Junior Reps Wrap: Eels win 3 in Round 3

Parramatta’s Lisa Fiaola Cup team maintained their unbeaten record when they defeated the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles at Eric Tweedale Stadium on Saturday afternoon. 

The Eels opened the scoring inside the first five minutes when Freedom Crichton Ropati split the defence with a forty metre run out of dummy half. Manly’s fullback made a valiant attempt to stop her, but Ropati found Deja Vaivela looming in support, and the centre sprinted away to plant the ball between the posts.

A penalty against the Sea Eagles for a high shot provided the platform for the Eels next attacking raid. After play advanced to Manly’s red zone, fullback Tegan Nicholas swept into a right side shift, then cut back sharply towards the posts. 

Just when Nicholas looked likely to score herself, the ball was punched out of her hands, only to fall for Bailey Ma-Chong who rapidly offloaded to Kaizen Morgan-Pritchard to score. 

The angled conversion from Ma-Chong took the Eels to a 12 nil lead after just ten minutes.

A clever kick off from the Sea Eagles then found touch and proved to be the catalyst for their first try. After driving play towards the Eels posts, Manly next hit the Eels right edge and came up trumps with a try to their second rower.

Another 40 metre burst out of dummy half by right winger Freedom Crichton Ropati set the stage for Parra’s third try. On the back of that run, the Eels settled the play, before a short ball from Temieke Withers found Mitzy Cairns who sliced through the defence to score.

An error by the Eels from the kick off allowed the Sea Eagles to immediately strike back with a try between the posts, reducing the Eels lead to six points.

Momentum was now with the visitors and in the set after points they took full advantage with a long range try down the left wing. The conversion was unsuccessful but Manly went to the sheds just two points down at 16 to 14.

The Eels needed to re-establish their dominance after the break and they did just that.

After surviving early pressure from the Sea Eagles, back to back penalties allowed the Eels to springboard deep into Manly’s half. A surge from Deja Vaivela took play into the red zone, then Temieke Withers and Mitzy Cairns again combined for the back rower’s second try.

The Sea Eagles were now finding it difficult to shut down Parra’s second phase football, and when Tegan Nicholas finished a terrific team try, the Eels were in total control of the match.

During this period of the second half, only Eels errors and desperate Manly defence prevented the score from blowing out. The Sea Eagles were rewarded for their effort with a late converted try. 

The 28 to 20 victory leaves the Eels in third place on the ladder. A bye in Round 4 means that their next match will be against the Sharks in Round 5.

Eels 28 (Tries: Mitzy Cairns 2, Deja Vaivela, Kaizen Morgan-Pritchard, Tegan Nicholas; Goals: Bailey Ma-Chong 2, Temieke Withers 2) defeated Sea Eagles 20.

Tarsha Gale Cup

In their first home appearance of 2025, the Eels Tarsha Gale Cup side moved to the top of the competition ladder with an emphatic victory over the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.

It was the third consecutive week that the team had compiled more than 40 points, with their power game and skill overwhelming their opponents.

Barely five minutes had elapsed when the Eels posted their first try. A left side shift opened a passage for Alleya Scrivens to break down the wing. Confronted by the last line of defence, Scrivens cut back infield before producing a one handed offload for Aaliyah Soufan to cross beside the posts.

Parra’s second try covered seventy metres and was arguably the highlight of the match. Taking the first pass off the ruck Fontayne Tufuga broke the Manly defence, before finding Alleya Scrivens looming in support.

As the Eels left winger was being tackled by the chasing defenders she again found a right handed offload to Jessamine Aloalii who finished the movement with a twenty metre sprint to the line.

Aloalii made it a double seven minutes later when she completed an equally impressive team try. It started with Rory Muller feeding the ball to Khyliah Gray on a crash play towards the posts.

After being repelled by the defence, Gray offloaded to Ryvrr-Lee Alo who quickly distributed the ball to the left. From there it went through the hands of Aaliyah Soufan, Fontayne Tufuga and Dallis Graham-Withell before Jessamine Aloalii crashed over in the corner.

A combination of sleight of hand and power produced the next Eels try when Rory Muller turned Armarni-Lea Auvae back through the ruck for the last score of the first half. Alleya Scrivens added the extras and the Eels took a 22 to nil lead into the sheds.

The Eels picked up where they left off immediately after the break.

After receiving a six again call inside Manly’s red zone, a charge from Fontayne Tufuga towards the posts proved impossible for the defence to stop and the back rower planted the ball between the sticks.

Another terrific fifty metre plus team try in the set after points saw Matoisha Kalepo feature twice, firstly in the line break, and then backing up her supports to take the final pass to cross near the right corner.

The Sea Eagles scored their first and only try midway through the second half, but the Eels would have the final say by posting three more of their own.

Khyliah Gray scored the first of these when she feigned to pass right then cut through close to the line. Next, a series of offloads eventually saw the ball reach Leyla Oueik who raced to the left corner for the try. 

The Eels ninth and final try of the match was yet another result of the skill and cohesion in the team. As the siren was about to sound, the ball was moved quickly to right winger Avena Racoma Ngata who juggled a high pass then sprinted to the line before stretching out with her right arm to ground the ball in the corner.

A bye next Saturday means that the Eels will have a two week break before facing the Sharks in Round 5 at Cronulla High School.

Eels 46 (Tries: Jessamine Aloalii 2, Aaliyah Soufan, Armarni-Lea Auvae, Fontayne Tufuga, Matoisha Kalepo, Khyliah Gray, Leyla Oueik, Avena Racoma Ngata; Goals: Alleya Scrivens 5) defeated Sea Eagles 4.

