Team List
20. Honeti TUHA
22. Nathan DAVIS
3. John FOLAU
25. Dane AUKAFOLAU
5. George JENNINGS
6. Jamal FOGARTY
7. (c) Jeff ROBSON
8. Alex TWAL
9. Cameron KING
10. Rory O’BRIEN
11. Marata NIUKORE
16. Joseph UALESI
17.Gregory LELEISIUAO
12. Raymond Stone
14. Samuel GORMAN
15. Kelepi TANGINOA
21. Jack MORRIS
Late Mail
Lots of changes for the Magpies in the countdown to kick off. A revamped backline of Tuha, Davis, Aukafolau and Jennings has been named with Will Smith playing for the Eels in first grade. Meanwhile in an attention grabbing positional selection, Holden Cup superstar winger Greg(ory) Leleisiuao has been named at lock. While I wouldn’t be surprised to see the powerhouse back excel in the ruck with his explosive running ability you would think there is a secondary reshuffle coming. I will hazard a guess that Joseph Ualesi will shift to lock and John Folau will play EDGE with Nathan Davis moving in on position to centre. This paves the way for Leleisiuao to shift to the right flank.
First Half
Wenty kick off to the Roos. Davis at left centre, Folau at left EDGE and Leleisiuao at right wing.
Solid first defensive set for the Magpies, Wyong kick from their own 40m line and Honeti Tuha cleans it up nicely. Good early ruck work from Rory O’Brien takes the home team over halfway and Cameron King ices the set by finding touch 10m. Good first set.
The defensive intensity continues into the second defensive set as the Magpies pin the Roos deep in their half.
Good carries from George Jennings and Nathan Davis put Wenty on the front foot and an attacking bomb from Jeff Robson on the last is taken by the Wyong custodian 5m off his line. A good kick chase traps him as he comes down but on the second tackle the Magpies are caught shooting up too early. First penalty to the Roos.
Another sound defensive set for Wenty. Wyong had good territory thanks to the penalty restart but the are forced to roll the ball in to the posts from a good 40m out. Tuha is on it in a flash. The home team get their first penalty in reply and they will work from left to right from the restart.
O’Brien and Twal have solid carries before Folau shrugs off defenders for a 15m gain. Great run. Ualesi centres the pill and gets off a ripper of a PTB that lets Cameron King dart from 4m out. He slides past the scattered markers and dives over for first points! Great intent from the Magpies to open this game.
Try scored by Cameron King. Conversion successful by Jamal Fogarty.
Wenty lead 6-0
9min gone
Twal and Jennings are the lead runners from the kick off. O’Brien up next before Fogarty goes two wide to Marata Niukore. Tuha scoots out of dummy half on the fourth and goes over halfway. King hops out of dummy half and finds touch 10m out. Really well constructed set after points.
Wyong work their way over the midway point on the foruth tackle and bomb Tuha on the last. He brings the ball in on his 10m line and is then swallowed up by the kick chase. Davis and Leleisiuao up first before Niukore has a surging carry down the right. Two passes back to the ruck for Ualesi next and the brings up the last. Fogarty fires off a great flat kick that is cleaned up on the last and the kick chase traps the Roos 28m off their line.
First bit of sloppiness now from Wenty. Looking to pressure the early ruck workers, they shoot up and rattle Brendan Santi across his chops. Easy penalty.
Good shot from Jennings on the first tackle. Wrong go two wide to their left where Twal and Ualesi make the tackle. Twal knocks over a runner on the third and Wyong go wide left from there. Leleisiuao tries to cattle dog his opposite into touch but he gets a desperation offload away but the Roos knock on from there.
Leleisiuao takes the scrum carry. Solid run. George Jennings has a really strong run in his wake but gets up dusty. Luckily the Magpies pick up a penalty for eager defenders pushing up. Fogarty finds touch 15m into Wyong’s side. Twal with the first carry. Ualesi plays flat at the line to Rory O’Brien for a nice touch but time is quickly blown off as ‘Windscreens’ is twisted over nastily. Nothing malicious there, just a tackle gone a bit wrong. The trainer is quickly on to see to him.
