RED AND BLACK REPORT 2024: EDITION NO.9
The Red and Black Report shines a spotlight on Canterbury Rugby League juniors featuring in Australia’s elite and lower-grade competitions.
Canterbury products were in action in the ninth and final round of the NSWRL SG Ball Cup (under-19s), Harold Matthews Cup (under-17s) and Tarsha Gale Cup (women’s under-18s), as well as the fourth round of the NSWRL Jersey Flegg Cup (under-21s), the second-tier NSW Cup competitions and NRL Round 4.
The QRL senior and junior competitions took a break over the Easter weekend.
NRL
The Dolphins were back on deck after the bye and jumped to the top of the NRL table with a 30-14 away win over Gold Coast Titans.
Aranui product Jamayne Isaako kicked five goals from as many attempts, ran for a team-high 198 metres from 23 carries, made nine tackle-breaks and produced a try assist in a strong all-round game for the Kiwi Test winger.
Burnham Chevaliers junior Kodi Nikorima notched a line-break assist from five-eighth for the Dolphins.
Hornby’s Jordan Riki was typically hardworking in Brisbane’s impressive 38-12 defeat of North Queensland on Good Friday. The second-rower played the full 80 minutes and chalking up eight runs and 34 tackles.
West Coast Kiwi Griffin Neame, who previously played for Halswell Hornets in the CRL juniors, got stuck in during 31 minutes off the bench for the Cowboys – making nine runs for 75 metres and 18 tackles.
Another Burnham junior, Warriors veteran Jazz Tevaga, received another late bench call-up for the injured Dylan Walker and made four runs and 13 tackles in 23 minutes of game-time in the club’s 20-12 victory over Newcastle.
NSW CUP
Teenaged Halswell product Tanner Stowers-Smith has cemented a starting spot in the Warriors’ NSW Cup front-row and chewed through 15 runs for 147 metres and 20 tackles in Sunday’s 26-12 defeat of the Knights.
Aranui junior Daejarn Asi was unlucky to be on the losing side as Parramatta went down 32-26 to Western Suburbs, the five-eighth scoring two tries and kicking three goals for the Eels.
Like Asi, Sydney Roosters’ Burnham junior Siua Wong put his hand up for an NRL recall despite his team finishing on the wrong side of the NSW Cup scoreboard in Round 4. The boom second-rower reeled off a game-high 43 tackles and made a team-high 177 metres from 18 runs in the Roosters 30-14 loss to Penrith.
JERSEY FLEGG CUP
Again shiny in the centres for Manly’s under-21s team, former Halswell half Oliver Lawry scored a second-half try and kicked two goals in Saturday’s clash with St George Illawarra – but the Sea Eagles were run down 30-28.
Riccarton Knights prop K-Ci Newton Whare came off the bench in Melbourne’s 36-10 home win over Kaiviti Silktails.
Felix Faatili’s Cronulla side went down 30-4 to Canberra, with the ex-Hornby forward starting in the front-row.
West Coaster Callum Donaldson, a South Island Scorpions age-group regular who also played for Halswell, continues to hold down the Canterbury No.13 jersey and featured in a 30-12 win over South Sydney at Redfern Oval on Friday.
WATCH JERSEY FLEGG CUP ROUND 4 HIGHLIGHTS
SG BALL CUP
Hornby second-rower Sosaia Alatini’s tryscoring rampage for Canterbury-Bankstown continued in Round 8, crossing for another four-pointer as the Bulldogs thumped the Storm 40-6.
The Bulldogs finished the nine-round competition in fourth spot and are now gearing up for the semis.
Halswell’s Meihana Pauling, a Canterbury 18s rep last year and part of St Thomas’ NZSST victory who was also named in the New Zealand Secondary Schools Boys squad, debuted for the Warriors at fullback in a 54-18 loss to the Dragons in Pukekohe on Sunday.
Linwood Keas CRL premiership winner Te Kaio Cranwell was a tryscorer from the second-row in Newcastle’s emphatic 50-10 win over Balmain.
Another Linwood product, Cairo Rangihuna-Ruri, made his second straight appearance for Cronulla in the second-row and scored a try in a 28-20 loss to Sydney Roosters.
WATCH SG BALL CUP ROUND 9 HIGHLIGHTS
HAROLD MATTHEWS CUP
Linwood’s Lennox Tuiloma started at lock and Hornby’s Isaiah Savea came off the bench in the Warriors 46-10 final-round thrashing of the Dragons, earning the club a sixth-place finish on the Harold Matts ladder.
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, coached by Halswell stalwart Shannon Rushworth, rounded out an unbeaten regular-season campaign and claimed top spot with a 32-28 win over Melbourne on Saturday.
WATCH HAROLD MATTHEWS CUP ROUND 9 HIGHLIGHTS
TARSHA GALE CUP
Papanui second-rower Jaydika Tafua, who has played in every game of Cronulla’s 2024 campaign, featured in a 38-4 loss to Illawarra Steelers that saw the Sharks finish the regular season in sixth spot.
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