đ Jersey Flegg Cup
Four games were postponed due in Round 5 due to torrential rain in Sydney and Fiji.
Rabbitohs-Warriors, Silktails-Sharks, Bulldogs-Roosters, and Sea Eagles-Panthers will all be rescheduled. My guess is theyâll take place on the weekend of May 18-19, during the scheduled bye round.
Three matches still took place this past weekend.
Melbourne 28 def. Wests Tigers 18. The Storm picked up their third win of the season with winger Siulagi Pio bagging a hat trick.
St George Illawarra 30 def. Newcastle 16. The Dragons made it three straight wins and ended the Knights three-win run. Dragonsâ fullback Ben Rumble scored twice, taking his tally to eight in three games.
Canberra 22 def. Parramatta 16. Canberraâs undefeated run continues, starting the year 5-0. The Eels showed much more fight in Round 5 but are still winless in 2024.
Ladder: 1 CANBERRA (10pts), 2 ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA (8), 3 CANTERBURY (6), 4 PENRITH (6), 5 NEWCASTLE (6), 6 Melbourne (6), 7 Wests Tigers (6), 8 Sydney Roosters (4), 9 Manly (4), 10 South Sydney (4), 11 Cronulla (2), 12 Parramatta (0), 13 Kaiviti Silktails (0), 14 Warriors (0).
Top try scorers: 8 Ben Rumble (SGI), 6 Cain Barnes (SGI) 6 Regan Carr (CAN), 6 Siulagi Pio (MEL), 4 Danny Gabrael (CBY), 4 Suliasi Prescott (MEL), 4 Kane Rushton (CAN), 3 Christian Abal (SYD), 3 Zakauri Clarke (WST), 3 Kristian Dixon (CRO).
Top point scorers: 50 Mitch Henderson (CAN), 46 Ashton Ward (SGI), 36 Zakauri Clarke (WST), 32 Ben Rumble (SGI), 32 Cassius Tia (CBY), 28 Kristian Dixon (CRO), 24 Cain Barnes (SGI), 24 Regan Carr (CAN), 24 Siulagi Pio (MEL), 22 Levi Conti (SYD).
Round 6 â Upcoming fixtures
13/4 Warriors vs. Manly, Go Media Stadium, 12:45pm (local)
13/4 Wests Tigers vs. St George Illawarra, Leichhardt Oval, 12pm
13/4 South Sydney vs. Cronulla, Redfern Oval, 1pm
13/4 Kaiviti Silktails vs. Penrith, Churchill Park, 1pm
13/4 Parramatta vs. Melbourne, New Era Stadium, 3pm
14/4 Canberra vs. Canterbury, Raiders Belconnen, 12pm
14/4 Newcastle vs. Sydney Roosters, Newcastle CoE, 1pm
The Warriors, Silktails and Eels are still searching for their first wins heading into Round 6. The Silktails come up against a good Panthers side but is in Fiji, so you never know. Newcastle-Roosters should be a good one on Sunday afternoon.
đ Mal Meninga Cup
After a weekend off, the Mal Meninga Cup returned with teams playing outside their local areas for the first time this season. We got a good look at how the regional sides measure up against the south-east sides. Since 2021, teams have played only against teams in their region (until finals) but with the expanded competition this year, thereâs more opportunity for different matchups.
Brisbane Tigers 34 def. Western Clydesdales 4. The Tigers had only won one of their first six before this big win. Their prop Elijah Keung scored three tries.
Wynnum Manly 46 def. Norths 22. The Seagulls trailed 22-12 at halftime before putting on a strong second-half display, scoring six tries.
Tweed 76 def. Wide Bay 10. The undefeated moved to six wins after thrashing the Bulls. They scored 14 tries, with centre Tyson Ploegsma bagging three. For the second game in a row, Wide Bay played with 15 players.
Northern Pride 32 def. Sunshine Coast 6. A win for the northern sides in Round 5 with the Pride taking care of the Falcons. It was 6-all at halftime before a big Pride second half. The win moves them into the Top 6.
Souths Logan 36 def. Townsville 20. Souths Logan had won just twice before travelling up to Townsville. They scored six tries through six different try scorers.
Burleigh 32 def. CQ Capras 12. The Capras, looking for their second win, were leading in the second half until the Bears clicked into gear, scoring 22 unanswered points.
Redcliffe 44 def. Ipswich 12. The Dolphins jumped the Jets into second with a dominant win in Ipswich.
