The Harrigan Cup race is wide open after a weekend of upsets, with Thirroul defeating competition leaders Collegians 38-24 and Dapto handing second-placed Wests their third consecutive loss with a 24-14 victory.
Elsewhere, De La Salle ended Corrimal’s two-game winning streak with an emphatic 54-20 win on Sunday afternoon at Ziems Park.
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Canaries On Song With Statement Win Over Devils
Dapto Canaries overcame an early onslaught to defeat the Western Suburbs Devils 24–14 in Round 10 of their Harrigan Cup contest at Sid Parrish Park.
Wests centre Tautau Moga was unstoppable early in the first half, scoring two tries from close quarters to give the hosts a 10-0 lead after 25 minutes.
Dapto responded through centre Campbell Lyons, slicing through after a bullet-like pass from halfback and captain Troy Pieper, in the 34th minute to reduce the margin to 10-4 at the break.
The Canaries dominated early in the second half with converted tries to winger Jack Piccirilli, capitalising on a Wests error in their own red zone, and Pieper, to take the lead 16-10 with 25 minutes remaining.
Wests five-eighth Justin Rodrigues took matters into his own hands in the 65th minute, switching the play down the left edge before linking with George Jennings who fooled the oncoming defence with a show and go before scoring in the corner to reduce the deficit to 16-14 with 15 minutes remaining.
Dapto lock Thomas Freebairn gave his side some breathing space, delivering a nice cut-out pass to Justin Jones then backing up the fullback’s ensuing break to score under the posts. Pieper added the extras and a penalty goal in the closing stages to seal the win.
[Watch] Lock Thomas Freebairn backs up to score under the posts and seal an upset win for the Canaries.
Butchers Outlast Collegians
Thirroul held off a late surge from Collegians to secure a 38–24 victory over the competition leaders in a thrilling Harrigan Cup contest at Gibson Park.
Butchers winger Corban Brown led the way for his side with a hat-trick, while five-eighth Aaymon Fitzgibbon, halfback Tarje Whitford, and second-rower Luke Gallagher also crossed. Fitzgibbon added four goals and a penalty for a personal haul of 14 points.
A first-half double from Brown helped the Butchers to a handy 24-4 lead at the break. Collies Fullback Callum Gromek was his team’s only scorer in the first half.
The Butchers extended their lead to 34-4 with two further tries before Collegians mounted a late comeback with 20 minutes remaining.
Scoring four tries through centre Nic Hall, winger James Lee, second-rower Samuel McCann, and hooker Damon New the visitors were able to peg back the lead to 34-24 before Brown completed his hat-trick to end Collies run.
[Watch] Butchers Five-eighth Aaymon Fitzgibbons sends it wide for Corban Brown to score his third try of the afternoon.
De La Salle Down Cougars
De La Salle recorded a commanding 54–20 win over the Corrimal Cougars with a clinical 10-try performance in the Harrigan Cup match at Ziems Park on Sunday afternoon.
The Cougars started brightly, opening the scoring in the 3rd minute, through centre Turoa Williams.
However, the Shire outfit responded with six unanswered tries to lead 30–4 at halftime, and from there, they never looked back.
Winger Elijah Paea, second-rower Khai Currie, and fullback Joshua Latham all bagged doubles. Halfback Cody Fuz had a strong day with the boot, landing seven conversions.
Prop Peni Misinale, five-eighth Brandon Tikinau, and winger Saifiti Saifiti scored consolation tries for the Cougars.
[Watch] De La Salle halfback Cody Fuz steps his way through the Cougars defence before helping Joshua Latham to his first half-half double
The Lower Grades
In Harrigan Plate action, Helensburgh defeated Collegians 22-18 with goalkicking proving the difference after both sides scored four tries each. Corey Dunn scored a hat-trick in the Avondale Wombats 36-18 win over Thirroul. In the remaining fixture set down to play, Dapto forfeited to Wests.
Just two games in the Harrigan Shield with Norths defeating Windang 22-16 and Figtree running out 48-10 winners against Corrimal. Unable to field teams, Avondale Wombats and Wests forfeited to their respective opponents Avondale Greyhounds and Berkeley.
Words | Angelina Raula