NSWRL Wrap: Hawks and Cabramatta continue strong starts as HM and SG Ball finals near

RON MASSEY CUP 

Ryde-Eastwood and St Marys have made their case for early favouritism in the 2023 Ron Massey Cup, surging to the top of the table as the only teams with a perfect record after two rounds. Fullback Curtis Wilson led the way at Lidcombe Oval, scoring a double as the home side made light work of Penrith Brothers in Lidcombe. 

The Saints were just as dominant against the defending premiers Hills Bulls. Though the teams exchanged blows early in an absorbing back and forth, the Saints pushed ahead through a double to captain Tony Satini, who joins Wilson atop the try-scorer charts. 

The Silktails celebrated their first home game of the season with a dominant display against the Bulldogs, led by doubles to Tomasi Seru and Timoci Kotoisuva in front of a euphoric crowd. 

The Bulldogs will be relieved to have the bye next week after a harrowing start to the season has left them rooted to the foot of the table with a sizable points differential. While the Hawks take on fellow strugglers Mounties, the Saints will take on Brothers in what promises to be a thrilling local derby. 

KAIVITI SILKTAILS 44 (T Seru 2, T Kotoisuva 2, M Nasau tries*; O Natoga 2, Seru goals) D. CANTERBURY 10 (Scorers unavailable). 

‍RYDE-EASTWOOD 24 (C Wilson 2, B Cousins, R Miller tries; T Cassell 4 goals) D. PENRITH BROTHERS 8 (R Garner, F Iosefa tries). 

‍WENTWORTHVILLE 18 (J Colovatti, D Smith tries*; Smith 3 goals) D. MOUNTIES 4 (L Mulitalo try). 

‍ST MARYS 32 (S Tavita 2, H Bonanno 2, T Satini tries*; J Rafferty-Butfield 4 goals) D. HILLS BULLS 12 (S Garner try*; B Keighran 2 goals). 

NEXT WEEK - SUNDAY, APRIL 2

GLEBE v KAIVITI SILKTAILS
Wentworth Park, 11.45am

MOUNTIES v RYDE-EASTWOOD
Aubrey Keech Reserve, 3pm

WENTWORTHVILLE v HILLS BULLS
Ringrose Park, 3pm

PENRITH BROTHERS v ST MARYS
St Marys Leagues, 3pm 

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SYDNEY SHIELD

Cabramatta are going from strength to strength in the Sydney Shield, running in seven tries in a rampant attacking display, with a double for Larry Muagututia taking him to four tries from just two games as the competition’s leading try-scorer. 

St Marys are the only other unbeaten team after two rounds, with doubles to Mason Iaria and Fred Pupu establishing the lead and a perfect six from six by goal-kicker Riley Stokes maintaining a comfortable margin. 

Brothers bounced back from their opening round loss with a strong showing against Ryde, while Mounties went some way to erasing the memories of their Round 1 capitulation with a convincing win over Wentworthville. 

PENRITH BROTHERS 40 (J Peacock 2, B Borthwick, C Fisher, T Brown, M Pokia, R Holani tries; D Boney 6 goals) D. RYDE-EASTWOOD 12 (A Pollard, R Curtis tries; 2 goals*).

MOUNTIES 38 (F Logai-Lusiano 2, I Williams 2, T Menzies 2, J Turara tries; J Schreiber-Karam 5 goals) D. WENTWORTHVILLE (J Hey, I Iaqekoro, R Alderton, J Katrib tries*; L Habouk 4 goals). 

ST MARYS 36 (M Iara 3, F Pupu, K Farr tries; R Stokes 6 goals) D. HILLS BULLS 20 (I Gorman, B Liddicoat, J Forbes, L Thomson tries; J Rizk 2 goals). 

CABRAMATTA 40 (L Muagututia 2, E Alamoti 2, J Tudehope, D Tui, D McKeever-King tries; McKeever-King 4, B Maycock 2 goals) D. MOOREBANK 26 (T Brown, J Lanyon, P Telepe, K Watling, J Saldaneri tries; T Brown 3 goals).

NEXT WEEK - SUNDAY APRIL 2

GLEBE v CABRAMATTA
Wentworth Park 10am

MOUNTIES v RYDE-EASTWOOD
Aubrey Keech Reserve 1pm

WENTWORTHVILLE v HILLS BULLS
Ringrose Park 1pm

PENRITH BROTHERS v ST MARYS
St Marys Leagues, 1pm

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HAROLD MATTHEWS CUP 

The NSWRL’s Under-16s competition is just one week away from finals, with Penrith and Parramatta having already secured their places in the post-season. While many teams will be using the week to prepare for their finals campaigns, some teams still have plenty to play for. 

Balmain enter the final week two points outside the top six, but can leapfrog sixth-placed Canberra when the two teams meet in the last round. But that will matter little if seventh-placed Cronulla can eke out a win over Illawarra and maintain their one-point lead on the Tigers. 

FINAL ROUND

Penrith v Canterbury
St Marys Leagues, 1130am Sat

Parramatta v Central Coast Roosters
Kellyville Park, 1130am Sat

Balmain v Canberra
Leichhardt Oval, 11130am Sat

Western Suburbs BYE.

SG BALL

The under-18s are also on the cusp of finals, with Penrith, Parramatta and Western Suburbs all sitting comfortably within the top six - but the Magpies will still need to ensure they get the job done against the Warriors in the final week to ensure their place in the post-season.

The Panthers are still in with a shot at the minor premiership, but they’ll need to rely on Balmain to cause a boilover against ladder-leading Canberra.

FINAL ROUND

Penrith v Canterbury
St Marys Leagues, 1pm Sat

Parramatta v Melbourne
Kellyville Park, 1pm Sat

Balmain v Canberra
Leichhardt Oval, 1pm Sat

Warriors v Western Suburbs
Pukekohe (NZ), 10am Sun

We’ll have full coverage of Real Sydney teams taking part in the SG Ball and Harold Matthews finals series’ right here on Real Sydney.

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