Ladder: 1 TWEED (15pts), 2 REDCLIFFE (13), 3 IPSWICH (12), 4 MACKAY (12), 5 BURLEIGH (12), 6 NORTHERN PRIDE (10), 7 Townsville (10), 8 Western Clydesdales (10), 9 Sunshine Coast (8), 10 Wynnum Manly (8), 11 Souths Logan (8), 12 Norths (6), 13 Brisbane Tigers (6), 14 CQ Capras (4), 15 Wide Bay (2).
Top try scorers: 8 Tyson Ploegsma (TWE), 8 Disharne Tonihi (BUR), 7 Jaycob Kingston-Francis (WYN), 7 Saifiti Junior Saifiti (IPS), 6 Mason Barber (TWE), 6 Creedence Kelly-Donovan (BUR), 6 Zac Kumbamong (TWE), 6 Tevita Naufahu (RED), 5 Mutua Brown (MKY), 5 Iowani Cavuilati (TSV).
Top point scorers: 96 Saifiti Junior Saifiti (IPS), 74 Zac Herdegen (RED), 66 Zane Harrison (TWE), 54 Kylem Vunipola (WYN), 48 Adam Khan (NTH), 46 Jackson Howe (TWE), 44 Coby Black (BUR), 38 Joshua Lee (BRI), 38 James Marriott (SCF), 34 Joey Sankey (WCL).
Round 9 â Upcoming fixtures
13/4 Wide Bay vs. Brisbane Tigers, Salter Oval, 1pm (local)
13/4 Redcliffe vs. Northern Pride, Kayo Stadium, 2:45pm
13/4 Sunshine Coast vs. Souths Logan, Sunshine Coast Stadium, 3pm
13/4 Norths vs. CQ Capras, Bishop Park, 3pm
13/4 Townsville vs. Wynnum Manly, Jack Manski Oval, 3:20pm
14/4 Western Clydesdales vs. Mackay, Toowoomba Sports Ground, 10:30am
14/4 Ipswich vs. Burleigh, North Ipswich Reserve, 1:30pm
The Pride get another chance to face southeast competition when they travel to Redcliffe to play a very good Dolphins side. On Sunday, Ipswich get a chance to redeem themselves against Burleigh. Tweed has the bye and will remain on top after Round 9.
đ Cyril Connell Cup / Harvey Norman 19s
Townsville will face Redcliffe in the first Cyril Connell Cup Grand Final since 2016.
The Blackhawks defeated the Clydesdales 26-18 in the first semi, with winger Dylan Gourley scoring three tries. On Sunday, the Dolphins joined them in the decider with a late try to Cody Starr putting away Souths Logan 24-18.
Townsville, who will play in their sixth Grand Final, are the most recent winners of the Cup, winning back-to-back in 2015 and 2016.
Mackay and the Brisbane Tigers will contest the first-ever Harvey Norman 19s Grand Final. Mackay defeated the Clydesdales 18-10, sealing the victory in the final 10 minutes through centre Jennifer Kimber. The Tigers did it much easier, smashing Tweed 40-12. Centre Relna Hosea starred again for the Tigers, scoring a hat trick, taking her tally to 12 in seven games.
Iâll have more in-depth previews of both matches during the week.
đ NSWRL Junior Reps
We have dates, times, and venues for the finals, which begin this weekend. The pre-finals bye weekend came at the right time, as matches wouldâve most likely been postponed due to the rain in Sydney.
SG Ball Cup
13/4 Newcastle vs. Illawarra, Leichhardt Oval, 4:45pm (local)
14/4 Canterbury vs. Parramatta, Leichhardt Oval, 11:30am
Sydney Roosters, St George â Bye
Harold Matthews Cup
14/4 Parramatta vs. Warriors, Leichhardt Oval, 10am
14/4 Cronulla vs. Sydney Roosters, Leichhardt Oval, 1:15pm
Canterbury, Western Suburbs â Bye
Tarsha Gale Cup
13/4 Manly vs. Newcastle, Leichhardt Oval, 3pm
14/4 Sydney Roosters vs. Cronulla, Leichhardt Oval, 2:45pm
Illawarra, Canterbury â Bye
Lisa Fiaola Cup
13/4 Central Coast vs. Wests Tigers, Leichhardt Oval, 12pm
13/4 Parramatta vs. Newcastle, Leichhardt Oval, 1:30pm
Canterbury, Illawarra â Bye
All these matches will be shown live on nswrl.tv.
đ NRL Debuts
A big weekend for debutants in Round 5, with four players â Latu Fainu, Jacob Laban, Josiah Pahulu, and Ben Te Kura â getting their first taste of the NRL.
