Dakuwaqa gave the visitors some hope with his 12th try of the season with just on 10 minutes left to bring the scores back to 24-12 with Addison Demetriou’s conversion.

Davis then landed a penalty goal with under 4 minutes left to give the Saints a winning cushion at 26-12. Davis landed five goals from five attempts to go with his two tries for a personal tally of 18 points.

The Warriors had the last word when back rower Junior Tia Kilifi scored with 90 seconds left to make the final score respectable with Demetriou’s third conversion – which brought up the centre’s 100 points for the season.

The Guildford Owls overcame being reduced to 12 men for the second time in three games in a stirring 36-18 win over Cabramatta Two Blues at New Era Stadium last Saturday Night.

In a tense atmosphere dictated by what was at stake – a place in the Top Eight – the Two Blues jumped out of the blocks early with two superbly worked tries inside the first 10 minutes.

Winger Levi Sopi opened the scoring in the third minute in the left corner, before classy utility BJ Nathan finished off a right sided movement in the 10th minute to give ‘Cabra’ an eight-nil lead.

The Owls responded with tries to winger Leslie Ngaluafe in the 18th minute and backrower Matt Rickard two minutes later at the end of the first set from the restart to give Guildford a 10-eight lead with Mason Farrell’s conversion.

The Two Blues came again when centre Isaac Montgomery muscled over through three defenders to score to regain the lead, before fullback Brendan Hikaka dummied his way through poor defence to extend the ‘Cabra’ to 18-10 when Jake Jackson finally nailed a conversion.

In a warning sign of things to come, Owls winger Kelepi Manu scored 3 minutes from half-time to reduce the Cabramatta lead to 18-16 at the break after Farrell’s conversion.

Heeding coach Paul Fletcher’s call at half-time to tackle their way to victory, the Owls shut out a disappointing Two Blues attack to keep the home side scoreless in the 2nd stanza.

The Owls were superb in scoring five unanswered tries of their own.

Tyrone Shelley regained the lead for the Owls with a try from dummy half in the 51st minute to regain the lead for the Owls at 22-18 with Farrell’s conversion.

Emotions were starting to boil when Two Blues five-eighth Corey Makelim was sin binned by referee Jeff Hartup for dissent after the Shelley try.

As he returned, Owls back rower Jarrod Farlow burst through tired defenders to score and extend the Guildford lead to 26-18.

Then came the sensation of the night with experienced ex NRL and Super League forward Shane Shackleton was sent off by referee Hartup for head butting an opponent at a play the ball with 15 minutes left - opening the door for a Cabramatta comeback.

It was the Owls though – just like they did against Asquith a fortnight earlier after having a player sent off – that finished full of running to win going away.

Farrell sealed the win with a superb try with nine minutes left to extend the lead to 30-18, before centre Harmony Hunt finished a late right side raid with three minutes left to put an exclamation mark on the win at 36-18 with Farrell’s conversion.

The Wentworthville Magpies kept third place on the Ron Massey Cup table when they held on to beat an improved Windsor Wolves 30-22 at Ringrose Park last Sunday.

In an entertaining match, centre Dave Sisifa opened the scoring for the Magpies in the 9th minute which he converted for a six-nil lead.

Marli Sini replied for the Wolves for 6-4 five minutes later before Magpies winger Roydon Gillett scored his 12th try of the season in the corner in the 18th minute to extend the Wentworthville lead to 12-4 with Sisifa’s conversion.

After concerted pressure giant centre Abraham Murdock crashed over five minutes from half-time to pull Windsor back to 12-10 with Aaron f**kas’ conversion.

Then the killer blow after Windsor dropped the ball in the first set of six after the restart. Former NRL forward Adrian Ha’angana capitalised on the error when he crashed over from close range righ on half-time for Sisfa to convert and give Wentworthville a handy 18-10 lead at the break.

