It was a winning weekend across the Club’s development system, with both the Western Suburbs Magpies and the Wests Tigers Jersey Flegg side recording impressive victories.
Western Suburbs Magpies vs Newtown Jets: 28-4 win
The Western Suburbs Magpies produced a commanding second-half performance to defeat the Newtown Jets 28-4 at Henson Park, taking home the Tommy Raudonikis Cup.
The Magpies opened the scoring for the match through Javon Andrews, who crossed and converted his own try to give the hosts a 6-0 lead.
While the Magpies were reduced to 12 men late in the first half, the Jets responded, cutting the deficit to 6-4 at the break.
A standout moment came early in the second half when Ben Stovanovic delivered a perfectly weighted kick from inside his own half, chased down by Heath Mason who was too fast for the Jets defence and collected the ball to score on the left edge.
Hooker Josese Lanyon soon added another, darting from dummy half to extend the lead.
With momentum firmly on their side, and the Jets later reduced to 12 men, the Magpies piled on the points. Fiohiva Fainga’a and Solomone Saukuru both crossed, with Andrews adding the extras to seal a dominant 28-4 result.
Jersey Flegg vs Cronulla Sharks: 28-18 win
In the Jersey Flegg competition, the Wests Tigers showed resilience to overcome the Cronulla Sharks 26-18.
The visitors were slow out of the blocks, conceding two early tries to trail 8-0 after 20 minutes.
Jack Biles sparked the Tigers comeback, finishing off a slick backline movement from Bailey Smith to score under the posts, with Ryder Huth converting.
Cronulla extended their lead soon after, but Tigers debutant Glassie Glassie made an immediate impact, finishing strongly on the left edge to reduce the margin to 14-10 at half-time.
Glassie struck again shortly after the break, with a 10-metre run, fending off a Sharks defender, crossing for a double on debut to level the scores.
The Sharks regained the lead at 18-14, but the Tigers responded through a well-executed right-edge play, with Heith Pritchard creating space for Huth to score. Huth converted his own try to put the Tigers in front.
Bailey Smith sealed the win late, stepping through the defence from close range to secure a hard-fought 26-18 victory.