Harold Matthews Cup

It was a heartbreaking finish for Parramatta’s Harold Matthews Cup side when two late tries and a sideline conversion from the Sharks snatched a come from behind victory for the visitors.

The Eels started the match in fine fashion after the Sharks were penalised for a “downtown” infringement in the first set of the game. 

With play just outside the Cronulla quarter, fullback Riley Davis swept into a right side shift and fired a cut out pass to Cobi McCloskey on the wing. McCloskey still had plenty to do in his thirty metre run to the line, but the winger fought through defenders to ground the ball in the corner.

Cronulla replied with a try beside the posts just five minutes later, and the simple conversion provided them with a two point lead.

The Eels struck back midway through the first half when an offload from Kasinga Noa found Riley Davis in support, and the Eels fullback again linked with Cobi McCloskey who beat some desperate Sharks defence to cross for his second try.

Zain Alameddine drilled the angled conversion and the Eels took a four point lead. Parra then immediately extended their lead in the set after points when Cobi McCloskey secured his hat trick.

Chasing a Talen Risati bomb on the last tackle, the Eels right winger leapt over the Shark’s fullback to catch the ball and plunge over the line. Zain Alameddine added the extras for the Eels to establish a ten point buffer.

Unfortunately for the Eels, the Sharks cut into that lead at the very end of the first half. A seven tackle set, followed by a penalty, allowed the visitors to advance play to the Eels quarter. From there, a crash ball bedside the ruck was all that was needed for the Sharks to cross and reduce the margin to six points at the break.

As the second half unfolded, the Eels defence did an outstanding job in repelling wave after wave of Sharks attack. They were ultimately rewarded when a loose pass from the Sharks was picked up ten out by Epapara Tahu-Apiata and when he offloaded to Parkka Perrotta-Dowling, the Eels left winger had the pace to go eighty metres untouched.

At 20 to 10, and time ticking away, the Eels were close to locking up the game. Once more, the Sharks had other ideas and struck back late.

A crash ball next to the posts delivered a converted try for the visitors and reduced the margin to less than a converted try with less than eight minutes left on the clock.

Finally, a play the ball error from the Eels in the last five minutes turned over possession to the Sharks in prime territory and they grabbed the opportunity with both hands by scoring a try in the left corner. 

When the Cronulla kicker nailed the sideline conversion to secure the 22 to 20 victory, the Eels were left to lament what might have been.

With a bye scheduled for next Saturday, the Eels have two weeks to regroup before taking on the Panthers at Eric Tweedale Stadium in Round 5.

Sharks 22 defeated Eels 20 (Tries: Cobi McCluskey 3, Parkka Perrotta-Dowling; Goals: Zain Alameddine 2).

SG Ball Cup

The Eels snatched an unlikely victory when they bagged two late tries to defeat the Sharks in their Round 3 SG Ball clash at Cabramatta on Saturday.

Looking to return to the winner’s list after their draw with the Roosters last week, the Eels were first to score via left winger Lorima Rokosuka.

In a left side play just on the Eels side of halfway, Andes Johansson broke the defence before finding Rokosuka in support for the sprint to the line.

The Sharks reply was swift. The Eels lost possession in contact after the kick off, and a couple of tackles later the Sharks crashed through beside the posts. They then added the next try just under ten minutes later when they ran the ball on the last tackle and crossed in the right corner.

Parra missed a golden opportunity to score when they dropped the ball in contact over the line, and they again went close soon after when they were held up over the line, but the Sharks held on to take a 10-6 lead into the sheds.

The Eels would have planned to strike first after the break, but they may not have expected how it eventuated. The shortest of chip kicks by Lorenzo Talataina right on the Sharks line somehow avoided all defenders only to be caught inches above the turf by Wesley Pakoti who then grounded the ball in spectacular fashion.

Lincoln Fletcher’s conversion put the Eels back in the lead but there would be more twists and turns to come before the final whistle.

A period of sustained possession and pressure inside the Eels quarter eventually led to the Sharks third try when their prop crashed over beside the posts. Not long after, a penalty goal extended their lead to six points with only eight minutes left on the clock.

With time ticking away, the Eels earned possession in the Sharks quarter when Dominic Farrugia applied pressure in a kick chase and forced a knock on from his opposite.

From the resultant scrum a wide pass was thrown to Lorima Rokosuka who channeled Melbourne’s Xavier Coates with an aerial touch down in the corner. The missed conversion left the Eels two points adrift on the scoreboard and just three minutes remaining.

The great escape was about to unfold.

After receiving the ball from the kick off, the Eels worked to their left, where Anders Johansson burst into the backfield. 

Without nearby support, the Eels centre wisely took the tackle ten out from the Sharks line. A couple of tackles later Lincoln Fletcher linked with Lorenzo Talataina and the five-eighth threw a bullet pass to right winger Dominic Farrugia for the match winner. 

Lincoln Fletcher nailed the conversion and then the Eels safely navigated the short kick off to emerge victorious. The 24 to 20 win leaves the Eels undefeated and in fifth place on the ladder.

Whilst the other three Eels junior rep teams will enjoy a bye next Saturday, the SG Ball team are drawn to face the Rabbitohs at Eric Tweedale Stadium. 

Eels 24 (Tries: Lorima Rokosuka 2, Wesley Pakoti, Dominic Farrugia; Goals: Lincoln Fletcher 3) defeated Sharks 20.