There were four seasons in one day at Lidcombe Oval on Sunday afternoon as the ground hosted its first triple-header of 2026 with a mixed bag of results for the home teams.
Jersey Flegg vs Sydney Roosters: 26-18 loss
In the opening match of the day, the Wests Tigers started on the back foot, conceding two tries, trailing 8-0 in the first 10 minutes.
In the 22nd minute, a well-worked team movement reached Will Craig on the left wing to score and put the Tigers on the board. Jack Attard slotted the conversion from out wide to narrow the margin to 8-6.
Only minutes later, Blake Van Drie gave a short ball to Peter Taai, who made a break to score and put the home side into the lead. Attard converted to make the score 12-8 in favour of the Tigers.
Before half-time, the Roosters returned the favour, levelling the score at 12-12 heading into the sheds.
Soon after half-time, it was the visitors who put themselves back into the lead, but the Tigers responded through Filipe Huahulu. Attard added the extras, and the Tigers led 18-16 with 25 minutes to play.
It wasn't to be for the Tigers, who conceded two late tries to ultimately go down 26-18.
KOE NSW Cup vs Sydney Roosters: 68-8 win
It was a different scene as the Western Suburbs Magpies took on the Sydney Roosters, who were sixth on the ladder – five places ahead on the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup ladder – heading into their Round 15 clash.
Within the first 10 minutes, Javon Andrews, Fiohiva Fainga'a and Tristan Hope had all crossed for the Magpies to establish a 12-0 lead.
Soon after, fullback Heath Mason scored his first try of the day, which he converted himself, extending the Magpies advantage to 18-0.
The tries continued in quick succession, with Fainga'a getting an intercept on the Magpies line, running for over 90 metres, for his second of the day. Mason converted to give the Magpies 24 points in just 24 minutes.
Before half-time, there was a try from Ben Stevanovic and a double from Brenden Naicori, who scored twice within three minutes. The Magpies went into the break leading 48-0.
The opening try of the second half came through Solomone Saukuru, assisted by Javon Andrews, to push the score out to 52-0.
A line break from Mason saw him go over for his second try of the match.
The Roosters scored their first points of the match with two tries, reducing the margin to 56-8.
To close out the match, Mason crossed for two more tries and converted both himself, finishing with four tries and 32 of his side's 68 points as the Magpies ran out 68-8 winners.
NSW Women's Premiership vs Central Coast Roosters: 22-22 draw
The final match of the day marked the opening round of the NSW Women's Premiership for the Wests Tigers.
In the opening minutes, fullback Breeze E'e made a break from halfway, slicing through the Roosters line to score the team's first try of the season. Ally Bullman converted to give the Tigers a 6-0 lead.
In the 7th and 20th minutes, winger Tia-Jordyn Vailovski scored two unconverted tries to extend the Tigers lead to 14-0 early in the match.
The Roosters responded with two converted tries to make it 14-12 heading into half-time.
To start the second half, second-rower Saige Tautalafua crashed through the Roosters defence on the left edge, bringing the score to 18-12.
A converted try from the Roosters levelled the scores at 18-18 before the visitors crossed again to take a 22-18 lead.
With only minutes remaining, E'e darted from dummy-half and powered through three defenders to score in the left corner. The conversion was unsuccessful, leaving the two sides locked at 22-22 at full-time.