The Magpies extended the lead when recent Asquith recruit Evan Lee barged over from close range on his Wentworthville debut for a 24-10 lead with Sisifa’s conversion

f**kas scored a super individual try in reply which he converted to keep Windsor in touch in the 51st minute at 24-16, before the killer blow.

Windsor turned the ball over in the first set of six – and Lebanese international Nick Kassis pounced to score in a similar vein to the Lee earlier in the half and blow the lead out again to 30-16 with Sisifa’s conversion. Sisifa landed five goals from five attempts in a perfect afternoon with the boot.

The Wolves came back one last time when centre James Goring scored 14 minutes from the end. for f**kas to convert and give the Wolves a shout in the closing stages.

However, Windsor could not convert the few chances that came their way and the Magpies’ defence held firm to secure their win.

Finally, the Blacktown Workers managed to get a precious two competition points when they did as expected and disposed of the Kingsgrove Colts 52-12 at Hurstville Oval last Saturday.

The Workers exploded out with three tries in the first nine minutes to lead 20-nil after just 20 minutes with tries to Matt Place, Will Butler, Josh Fraser and Henry Raiwalui.

That set the pattern for the rest of the half as Blacktown took out their frustrations of recent heartbreaking losses on the hapless Colts – scoring seven tries in total for the first 40 minutes to have a 34-6 lead at the break and the game virtually won. Anthony Raheb got the Colts’ lone first half try.

The Workers did coast home in the second stanza against the outclassed opposition – only scoring three second half tries with Blake Goodman getting the last try 8 minutes from the end to post to extend the Blacktown lead to 52-6.

Abed Nasser got the Colts’ consolation try right on full-time to make the score a little respectable.

Hills District Bulls enjoyed the weekend off with a bye and a gift two competition points.

Wests lead the Ron Massey Cup on 24 points from Mounties in hot pursuit on 22 and Wentworthville on 20. The Colts are still last on the table with just the four competition points.

Another full round is set down for this weekend with two games on Saturday and four games on Sunday.

All games have a bearing on the Top Eight – but the standout match of the season to date sees competition leaders Wests take on defending premiers Mounties at Campbelltown Stadium on Federal Election Day this Saturday.

It is a top of the table showdown which many pundits predict will be a ‘dress rehearsal’ for a clash with higher stakes on offer in September.

 

[Sharkie Army Gorilla]

Blacktown have signed Marli Sini from Windsor for the rest of the season

 

[Sharkie Army Gorilla]

Blacktown Workers have signed a deal to Play as the Manly Sea Eagles feeder team for 2017. Therefore will play NSW Cup under the Blacktown banner.

Massive news for the club!

 

[rightleftin]

Asquith has had its first win if the season in Sydney Shield with a 28-24 result against Cabramatta. Shae Jarvis was the star, guiding his side from 18-6 deficit at half time.

In the other SS game Mounties has destroyed Wests 82-0.

 

[magpie4ever]

Asquith has had its first win if the season in Sydney Shield with a 28-24 result against Cabramatta. Shae Jarvis was the star, guiding his side from 18-6 deficit at half time.

In the other SS game Mounties has destroyed Wests 82-0.

"So Santa really exists, Janey".

Unbelievable, first Kingsgrove, now Asquith,

 

[thorson1987]

HAHAHAHAHAHA.

Nice effort Wests.

 

[CC_Roosters]

Blacktown Workers have signed a deal to Play as the Manly Sea Eagles feeder team for 2017. Therefore will play NSW Cup under the Blacktown banner.

Massive news for the club!

No doubt massive news for that club, but I am a little concerned that the state cup is far too concentrated in western Sydney resulting in other areas being neglected in the state. E.g. Mounties and blacktown will both be in the second tier as feeders for clubs a long way from their location and meaning half of the reserve pathways in the state will be based in western Sydney. Meanwhile, the northern beaches, eastern suburbs and country areas have no representation.

 

[thorson1987]

nvm

 

[Sharkie Army Gorilla]

Asquith has had its first win if the season in Sydney Shield with a 28-24 result against Cabramatta. Shae Jarvis was the star, guiding his side from 18-6 deficit at half time.

