It was a sunny Sunday afternoon at Lidcombe Oval as the Wests Tigers Pathways sides took on the Canterbury Bulldogs in Round 13 of the Jersey Flegg and Knock-On Effect NSW Cups.
With Wests Tigers NRL coaching staff on the sidelines, the boys rose to the occasion, putting on a show for the fans at Lidcombe Oval.
Jersey Flegg vs Bulldogs: 26-20 win
The match opened in the 10th minute with a ball spread across the Tigers line, landing in Jack Attard’s hands, who provided the assist for Filipe Huahulu to cross over on the left wing.
The Bulldogs came back with a converted try soon after, putting the visitors ahead 6-4.
The Tigers bounced back, starting their set in their own 20, a series of plays saw the home side go coast to coast, ending with Glassie Glassie on the right edge stepping a Bulldogs defender and scoring. Jack Attard converted for the Tigers, putting them in the lead 10-6.
Maxwell Taotua scored soon after on the same wing, pushing the lead out to 14-6.
The Bulldogs scored just before halftime, sending the Tigers into the sheds leading 14-10.
A Heith Pritchard breakaway soon after halftime put Mitchell Taotua into space to score near the posts for an easy conversion for Attard.
A quick response from the Bulldogs brought the game close at 20-16 in favour of the Tigers.
In the 67th minute, Jared Haywood offloaded the ball to Jack Attard, seeing the fullback score and convert his own try, with the Tigers leading 26-16.
The Bulldogs brought it close again, but the Tigers held them off 26-20 as the home side took the win to open the day.
Knock-On Effect NSW Cup vs Bulldogs: 38-26 win
The Western Suburbs Magpies were the second match of the day, running out through a guard of honour from their Jersey Flegg counterparts.
The Magpies started strongly, with Solomone Saukuru on the right edge crossing early, followed soon after by Luke Laulilii on the left to give the home side an 8-0 lead after 10 minutes.
The Bulldogs responded to narrow the gap before finding momentum of their own and despite Laulilii getting a second try, the Bulldogs took a 16-12 lead into halftime.
The second half opened with more attacking play from the Magpies. Fiohiva Fainga’a sent Saukuru through for a 50-metre try scoring run to level the scores, with Javon Andrews converting to put the home side back in front 18-16.
The Bulldogs hit back to regain the lead, but the contest remained tight.
A Ben Stevanovic bomb was claimed by Fainga’a, who again linked with Saukuru for his third try of the afternoon in the right corner. Andrews added the extras to restore the Magpies lead.
The visitors responded once more before Heath Mason broke away from 30 metres out to score and swing the lead back to the Magpies.
Saukuru then sealed his standout performance with a fourth try, extending the margin to 10 points after another successful conversion from Andrews.
In the final minute, Andrews added a penalty goal to confirm a 38-26 victory for the Magpies, rounding out a strong afternoon at Lidcombe Oval.
