Red and Black Report: Edition No.15

Each week we’ll be keeping you up to date with how our Canterbury Rugby League products are performing in Australia’s elite and lower-grade competitions.

Here’s how they went in Round 15:

NRL

Halswell Hornets product Matt McIlwrick started his 14th straight game for Wests Tigers – taking his career tally to 43 first grade appearances – in a gut-wrenching late loss to Cronulla. McIlwrick made 17 tackles in 31 minutes of game-time.

Hornby Panthers junior Fa’amanu Brown enjoyed a victory at McIlwrick’s expense, however, filling in for NSW Origin five-eighth James Maloney and chalking up four runs for 56 metres, 12 tackles and a line-break in the Sharks’ 24-22 success. The match was Canterbury Bulldogs-bound Brown’s 18th in the NRL.

INTRUST SUPER PREMIERSHIP

Penani Manumalealii (pictured) stepped into the halfback breach left by Brown for Newtown, but the Jets were no match for Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles, who featured Christchurch-born utility Pita Godinet at fullback.

NYC

SG Ball-winning five-eighth and Halswell junior Joseph Taipari played his second game for Parramatta’s Under-20s outfit, kicking five goals as the Eels went down to St George Illawarra Dragons in a thriller, 32-30. Taipari has averaged 53.5 running metres and 12.5 tackles across his two NYC appearances to date.

Photo Credit: By Naparazzi – https://www.flickr.com/photos/28990363@N05/9227056419, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3272146