In the other SS game Mounties has destroyed Wests 82-0.

Apparently Cabra had 5 A-Grade debutants. Well done to Asquith. A big result for them

 

[Broncos93]

nvm

:lol:

 

[rightleftin]

Apparently Cabra had 5 A-Grade debutants. Well done to Asquith. A big result for them

Whats the story there? I hope they were not following the lead of Windsor who played only 6 regulars against Kingsgrove.

Wests have established favouritism for the RMC with a crushing 34-8 win over Mounties. It was a contest up to the H/T break with a score of 10-8 but the Magpies dominated the second stanza. In the other game Cabra opened up a 30-0 break at H/T featuring a hat trick to Doug Faaee but then had to hold on grimly as Asquith replied in kind with a final 30-26 score with the difference being Ernest Alo's goal kicking.

 

[Tarantosaurus]

Apparently Cabra had 5 A-Grade debutants. Well done to Asquith. A big result for them

We actually had 6 debutants. We played well in some parts of the game, and in others, a lot of work is needed. Other than that, It may not be the result we wanted, but with almost half the team being new to the squad, I'd say they played well for the first time together.

 

[rightleftin]

Results | Ron Massey Cup Rd 17

Western Suburbs 34 (J Williams 2, J Bonnell, J Mose, V Tsikrikas, B Waters tries; S Gallant 5 goals) def Mounties 8 (J Martin, S Tavita tries)

Cabramatta 30 (D Faaee 3, M Ormsby 2 tries; R Alo 5 goals) def Asquith 26 (J Makatoa 2, A Nicholls-O'Neill, J Hawkins, A Mammone tries; A Kalcina 3 goals)

Concord Burwood 46 (J Flint 3, T Iuta 2, J Uluibbau, K Seru and J Garlick tries; A Booth 7 goals) def Windsor 30 (J Abbott 2, T Willie 2, G Hodgins, D Barnes tries; A f**kas 3 goals)

Wentworthville 32 (N Walker 2, W Roper, R Burroughs, D Howard, A Ha'angana tries; D Sisifa 4 goals) def Blacktown 20 (A Cartisano 2, J Attard, M Sini tries; K Horton 2 goals)

Auburn 36 (P Dakunaqa, D Barakat, A Demetriou, A El Zakhem, J Clark, W Solway, H Akauola tries; A Demetriou 4 goals) def Hills 22 (G McCallum 2, B Vengoa, T Robinson tries; J Boustani 3 goals)

Guildford 36 (L Ngaluafe 2, S Nalesoni, J Farlow, L Brown, P Manumalealii tries; M Farrell 6 goals) def St Marys 24 (C Aunese-Scanlon, C Collins, G Daniela, S Jones tries; A Davis 4 goals)

 

[rightleftin]

Results | Sydney Shield Rd 17

Mounties 82 (M Sivo 4, W Dargan 4, L Speechley 2, E Tavita, B Speechley, J Horton, J Dunn, F Tagiilima tries; J Horton 11 goals) def Western Suburbs 0

Asquith 28 (S Jarvis 2, J Stankovic, U Papera, A Oughtred tries; Jarvis 2, A Papera 2 goals) def Cabramatta 24 (G Vujanovic, J Harrison, B Castle, K Glen tries; B Hawkins 4 goals)

Blacktown 38 (O Zahabe 2, A Niulesa, A Seni, D Cassone, T Sassine tries; A Seni 6, O Zahabe goals) def Wentworthville 24 (H Lohia, N Soofia, J Lombardo, T Bennett, K Cryer, A Iro tries; K Cryer, J Lombardo goals)

Auburn 42 (S Nelson 2, J Farrant, D Petralia, B Mitchell, J Gleeson tries; E Ruka 7 goals) def Hills 28 (E Holmes 2, A Johnson, J Tongahai, T Sartor, A Overton, J Wehbe 2 goals)

