The Illawarra Steelers Harvey Norman Women’s Premiership season ended on Saturday with a 34–22 semi-final loss to the Newcastle Knights at Jubilee Stadium. Despite a strong second-half comeback, the Steelers couldn’t overcome the Knights’ dominant first-half performance.
The Knights came out firing, crossing within the first five minutes through hooker Leah Ollerton. Halfback Ashlee Harvey was sharp with the boot, landing the first of her four conversions from six attempts.
The Steelers hit back with fullback Tayleah Hancock scoring their opening try and nailing the conversion to level at 6-6 after 10 minutes.
From there, the Knights dominated the remainder of the half. Ollerton scored her second, with Grace Kukutai, and Saxbii Shaw also crossing the try line. Harvey converted two, giving the Knights a 26-6 lead at the break.
Patea Hat-trick Sparks Fightback
Centre Jessica Patea scored a second-half hat-trick to spark the Steelers fightback holding the Knights to a penalty goal as the margin was reduced to 28-18 with just over 20 minutes remaining.
The Knights eventually shutdown the comeback when Kukutai picked up her second on the hour mark, which was converted by Harvey, to give her side a matchwinning 34-18 lead.
Steelers winger Kiara Kostovski added a consolation try in the 67th minute, but despite their spirited second-half resurgence, the defending premiers fell short of a second consecutive Grand Final apperance, with the Knights securing a 34–22 victory and advancing to their second decider in as many years.
Tale Of Two Halves
Captain McKenzie Lear said the result didn’t overshadow the positives of the season.
“Regardless of the result, it’s still been a pretty positive year for us. We debuted seven 17-year-olds, so even though we didn’t get the result today, it’s still a massive positive win for us this year,” she said.
“I think possession in the first half didn’t help us, they had 18 sets to our eight. But the second half was a different story. If we’d put both halves together, we probably would have won, but that’s footy.”
Veteran playmaker Maddie Studdon echoed those sentiments, praising her side’s resilience.
“Today’s disappointing, we didn’t start the way we thought we could. That first half hurt us, and we were chasing points the whole way. But I’m proud of the girls in the second half, we never gave up,” she said.
“Our discipline let us down early, giving away penalties and not completing sets.
“In the second half we held the ball, had more possession, and fought our way back. Unfortunately, we just weren’t good enough today.”
Bright Future
Coach Jamie Sczcerbanik said while the loss stung, the future is bright for the youthful squad.
“It’s been such a successful year, both on and off the field. Giving these girls the opportunity to wear the Steelers jersey at the highest level is a great honour for me as a coach,” he said.
“People forget our average age is just 19 or 20. Our captain, Mackenzie, is only 21. If we keep the nucleus of these girls together, this team will be a force to be reckoned with.
“We won the second half 16–8, and that’s the kind of performance we know we can produce.”
Reflecting on the last two seasons, during which the side won a premiership and reached a Preliminary Final, Sczcerbanik added:
“Last year, 12 girls from our premiership-winning side went on to play NRLW.
“I can guarantee there are at least 12 in this squad who will eventually play at that level. So, just as successful, just a different ending.”
For the Steelers, the season ends earlier than hoped, but with youth, talent, and resilience on display, the foundations are firmly in place for the future.
Words | Angelina Raula
Images | Denis Ivaneza