Wests put an end to Collegians winning streak with a 14 – 10 victory in the Harrigan Cup Match of the round, Dapto returned to the winner’s list with a 38 – 10 victory over Corrimal at Dapto Showground, and De La Salle downed Thirroul 22-18 in a comeback win for the ages.
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Devils Hand Collegians First Defeat
Collegians suffered their first defeat of the season, losing 14–10 in a tightly fought contest against Wests at Sid Parrish Park on Saturday afternoon. Scoring three tries to two, the Devils are now on a four-game winning streak.
Wests struck early, with winger Jy Hitchcox crossing the line in the 11th minute to open the scoring. Hitchcox scored again in the 30th minute, with Dane Chisholm adding the extras to give the hosts a 10-0 lead.
Collegians responded just before halftime, with centre Zach Herring scoring in the corner to reduce the margin to six at the break.
With both sides trading sets, the Devils finally struck in the 61st minute, with George Jennings crashing over to extend the lead to 14-4.
Collegians were back in the hunt five minutes later, with fullback Callum Gromek scoring under the posts off a well-placed banana kick from left winger James Lee. Blair Grant added the extras to claw back the gap to 14-10. Despite Collies late push, Wests held on for a hard-earned four-point win.
[Watch] James Lee’s banana kick finds Callum Gromek in support to score under the posts.
Bounce back win for Dapto
After three consecutive losses, Dapto bounced back with a 38–10 victory over Corrimal on Saturday at Dapto Showground.
Scoring seven tries to two, it was the Canaries second win of the season over the Cougars.
In a tightly contested first half, Dapto struck early, with hooker Josh Daley crossing the line within the first six minutes, converted by halfback Troy Pieper.
The Cougars responded through second rower Braith Plecas in the 22nd minute, with halfback Kamren Cryer adding the extras.
The hosts extended their lead just before halftime with Pieper converting his own try, going into the break 14–6 up.
The second half started strong for Dapto, who wasted no time adding two more tries and a successful conversion, racing out to a 22-6 lead 10 minutes into the second stanza.
Corrimal fought back with a well-worked try, centre Joe Duggan sending an overhead pass for winger Zachariah Nachar to dive over in the corner, Xavier Coates-style, but Dapto proved too strong, finishing with three unanswered tries.
[Watch] Corrimal winger Zachariah Nachar scores freakish try.
De La Salle Over Run Butchers In Comeback Win
De La Salle secured a 22-18 come-from-behind victory over Thirroul in a fiercely contested Harrigan Cup match at Thomas Gibson Park.
Despite Alex Challenor opening the scoring in the 14th minute, De La Salle trailed 12-6 at halftime and 18-6 with 20 minutes remaining. From there, the visitors piled on three tries in the final 10 minutes to seal an unlikely win.
Winger Tyrell Lafituanai was instrumental, scoring two late tries in the 60th and 70th minutes. Noah Lester also contributed a try in the 66th minute. Cody Fuz successfully converted three of the four tries.
The Butchers will be disappointed to have given up a match-winning lead after tries from Nelson Sharp (25′), Bradley Deitz (51′), and Dane Courtney (55′). Luke Gallagher was perfect with the boot, converting all three tries.
To make matters worse, club legend Wayne Bremner appeared to have succumbed to a hamstring injury during the first half of his comeback game after a 12-month absence.
[Watch] De La Salle winger Tyrell Lafituanai scores the match winner
Lower Grade Wrap
In Harrigan Plate action, Wests lowered Helensburgh’s colours 28-10, Dapto and Collies played out a 22-all draw after scoring four tries apiece and the Cougars scored an 11-6 victory over Avondale Wombats.
Avondale Greyhounds remain the only undefeated team in Harrigan Shield after defeating Northern Suburbs 16-0, scoring three unanswered tries on the Bulldogs home turf at Jim Allen Oval.
The Wombats moved into equal second on the ladder with a 30-8 win over Corrimal, Figtree defeated Berkeley 22-8 and Windang defeated Wests 28-6.
All competitions will pause next week for the King’s Birthday Long Weekend and resume on 14 June.
Words | Angelina Raula