Te Kura was the first, coming off the bench and scoring a try in the Broncosâ loss to Melbourne. A Redcliffe junior, he moved over to Norths after signing with the Broncos, playing Mal Meninga Cup for them in 2021 and 2022, stepping up to Colts and then Queensland Cup later that year. In 2023, he switched to Souths Logan, where he played a full season of Cup. In 2022 and 2023, he represented Queensland Under-19.
Laban came off the bench and played 30 minutes in the Warriorsâ win over South Sydney. A Samoan-born Wellington junior, Laban played Mal Meninga Cup and Colts for Redcliffe in 2022 while the Warriors were partnered with the club. In 2023, he started the season in the Warriorsâ SG Ball side before moving up to the NSW Cup.
Fainu became the third of his brothers to play first grade when came off the bench in the Wests Tigersâ loss to the Dolphins. The five-eighth, who turns 19 next month, was a star coming through Manlyâs junior rep teams. After starting in their Harold Matts side, he quickly progressed from SG Ball to Flegg in 2022, playing in the competition as a 17-year-old. In 2023, he represented NSW Under-19 and made the step up to the NSW Cup, playing nine games for Blacktown. In July of that year, he and his older brother Samuela signed four-year contracts with the Tigers.
Pahulu was the final new face of the weekend, playing 31 minutes in the Titansâ loss to the Cowboys. An Auckland-born Ipswich junior, Pahulu had a breakout year in 2022 in which he captained Ipswich State High to their first national championship, made the Australian Schoolboys and represented Queensland Under-19. After an injury-interrupted 2023 in which he played three Queensland Cup games for Burleigh, he returned to his hometown Jets this season, playing three games before his NRL call-up.
Around the grounds
For more information on all games head to 18thman.com.
Jersey Flegg Cup â Round 5
Melbourne 28 (Siulagi Pio 3, K-Ci Newton-Whare, Hugo Peel tries; Deâontae Perese 4 goals) def. Wests Tigers 18 (Thomas Fisher, Solomone Saukuru, Faaletino Tavana tries; Zakuari Clarke 3 goals) at Seabrook Reserve. Referee: Paul Eden. Halftime: MEL 10-6. Debuts: Bradley Avery, Brock Priestley (MEL); Kyle King (WST). Tackles: Jack Burgess 28 (MEL), Kobie Wilson 39 (WST). Run metres: Bradley Avery 186 (MEL), Lachlan Broederlow 115 (WST).
St George Illawarra 30 (Cain Barnes 2, Ben Rumble 2, Jack Quine, Khye Russell tries; Ashton Ward 3 goals) def. Newcastle 16 (Jayden Harris, Harry Reid, Corey Thomas tries; Liam Sutton 2 goals) at Newcastle Centre of Excellence. Referee: Brayden Hunt. Halftime: SGI 22-4. Debuts: Jack Quine (SGI). Tackles: Myles Martin 25 (NEW), Kyan Hjaltason 32 (SGI). Run metres: Tea-Rani Woodman-Tuhoro 169 (NEW), Campbell Watchirs 150 (SGI).
Canberra 22 (Regan Carr, Tahrell Feaveai, Owen Pattie, Kane Rushton tries; Mitch Henderson 3 goals) def. Parramatta 16 (Te Hurinui Twidle 2, Zac Hunter tries; Te Hurinui Twidle 2 goals) at Raiders Belconnen. Referee: Blake Williams. Halftime: CAN 12-4. Debuts: Jordan Chapman (CAN); Michael Abdow, Jack Burrow, Samuel Squire (PAR). Tackles: Jaxon Lavender 32 (CAN), William Lewis 42 (PAR) Run metres: Mitchell Prest 140 (CAN), Lachlan Mears-Crabbe 122 (PAR).
Mal Meninga Cup â Round 8
Brisbane Tigers 34 (Elijah Keung 3, Cohen Emmi, Xavier Hellyer, Jack McCosker tries; Joshua Lee 5 goals) def. Western Clydesdales 4 (Matthew Drews try) at Totally Workwear Stadium. Referee: Jakob Funk. Halftime: BRI 18-4. Debuts: Kobi Floro (BRI).