Peninsula 42 (J Pickering 3, J See 2, T Wilson 2, E Time tries; L Martin 5 goals) def East Campbelltown 34 (B Baker 3, A Tosia 2, F Terega, F Toutai tries; E Connor 3 goals)

St Marys 28 (J Tuliatu 2, J Enmednis 2, P Scanlan tries; J Butfield 4 goals) def Guildford 14 (J Petero, S Hunt, J King tries; J Maree goal)

Belrose 32 (C Bate 2, B Nichols 2, S Grieve, M Nugent tries; J Mortimer 2, B Nichols 2 goals) drew with Windsor 32 (S Fitzgerald 2, M Kenny, L Atchison, L Jackson, K Hopwood tries; B Hudd 4 goals)

Windsor trailed 32-16 with 20 minutes to go but stormed home to grab a point. Peninsula trailed East Campbelltown 24-10 after 35 minutes.

 

[rightleftin]

Earlier in the season Peninsula coach Craig Gower was listed to play in the Sydney Shield but did not take the field. Two more coaches (and ex NRL players) are listed for the SS this week with Luke Swain (St Marys) and Alex Chan (Wenty).

Actually, the St Marys SS squad is looking fairly experienced with Jared Cannon and Mitch Simpson as the bookends and Shennelle Haumono, who returned to St Marys last week after 13 years with Penrith and Windsor, joining Swain in the backrow.

 

[rightleftin]

Blacktown Workers have become the feeder club for Manly in a landmark agreement that will result in the Silvertails playing games at, and taking players from, traditional Fibro territory.

The Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles from next season will be the home for dropped and aspiring Manly players in the Intrust Super Premiership. Those Sea Eagles players not part of coach Trent Barrett's top 17 will call H.E. Laybutt Fields home in a joint-venture agreement that already allows players to flow to and from the top team to the feeder from June 30.

As of next year, the Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles will make the step up from being Penrith's third-string feeder club to Manly's official reserves team as part of a new-look NSWRL-run competition. The arrangement will give Manly a footprint in a region that has traditionally been "Fibros" territory and provide a new pool of playing talent to nurture and choose from.

The Manly and Western Suburbs rivalry was at its fiercest in the 1970s and was immortalised in Ray Martin's famous 60 Minutes report in 1979. The face-slapping dressing-room scenes involving the likes of Tommy Raudonikis, Ray Brown and Les Boyd were images that became symbols of class warfare, a divide forged by then coach Roy Masters. Now the Sea Eagles are again snaring the best players from the west, although the context is altogether different.

Current Blacktown Workers coach Pat Weisner will remain coach of a side that will wear new jerseys incorporating the traditional maroon-and-white of the Sea Eagles, while also acknowledging the sponsors and history of Blacktown.

The deal is the result of months of secret negotiations and will allow the clubs to save costs, share resources and allow Barrett to focus solely on the task of preparing his first-grade side. However, there is unlikely to be an official announcement any time soon due to NSWRL protocols.

Plans are well advanced for a multimillion-dollar redevelopment of Blacktown Workers Sports Club that will include the establishment of an aged-care facility and a sporting centre of excellence that will be available for Sea Eagles reserve graders. The club will also provide a home away from home for Manly, who could use the venue to host post-game functions when they are playing matches in Sydney's western suburbs.

The Blacktown-Manly partnership is similar to the feeder arrangements between South Sydney and the North Sydney Bears, Parramatta and Wentworthville Magpies and Cronulla and the Newtown Jets.

Manly had previously used the Sunshine Coast Sea Eagles as their feeder club, flying up prospective players to the Queensland Cup competition. Star halfback Daly Cherry-Evans came through that system before making his NRL debut in 2011. There had been negotiations to make Mounties their feeder club some years ago, but they have subsequently formed a relationship with Canberra.

The Sea Eagles avoided equalling their worst losing streak with a commanding win over St George Illawarra at Brookvale Oval on Monday night. Blacktown Workers are currently last in the Sydney Shield competition and 11th of the 13 teams in the Ron Massey Cup.

