The Illawarra Steelers began the NSWRL junior representative season with an impressive clean sweep of victories in round one, held at Collegians Sporting Complex on Saturday.
The weekend wrap brought to you by Steelers.
Lisa Fiaola Cup Steelers 26 defeated Dragons 0
The Under-17 girls scored three unanswered tries in the first half, with Ella Churchill, Halle Barrett, and Elli Young each contributing to a 16-0 lead over the St George Dragons at halftime.
Young, daughter of former Steelers junior and St George Illawara Dragons legend Dean Young, scored her second try early in the second half, followed by Ella Churchill, bringing the final scoreline to 26-0 and capping off a satisfying opening round victory for coach Brad Reh.
“It was rusty, definitely rusty,” Reh said post-match.
“To keep the score to zero with them having most of the ball that was probably the most pleasing thing out of it.
“It’s easy to leak points when you don’t want to. There were a couple of opportunities there where we could have leaked, but we did defend quite well.”
Tarsha Gale Cup – Steelers 24 defeated Dragons 12
The defending premiers secured a hard-fought 24-12 victory over the Dragons in the Under-19s match after leading 16-6 at halftime.
Five-eighth Herewaka Pohatu was the first to score for the hosts and constantly challenged the Dragons’ defence with ball in hand. Fullback Maria Paseka and centre Liesl Hopoate also added to the scoreline, establishing a 16-0 lead before the Dragons managed to score just before the break.
Pohatu extended her team’s lead shortly after the resumption of play, crossing for her second try and bringing the score to 22-6. However, the Dragons continued to fight back, with Lalita Kris scoring a converted try to narrow the gap to 22-12 with 15 minutes remaining.
Despite their efforts, the Steelers defended their lead. A late penalty goal by Makayla McFayden secured the Steelers a 12-point victory.
“The girls put in a good effort. We were under pressure there for a lot of the second half but we pride ourselves on our defence and they held strong when it counted,” said coach Courtney Crawford.
“It wasn’t our best performance, but you’ve got to build into the season. We knew it was going to be clunky so just to get the win is really pleasing.”
Crawford was quick to praise two-try hero Pohatu and her middle forwards.
“I think Waka (Herewaka Pohatu) on an edge there, we told her to back her running game before she thinks to play. She really took the line on there and got the reward for it.
“The Dragons put it to us in the middle and the likes of Seriah (Palepale) and Makayla McFayden stood strong there.”
Pictured: Remara Performance Player Of The Match (TGC) Herewaka Pohatu and Remara CEO Andrew McVeigh
Harold Matthews Cup – Steelers 42 defeated Melbourne Storm 6
The Steelers U17 boys delivered an impressive display against the visitors, piling on five unanswered tries in the first half to establish a 26-0 lead at halftime.
Captain Creighton Meafou and winger Jack Goulder bagged doubles in the nine tries to one victory, with Meafou earning the praise of coach Jamie Szczerbanik after the match.
“I thought as a team performance we were exceptional but our forwards set the standard today.
“They really went after it. They wanted to prove a point that they can mix it with the big boys Mason Andrews, Mace Scofield and ‘CJ’ Meafou were probably our best three, closely followed by everybody else.”
With limited scouting available on the opposition Szczerbanik said the team’s focus during the week was on what they could control.
“There wasn’t much footage on the Storm so we didn’t worry too much about them. We just wanted to worry about our performance and what we were about and I thought we executed pretty well.
“They were bigger bodies and we just made them move and we made them move often and we just wore them out.”
Pictured: Remara Performance Player Of The Match (HMC) Mason Andrews and Remara CEO Andrew McVeigh
SG Ball Cup – Steelers 20 defeated Melbourne Storm 12
The Steelers started strong, scoring three unanswered tries through centre Charlie Heidke, Mason Phillips and captain Kade Reed. Reed converted two attempts to give his side a 16-0 lead after 22 minutes.
It looked as though that would be the halftime score until the Storm responded with a converted try just before the break.
The visitors were the first to score in the second stanza narrowing the margin to 16-12 before a diving Tom Kirk scored in the corner extending the lead to 20 -12 .
Coach Shaun Timmins was pleased with the win, especially since his team entered the opening round without having played a trial game.
“They started well but to Melbourne’s credit they hung in there and defended well and forced a few errors with us.
“We looked a little bit clunky which probably showed we didn’t play trials but you’ll take the win round one.”
“It was a pleasing effort but plenty to work on and you can tell we were a little bit rusty but we’ll be better for that hit out.”
Pictured: Remara Performance Player Of The Match (SGB) Jackson Smith and Remara CEO Andrew McVeigh