The Illawarra Steelers kept their undefeated record intact, winning the Tarsha Gale Cup Grand Final 24-12 over the Newcastle Knights.
It was a disastrous start for the minor premiers, with Steelers captain Kasey Reh spilling the ball from the kick-off before the Knights capitalised in the ensuing set for a 4-0 lead.
A try to Steelers winger Maria Paseka from a clever cross-field kick from five-eighth Evie McGrath and a stunning first-half double by Player of the Match Indie Bostock got the Steelers back on track 18-4 before the Knights hit back with two tries to trail 18-12 at the break.
Both teams played an exciting brand of footy in the second stanza before Reh put interchange prop Bronte Wilson through a gap in the Knights defence to seal the win with eight minutes remaining.
Reh shook off the early error to lead her side to victory and collect the Player of the Series award.
Match report provided by NSWRL.com.au
Westpac Tarsha Gale Cup Player of the Series Kasey Reh showed why she had been the best player all season after inspiring the Illawarra Steelers to a 24-12 win over the Newcastle Knights in today’s Grand Final at CommBank Stadium.
The No.7 and captain had two try assists in the Steelers tough four tries to three victory, which handed the club its second Under 19s premiership after their win in 2019.
Despite the Steelers winning all eight regular season games and a 26-4 Semi-final win over southern Sydney neighbours Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, Reh said there were plenty of nerves coming in.
“Definitely, we all knew that none of our results from past games meant anything today when we ran out here,” Reh told nswrl.com.au.
“We just stayed in the grind there … Newcastle really gave it to us.
“We just went back-and-forth for I don’t know how many minutes, but we stayed together as a team and stuck to our systems.”
Reh comes from strong Rugby League DNA being the niece of former NRL stars Brett and Glenn Stewart.
“They try to not to overload me, but they wished me good luck and gave me the rundown for today – be patient, be calm, play my game,” she said.
Steelers coach Courtney Crawford said her team was well aware of the Knights recent form after they beat Manly Warringah in an Elimination Final and then second-placed Canterbury-Bankstown in the Semis.
“It was our repeated efforts today that won it for us,” Crawford said.
“The girls worked hard for each other and that’s what they’ve done all year. It counted in the end.”
Joining Reh on the presentation dias was Player of the Match and Steelers centre Indie Bostock, whose double in the first half set the platform.
The spoils were shared at half-time at three tries apiece although Illawarra led 18-12.
The difference came down to the accuracy of Steelers hooker Chelsea Savill who landed all three conversions, where Knights goal-kicker Lilly McNamara had an off day with the boot.
McNamara still had an impact after forcing a Steelers knock-on at the kick-off, and being on the end of the right-side shift that brought up Newcastle’s first points.
The Knights winger also featured in their second try 22 minutes later when she darted towards the Steelers line before the next play went right again for centre Aylah McCulloch to score.
The Steelers third try came in the shadow of the half-time hooter, when hooker Malaki Poa darted over from dummy-half.
Then up stepped Bostock, the younger sister of Dolphins winger Jack Bostock, for her two tries – her second a spectacular 85-metre run after a dummy left defenders flat-footed.
The first in the 13th minute wasn’t bad either. Reh sent a kick cross-field which Bostock gratefully accepted before scooting to the line.
The grind really began in the second half as both sides went set for set.
In fact the first points of the half – a try to interchange forward Bronte Wilson – didn’t come until eight minutes from full-time. She was put into a yawning gap by Reh – her second try assist.
Savill kept her 100% conversion rate intact to push the Steelers out to the eventual fulltime score of 24-12.