The introduction of Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles isn't likely to be the only new addition to the Intrust Super Premiership from next season. NSWRL officials are exploring the feasibility of adding Fiji to the 2017 competition. League powerbrokers are hoping Fiji could replicate the success of the PNG Hunters in Queensland's Intrust Super Cup, a team that has earned a cult following since joining the competition in 2013.


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...wn-workers-20160705-gpz1zm.html#ixzz4DaRAO9RJ
Follow us: @smh on Twitter | sydneymorningherald on Facebook

 

[rightleftin]

Tony Dosen's RMC Wrap

The Western Suburbs Magpies re-established themselves as Ron Massey Cup title favourites with an emphatic 34-8 disposal of rivals Mounties at Campbelltown Stadium last Saturday.

The top-of-the-table ‘Match Of The Year’ lived up to the billing in the first half; Wests exploded out of the blocks with two early tries to Jay Bonnell and Jerome Mose to lead 10-nil after as many minutes.

Mounties struck back with winger Jordan Martin’s 13th try of the season in the 16th minute and Steve Tavita crossing four minutes from half-time to be only down 10-8 at the break.

The Magpies then set a marker down with Jackson Williams’ first try from the first set of the second half. Wests made the most of poor Mounties discipline when interchange prop Billy Tsikrikas scored six minutes later to extend the lead to 22-8.

Star half Brendan Waters then virtually sealed the points win with his try in the 55th minute, before Williams put an exclamation mark on the win with his second try 10 minutes from time to stun Mounties. Shannon Gallant converted all the Magpies’ second half tries.

The Cabramatta Two Blues staggered home to outlast Asquith 30-26 at Storey Park in the other Saturday match played last weekend.

In the ultimate game of two halves, Cabramatta were irresistible against a very poor Magpies outfit in racing to a 30-nil half-time lead.

Replacement fullback Chris Faaee helped himself to a first half hat-trick – including a 50 metre effort pouncing on a loose pass from new Asquith half Nathan Rumsby after a Magpies scrum win – and bustling lock Mikaera Ormsby bagged a first-half double.

Asquith looked out of sorts as typified when fullback Jack Hawkins was sin binned for dissent by referee James Vella after Faaee’s second try. Two Blues half Ernest Alo converted all five tries to give the visitors what seemed a match-winning lead.

The second stanza was a complete turnaround in fortunes. Helped by the Two Blues being caned eight-to-one in the second half penalties by referee Vella, Asquith clung their way back.

Centre Jeco Makatoa shrugged off an earlier head knock to get the Magpies on the board before winger Alex Nicholls-O’Neill bagged his 16th try of the season in the right corner.

Hawkins then finished off a left side movement to get Asquith back to 30-14 before prop Al Mammone barged over from close range to bring the Magpies within striking distance 16 minutes left at 30-20 after Adam Kalcina’s conversion.

When Makatoa powered his way over for his second try with nine minutes left, Asquith were poised to pull off a miracle at 30-26 down – especially as Cabramatta winger Levi Sopi was sin binned by referee Vella for dissent in the lead up to Makatoa’s second try.

Asquith had their chances against the 12-man Cabramatta defence in the closing stages, but dropped balls from Mammone after a scrum win and Nicholls-O’Neill with a try on with two minutes left sealed the Magpies’ fate and Cabramatta could breathe a huge sigh of relief.

A first half hat-trick of tries to club stalwart Joe Flint inspired Concord-Burwood to keep their spot in the top four with a 46-30 win over Windsor in the match at Goddard Park last Sunday.

Flint opened the scoring for a fired-up home side in the fourth minute and countered a Tori Willie reply with great back up play to score his second and third tries inside 25 minutes to give the home side a 24-6 lead. Winger Joe Uluibau got Concord-Burwood’s other first half try.

Willie completed a first-half double to give Windsor some hope at 24-10 down at the break.

That hope was set back on its heels by the home side when prop Tifa Iuta used his power to bag a double from close range in the first 10 minutes of the second half to blow the Concord-Burwood lead out to 34-10.

