The Junior Kangaroos have proved too powerful for the Junior Kiwis, posting a 34-20 victory in their annual mid-season match-up at Pirtek Stadium on Saturday night.
The clash saw Blue and Gold teammates face off against one another, with Alex Twal and Tyrell Fuimaono playing for the Junior Kangaroos, and Tom Amone a late call up to the Junior Kiwis side.
Click here to see the Match Report and Highlights
For Twal and Fuimaono, who came away with victories on the day, the whole week's experience was one to cherish.
"The week has been great. On home soil here today, spending the whole week in Parramatta, it was a real good experience meeting a couple of new fellas and to get the win out here today, it's the cherry on the top," Twal said after the game.
"I have played quite a bit of representative footy with these boys in the younger grades, but playing in the Green and Gold today, you can't beat it." Twal added.
"It's always a pleasure, no matter what team or what level, to come together with a whole bunch of boys with similar interests, you get along really well and you make new friends for life," Fuimaono said of his week.
"They were very dangerous, but we were up at half time and we just said to ourselves to not become complacent and stick to what works for us. We knew they were going to throw things at us and we were a bit lucky there at the end."
And for Twal and Fuimaono, facing fellow teammated Tom Amone and seeing a passionate New Zealand haka was a highlight.
"It's always good coming up against my fellow front rower," Twal said.
"It's always good to come face to face with the haka. It's a good way to get excited for the game and it's a real good thing to stand with the brothers in front of it."
"It's thrilling. You get goosebumps and it's quite intimidating but you just think that we are there to play for our country, just as they are, and you take that into your mind and move on from it," Fuimaono said.
