Wentworthville have held on to beat Newcastle 36-30 this afternoon in a very entertaining NSW Cup game at Parramatta Stadium.
The Magpies got off to a flyer with three tries in the first 20 minutes of play. Winger Semi Radradra scored the match opener following an inception which saw Wenty run the length of the field. It was shortly followed by a four-pointer to centre Brayden Wiliame who barged over close to the line and then prop forward Matthew Eisenhuth made his way across the stripe following a deft inside pass from backrower Daniel Harrison.
The tide quickly turned, as the Knights managed to level the scores 16-all heading into the break, scoring three quick tries on the back of a mountain of possession. That trend continued not long after the halftime interval when Newcastle took the lead for the first time in the match after Peter Matautia crashed over in the corner.
With an even share of the ball and a better completion rate, the Wenty side sprung back into action courtesy of tries to prop Pat O'Hanlon, halfback Brendan Waters and five-eighth Api Pewhairangi. The latter producing a brilliant, 70 metre solo effort, which had the small but vocal crowd rising to their feet.
Magpies backrower Matt Ryan scored, what turned out to be the match sealing try, when he crashed over to extend the lead to 36-20 with 12 minutes left on the clock. The Knights managed a couple of consolation tries late in the game to put some respectability into the scoreline but the day belonged to Wentworthville, who now leapfrog Newcastle on the competition ladder.
Wentworthville 36 (Semi Radradra, Brayden Wiliame, Matthew Eisenhuth, Pat O'Hanlon, Brendan Waters, Api Pewhairangi, Matt Ryan tries; Jake Mullaney 4 goals)
Newcastle 30 (Tyler Randell 2, Josh Mantelato 2, Peter Matautia, Joey Leilua tries; Josh Mantelato 3 goals)
The Magpies got off to a flyer with three tries in the first 20 minutes of play. Winger Semi Radradra scored the match opener following an inception which saw Wenty run the length of the field. It was shortly followed by a four-pointer to centre Brayden Wiliame who barged over close to the line and then prop forward Matthew Eisenhuth made his way across the stripe following a deft inside pass from backrower Daniel Harrison.
The tide quickly turned, as the Knights managed to level the scores 16-all heading into the break, scoring three quick tries on the back of a mountain of possession. That trend continued not long after the halftime interval when Newcastle took the lead for the first time in the match after Peter Matautia crashed over in the corner.
With an even share of the ball and a better completion rate, the Wenty side sprung back into action courtesy of tries to prop Pat O'Hanlon, halfback Brendan Waters and five-eighth Api Pewhairangi. The latter producing a brilliant, 70 metre solo effort, which had the small but vocal crowd rising to their feet.
Magpies backrower Matt Ryan scored, what turned out to be the match sealing try, when he crashed over to extend the lead to 36-20 with 12 minutes left on the clock. The Knights managed a couple of consolation tries late in the game to put some respectability into the scoreline but the day belonged to Wentworthville, who now leapfrog Newcastle on the competition ladder.
Wentworthville 36 (Semi Radradra, Brayden Wiliame, Matthew Eisenhuth, Pat O'Hanlon, Brendan Waters, Api Pewhairangi, Matt Ryan tries; Jake Mullaney 4 goals)
Newcastle 30 (Tyler Randell 2, Josh Mantelato 2, Peter Matautia, Joey Leilua tries; Josh Mantelato 3 goals)