Windsor came back again midway through the half with tries to Jesse Abbott and Guy Hodgins to get the visitors in with a hope at 34-20, before interchange hooker Jackson Garlick sealed the win with a well-deserved try 15 minutes from time for 40-20 with Aaron Booth’s conversion.

Giant Concord-Burwood backrower Kem Seru made a sure thing of the two competition points with 10 minutes left when he crashed over for 46-20 after Booth converted – the hooker/half landed seven from eight on the day with the boot.

Abbott completed his double and Danyon Barnes got a late consolation try for Windsor to make the final score more respectable.

The Wentworthville Magpies moved back to second spot on the Massey Cup ladder with a 32-20 win over the Blacktown Workers at Ringrose Park last Sunday.

Atfer Will Roper gave the Magpies the perfect start in the fourth minute, Ryan Burroughs followed up with a neat try in the corner to give Wentworthville a 10-nil lead after 15 minutes.

Winger Andrew Cartisano continued his good try scoring form with the Workers’ reply in the 20th minute for Kurt Horton to convert and leave the Magpies with a 10-6 half-time lead after a tight final 20 minutes of the first stanza.

Magpies backrower Dan Howard extended the home side’s lead early in the second half before Cartisano completed his double to keep the Workers in the game.

When Jake Attard finished off a sweeping movement to score 14 minutes into the second half, the Workers hit the front for the first time at 16-14 with Horton’s conversion.

However, once again, with the Workers in sight of a massive win, they were overrun.

Wentworthville upped the ante with fullback Nick Walker’s first try midway through the half to regain the lead, before journeyman forward Adrian Ha’angana extended the lead with 14 minutes left to give the Magpies the upper hand.

Walker clinched the two competition points with his second try with five minutes left to blow the Wenty lead out to 32-16 with Siaosi Sisifa’s conversion.

New Workers mid-season recruit Marli Sini got a consolation try in the last minute.

The Guildford Owls’ winning form continued with a 36-24 win over the St Marys Saints at McCredie Park last Sunday.

Paul Fletcher’s men won the match with an opening blast of tries to lead 24-nil late in the first half.

With former Cronulla and Wests Tigers NRL half Penani Manumalealii getting the better of the tussle with Adrian Davis in the halves, the Owls blitzed St Marys with four early tries.

Winger Leslie Ngaluafe opened the scoring before prop Siaosi Naelosi crashed over from close range to make it 12-nil.

Jarred Farlow and half Lazarus Brown then added further tries for the 24-nil lead.

Despite the Saints pulling the score back with tries to winger Chris Aunese-Scanlon and hooker Cam Collins to pull the scores back, the Owls were always in control.

Guildford extended their lead when Ngaluafe completed his double and Manumalealii was rewarded for his outstanding match with his second try for the Owls since joining the club.

Centre Geoff Daniela and five-eighth Sam Jones got late tries for the Saints to make the final score more respectable.

Finally, the Auburn Warriors maintained their hopes of a top four place with a stunning 36-22 win over a disappointing Hills District Bulls at Crestwood Reserve last Sunday.

The Hills faithful were on good terms with themselves early as the Bulls burst out of the blocks with three early tries.

Livewire fullback Gerard McCallum got an early double before centre Ben Vengoa finished off a midfield break for the Bulls to lead 16-nil after just 15 minutes. Half James Boustani converted two of the early Bulls tries.

The Warriors worked their way back into the game with tries to backrower Hala Akuaola Laula and winger Abraham El Zakhem late in the half to cut the lead back to only 16-8 at the break.

The Warriors then stunned the Bulls’ supporters with a devastating period of attack in the middle period of the second half.

The Warriors scored four tries in 10 minutes to blow the game wide open in the visitors’ favour.

Danny Barakat, winger Ben Dakuwaqa’s 13th try of the season, Will Solway and hooker Jamie Clark all scored in the blitzkrieg that virtually won the match for the Warriors with a 30-16 lead with 20 minutes left.

