The Illawarra Steelers Tarsha Gale Cup under-19 girls claimed a dominant 32–4 victory over the Penrith Panthers in the opening week of the finals on Sunday at Collegians Sporting Complex.
The win secured the Courtney Crawford-coached outfit the week off while they await the winner of next week’s semi-final clash between the Roosters and the Bulldogs.
Meanwhile, the Steelers Harold Matts team will line up next week against the South Sydney Rabbitohs in a sudden death semi-final after the Newcastle Knights put them away 28-10 yesterday. The Steelers SG Ball campaign ended yesterday after they were beaten 36-16 by the Melbourne Storm.
The Weekend Wrap, brought to you by Steelers.
The hosts started strongly in the Tarsha Gale Cup clash, scoring three unanswered tries in the first half to lead 12-0 at halftime against a determined Panthers team that fought hard, making it a challenging contest in the middle.
The Panthers struck first in the second half, scoring within the first five minutes to remind the Steelers that they were still in the fight at 12-4.
However, the minor premiers maintained their composure in the second half, with Billie Va’a’ scoring a converted try to extend their lead to 18-4 before tries to Seriah Palepale and Siulolo Richter helped secure the win.
Captain Trinity Tauaneai, who played a pivotal role in the win, reflected on the team’s determination.
“Credit to the girls; it was a solid game out there, too. Hard work and connection really helped us get through,” she said.
“I think we just wanted it more. We knew we deserved a break in the next round, so we had a chat at halftime about who wanted it more, and the girls really showed it. They bounced back, and it was a good team effort.”
“We’ve got a week off next week, and then we’re facing… well, we’re not sure yet who it will be. But whoever it is, the girls will be up for it.”
[Watch] Steelers halfback Herewaka Pohatu lobs one to Maddalyn Bullock to score
Coach Courtney Crawford praised the team’s performance, especially the first half.
“It was a positive half of footy. We know Penrith would come back hard—they’re a finals team,” Courtney said.
“We just spoke about the zero being the most impressive part of that half and to make sure we respected the footy and trusted our systems in the second half.”
“For the most part, we did that, and that’s why we got the result today.”
“It wasn’t easy, but we dug deep and showed what we’re made of.”
But the experienced premiership-winning coach isn’t about to let her charges think too far ahead.
“It’s too soon to be thinking about a championship final. You’ve just got to take each week as it comes.
“We’ll make sure we rest and recover and take what we need from this game to make sure we’re ready to go in two weeks.”
“It’s important not to look too far ahead because that can trip you up. We’ll focus on the next game, see who we’re up against, and I’m sure it’ll be a great game of footy.”
Steelers Fall To Knights In Harold Matts
The Illawarra Steelers suffered a tough 28-10 defeat to the Newcastle Knights in the Harold Matthews Cup semi-final at Collegians on Sunday, marking a humbling loss on home turf.
The Knights jumped out of the gates early, capitalising on a Steelers error to score in the second minute.
The visitors took full advantage of their early opportunities, scoring in the ninth minute and successfully converting a penalty goal to establish a 14-0 lead after the Steelers had squandered several opportunities of their own.
However, the Steelers managed to score on the final play of the half, reducing the deficit to 14-6 as they headed into the locker room.
The Knights continued to dominate in the second half, scoring three unanswered tries to establishing an unassailable 28-6 lead with ten minutes remaining.
The Steelers struggled to crack the strong Knights defence, scoring a consolation try in the dying minutes.
Steelers coach Jamie Szczerbanik admitted the loss was tough but credited the opposition’s quality.
“It was a bit disappointing, but we played against a strong team today. Newcastle are a quality side — they’ve now won six in a row.
We did our homework on them, but they ambushed us from the kickoff with a charge-down on our first set that led to points.
From there, I think our boys got a bit frantic. We lost our heads and felt like we had to play catch-up footy with 55 minutes still to go” he said.
“At halftime, we spoke about getting ourselves back in the game, grinding through the second half, and giving ourselves the best chance to come back. But unfortunately, we didn’t help ourselves with some uncharacteristic errors — mistakes we haven’t been making earlier in the season. The better side won today.”
Looking ahead to their second chance in the finals, Szczerbanik remains confident in the group.
“We’ve got three games to go if we want to be premiers. We’ll go back, review this one, and preview whoever we face next. The benefit of finishing in the top four is that second bite of the cherry. We’ll move on quickly and put our best foot forward next week.”
“There were moments in the first half where we created chances down the right edge, but we just couldn’t finish. That final pass was just off. I think scoreboard pressure played a part — the boys were trying to level it up or take the lead too early.”
“Rugby league is a long game. You’ve got to stay in it for as long as possible and trust the process. At times, we were pushing passes instead of taking the tackle and setting up for the next play. That’s something we’ll look to fix this week.”
Steelers Exit SG Ball Race
The Illawarra Steelers SG Ball side suffered a tough 36-16 defeat to the Melbourne Storm at Collegians on Sunday, marking the end of their 2025 campaign.
The Storm quickly made an impact, opening the scoring in the 6th minute before two further tries to establish a 14-0 lead. The Steelers struggled to respond early, going try less in the first 20 minutes before finally crossing the line in the 25th minute.
They trailed 18-6 at halftime but with a determined second-half effort, reduced the margin to 24-16 with 15 minutes remaining.
The Storm finished strong with two further tries to claim a 20 point win and bring the SG Ball season to an end for the Steelers.
Words: Angelina Raula