Wynnum Manly 46 (Charlie Johnstone 2, Tariq Tanner 2, Preston Cassidy, Zane Ford, Jaycob Kingston-Francis, Kylem Vunipola tries; Kylem Vunipola 7 goals) def. Norths 22 (Emerson Jackson 2, Adam Khan, Sylas Simon tries; Adam Khan 3 goals) at BMD Kougari Oval. Referee: Harrison Lea. Halftime: NTH 22-12. Debuts: Tanei Heijames (WYN).
Tweed 76 (Tyson Ploegsma 3, Waylon Caldwell 2, Ethan Schultz 2, Mason Barber, Chaz Bond, Callum Bowles, Joshua Donovan, Jake Lateo, Anton Whaiapu, Ryder Williams tries; Callum Bowles 4, Jake Lateo 3, Waylon Caldwell 2, Ethan Schultz goals) def. Wide Bay 10 (Toby Kelly 2 tries; Mitchell Sly goal) at Tugun RLFC. Referee: Connor Baker. Halftime: TWE 36-10. Debuts: Chaz Bond, Callum Bowles, Waylon Caldwell, Ethan Schultz (TWE); Lukas Blair, Johannes Smith (WBB).
Northern Pride 32 (Braith Dowson, Eparama Kikau, Assariah Lenoy-Sam, Narason Moorcroft-Kose, Liam OâBrien, Jirra Twist tries; Noah Blooranta 3, Kaleb Eaton goals) def. Sunshine Coast 6 (Jai Bowden try; James Marriott goal) at Sunshine Coast Stadium. Referee: Hamish Kleijn. Halftime: 6-all. Debuts: Jai Bowden, Timothy Duncan (SCF).
Souths Logan 36 (Israel Leota, Dirhys Sefo, Jayden Solien, Mou Taumaletila-Maulolo, Braden Teuila, Jacob Tinsley tries; Jackson Howe 6 goals) def. Townsville 20 (Rayzarlin Pearson 2, Davidson Benioni, Izaya Leedie tries; Lachlan Erba 2 goals) at Jack Manski Oval. Referee: Dylan Lawrence. Halftime: SLM 18-4. Debuts: Jack Bragg (TSV).
Burleigh 32 (Bailey McConnell 2, Disharne Tonihi 2, Creedence Kelly-Donovan, Brady Turner tries; Coby Black 3, Disharne Tonihi goals) def. CQ Capras 12 (Connor Guley, Lachlan Middleton tries; Ryder Huth 2 goals) at Rugby Park. Referee: Nicholas Bowyer. Halftime: BUR 10-6. Debuts: Henry Kallquist (CQL).
Redcliffe 44 (Baylen Donald 2, Patrick Kailahi 2, Tevita Naufahu 2, Jeremiah Havea, LJ Nonu tries; Zac Herdegen 6 goals) def. Ipswich 12 (Nathan Fraser, Isaac Togia tries; Saifiti Junior Saifiti 2 goals) at North Ipswich Reserve. Referee: Izzy Davidson. Halftime: RED 34-0. Debuts: Leyland Hempsted (RED).
Cyril Connell Cup â Semi-Finals
Townsville 26 (Dylan Gourley 3, Cooper Cox, Marley Proctor tries; Riley Carbone 3 goals) def. Western Clydesdales 18 (Joseph Litidamu, Jackson Winnett, Riley Zanette tries; Braithen Scott 3 goals) at Logan Metro Football Fields. Referee: Sam Kalpakidas. Halftime: TSV 14-6.
Redcliffe 24 (Brian Pouniu, Cody Starr, Duquan Talaepa, Carter Welfare tries; Bond Bradley 4 goals) def. Souths Logan 18 (Emmanuel Asomua, Alize Clarke, Te Ara Tamepo-Habib tries; Tom Parker 3 goals) at Logan Metro Football Fields. Referee: Jacob Gregg. Halftime: SLM 16-12.
Harvey Norman 19s â Semi-Finals
Mackay 18 (Jaccoa Keyssecker, Jennifer Kimber, Mersades Lawson, Ebony Temple tries; Paige Mooney goal) def. Western Clydesdales 10 (Lucy Davis, Eliza Morcom tries; Aaliyah Murray goal) at Logan Metro Football Fields. Referee: Lachlan Ware. Halftime: MKY 8-6.
Brisbane Tigers 40 (Relan Hosea 3, Kayleen Takai 2, Patricia Wani 2, Namoe Gesa tries; Leilani Tuqiri 4 goals) def. Tweed 12 (Phoenix-Raine Hippi, Shanarlii Peckham tries; Savannah Roberts-Hickling 2 goals) at Logan Metro Football Fields. Referee: Kai Turner Halftime: BRI 12-0.