Talisman centre Addison Demetriou sealed the win with his eighth try of the season with seven minutes left to complete a remarkable 36 unanswered points by the Warriors after the Bulls’ fast start.

Bulls prop Tim Robinson scored a belated consolation try for the Bulls in the last minute.

The Kingsgrove Colts enjoyed a weekend off with their second bye of the season.

Wests big win has opened up a four point gap on Wentworthville and Mounties at the top of the table, with another four point gap to Concord-Burwood in fourth spot.

A log jam has formed around the last two spots in the eight, with 5 teams separated by only two points from seventh placed Hills District to eleventh placed Blacktown Workers. The Colts are still bottom of the ladder on six points after their second bye.

This weekend sees another full round of matches with Blacktown Workers playing Wests at Laybutt Fields on Saturday and the five other matches on Sunday – finishing with the twilight fixture at New Era Stadium between Cabramatta and St Marys kicking off at 5pm on Sunday.

 

[rightleftin]

Tony Dosen's SS Wrap

The Asquith Magpies finally broke through for their first victory for the 2016 season with a dramatic 28-24 win over the Cabramatta Two Blues at Storey Park last Saturday.

In a match that ebbed and flowed, the much maligned and criticised Magpies outlasted the Two Blues with a storming second half finish.

After a tight if not error-riddled opening period, Cabramatta prop George Vujanovic opened the scoring in the 15th minute before Magpies skipper Shae Jarvis levelled the scores following a Two Blues turnover from the restart set two minutes later.

Then Cabramatta made the most of their chances with quick tries to centre Jamie Harrison and lock Brent Castle in the last three minutes of the half to take an 18-6 lead into the break after Brody Hawkins converted both tries.

After creating chances in the early part of the second half, Asquith struck back when prop Jamin Stankovic barged over from close range.

Then Jarvis – playing the game of his life at hooker – scored a superb 55-metre solo try from dummy half through the teeth of the Cabramatta defence to bring the Magpies back to 18-16 with plenty of time to play after Aaron Papera’s conversion.

The Two Blues looked again to have established a winning lead when fullback Kyle Glen took advantage of an Asquith error from the restart to score on the ensuing set for 24-16 with Hawkins’ conversion.

However, Asquith were not to be denied.

Coach Ina Papera – having put the boots on to come off the bench – charged over through three Cabramatta defenders to put Asquith within striking distance.

Then on the back of great go forward by the pack, fullback Andy Oughtred finished off a sweeping support movement with three minutes left to give the Magpies the lead in a match for the first time this season. Jarvis converted and Asquith led 28-24.

The home side held on for the win in the closing stages – and jubilant scenes akin to winning Grand Finals broke out at the final siren.

The Peninsula Seagulls maintained their place in 2nd spot on the Sydney Shield ladder with an entertaining 42-34 win over East Campbelltown at Lake Park last Sunday.

In what was a 15-try feast, the Seagulls jumped out to an early 10-nil lead after 13 minutes with two early tries to workaholic backrower Todd Wilson.

Just as the Seagulls looked to be on their way, East Campbelltown struck back hard

2015 Sydney Shield player of the year Ben Baker signalled his return from injury with the first two of his three tries, before centre Amamono Tovio scored a superb hat-trick in the space of nine minutes with a combination of superb attack and poor Seagulls goal line defence.

In the space of 20 minutes, East Campbelltown went from 10-nil down to 24-10 up.

Seagulls fullback Jake Pickering scored his first try in the shadows of half-time to get the Seagulls back within striking distance at 24-16 at the break with Luke Martin's conversion.

Fired up by a blast from co-coaches Craig Gower and Scott Pethybridge at half-time, the Seagulls won the match with a period of blistering attack - scoring three tries in the first 12 minutes of the second half to go to a 32-24 lead.

Man of the match Pickering's blinding speed from fullback sealed a brilliant hat-trick - his second and third tries were scored in this period to take his tally to 16 tries for the year.

Jarrod See also got in on the act with a try in this period. Centre Knox Time made sure of the win in the 58th minute with a well worked move, and See got his second try with 12 minutes left to extend the match winning lead to 42-24 with Todd Wilson landing his first conversion of the season.

Baker completed his hat-trick – the third of the match – with five minutes left before Eagles winger Fusi Toutai had the last word with the final try with three minutes left to make the final score look closer with Ed Connor’s conversion.

In a grandstand finish, the gutsy Windsor Wolves came from the clouds to score three tries in the last 10 minutes to force a 32-all draw with the Belrose Eagles at Lionel Watts Reserve last Sunday.

Belrose started off well in scoring the first two tries - class fullback Christian Bate's first from a James Mortimer inside pass and Shem Grieve from another Mortimer face ball - to lead 10-nil after as many minutes.

Windsor – on the back of the improved recent form of two wins at their previous two starts – were quick to strike back.

Backrower Mitch Kenny got the Wolves on the board in the 18th minute, before hooker Luke Atchison finished a blind side move wide out in the 29th minute to level up at 10-all with Ben Hudd’s conversion.

Belrose winger Blake Nicholls got his first try seven minutes from the break from a well worked move down the left for a Belrose 14-10 lead, before a superb counter attack saw Wolves winger Shaun Fitzgerald dash 70 metres to score and give Windsor a 16-14 half-time lead with another Hudd conversion.

Belrose then controlled possession beautifully for the first 25 minutes of the second half.

This culminated in three sparkling long range tries in 10 minutes midway through the 2nd half.

Nicholls' completed his second try after Wolves winger Zac Ryan dropped a high spiral bomb from Mortimer, then Bate completed his double from a 55 metre sprint before Matt Nugent backed up a 60 metre bust by centre Josese Rika bust inside his own half to give Belrose what seemed to be a match winning 32-16 lead with under 20 minutes left.

However, Mortimer badly tore his right calf muscle when in support for Bate's second try which forced him to leave the field.

Without Mortimer's steadying hand, the Wolves made their decisive come back.

Fitzgerald scored his second try with 10 minutes left, then centre Lachlan Jackson burst 45 metres to score a well worked try with three minutes to play.

Atchison then pulled off the big play of the match from the next set from the restart - a superb 40-20 kick with under two minutes on the clock to give the Wolves one last set in attack.

Half back Kye Hopwood burrowed over from close range at the end of that set to sensationally level the scores.

Hudd had the chance to win the game for Windsor with the touchline conversion after the full-time siren.

However, his kick faded just wide to the left to leave the final scores drawn – the Wolves’ second draw for the Shield season.

Two converted tries in the last 15 minutes ensured that Blacktown Workers pulled off the upset of the round by toppling defending premiers Wentworthville 38-24 at Ringrose Park last Sunday.

The Workers laid the platform for the upset when prop Alan Niulesa opened the scoring in the fourth minute for a 6-nil score with Alex Seini’s conversion.

Then both sides when virtually try for try for the rest of the first half as tries to Harry Lohia, Nat Saofi and Taylor Bennett ensured that the Magpies took a 14-12 lead into the half-time break. Omar Zahabe got the Workers’ other first half try.

After Seini got the first try of the second half to regain the lead for the Workers for 18-14 with Zahabe’s conversion, a thrilling finish was set up by a superb try to Kamren Cryer which he converted before a Seini penalty goal levelled scores at 20-all with 20 minutes to play.

Workers winger Daniel Cassone gave the Workers the decisive lead with a neat try for Seini to convert to give the visitors a 26-20 lead.

Andre Iro replied again for Wentworthville to bring the difference back to two points, but the Workers’ outfit steadied when Zahabe scored with just over 10 minutes left to extend the lead to 32-24 with another Seini conversion.

The Workers sealed their win when hooker Toni Sassine crashed over with three minutes left for Seini to convert and send the defending Premiers crashing to their second straight loss.