Oh dear, O’Brien isn’t in a good way. Can barely put weight on his left ankle and hobbles off with the trainer under his shoulder. Big loss.
Niukore will play the ball in his stead. Ualesi with the next run. Switch play from Fogarty ala Mitch Moses as he switches from right to left behind the ruck. He hits top gear quickly as he slants across to Robson who then attacks the line and passes late out the back to Tuha on the sweep. Honeti double pumps before finding Jennings who dives over in the corner!
Try scored by George Jennings. Conversion unsuccessful by Jamal Fogarty.
Wenty lead 10-0
18min gone
Oh boy. Robson lets the ball dip on him and has to dive at it but as he rolls over after catching it the ball pops out for a costly knock on.
GREAT SHOT by Ualesi! Brilliant text book tackle from the scrum. Wyong go to their left where Leleisiuao and Aukafolau rebuff them before coming back to the right. They are running out of options as Niukoure and Stone combine for another excellent goal line stand. Wyong go left on the last and try to kick in behind Leleisiuao but the there is a double knock on in the contest at the line and Wenty get the scrum feed.
Bullish carry from Leleisiuao on the first as he skittles the hooker. Jennings and Twal work through the second and third tackles before Stone has a nice carry. King scoots on the fourth and offloads to Fogarty who then finds Tuha in support. Great footy! Wyong are at sixes and sevens before Fogarty dabs a grubber in behind and a brilliant kick chase from Stone traps the visitors in-goals! Line drop out.
Tuha shows Robson how to take a dipping kick as he traps it with his foot and scoops it up on the bounce. Takes the first carry as well. Wenty work through their right and Stone and Ualesi chalk up runs. They build for a sweeping left edge play but it breaks down as Tuha gets the ball and is forced to reset back to the right. Fogarty sends a bomb up on the last and Aukafolau races through to contest the catch which sees the Roos loses it backwards over the dead ball line. Drop out number 2.
Another messy catch attempt. Tuha tries to trap it with his foot again but it squirts out backwards which sees Robson scoop it up and use Twal. Wenty go through the middle through the first couple of tackle before Folau carries defenders to the line in a powerful charge. It opens the way for King to bullet a flat ball to a barnstorming Joseph Ualesi next to the posts as he storms over from short range! Great work from King and Ualesi and great setup work from Folau! Wenty on fire today.
Try scored by Joseph Ualesi. Conversion successful by Jamal Fogarty.
Wenty lead 16-0
26min gone
Oh geez. Second kickoff spilled! Folau is under this spiraling restart and it bounces off his chest for the turnover. Ouch.
Well at least they are making up for it with the fire in their defence! A loose offload is forced after some goal line pressure and Nathan Davis races up to force the error on the clean up. Good stuff.
Jennings is at it again with his great ruck work, bounces off tacklers there! Leleisiuao takes inspiration from it as he just knocks defenders away en route to a 15m run which also earns a penalty. Beast mode!
Twal up first from the restart. Stone up next two passes from the ruck. Marata has a great carry down the right as he carries defenders for 5m before Twal centres it. The relentless work from the forwards opens another channel to the line King jumps out to the right of the ruck and hits the freshly injected Kelepi Tanginoa on a crash line as he dives over! All Wenty in the first half.
Try scored by Kelepi Tanginoa. Conversion successful by Jamal Fogarty.
Wenty lead 22-0
31min gone
A caught kick off! Huzzah! Tuha races under this one and brings it in safely. Davis and Niukore take the next runs before Aukafolau gets in there to help his forwards. Leleisiusao centres on the last where Fogarty is put under big pressure by a willing defender. He darts right to try and create separation but is ankle tapped as he is kicked which sees the ball get caught on the line.
A penalty follows as the Wenty defence is caught offside and the Roos are finally able to take advantage of some gifted field position and possession as they cross down our right edge. Wyong had a 3-on-2 there as Aukafolau shot up without Leleisiuao coming with him to open the passage on the edge for Josh Mantelatto (sp) to stride through on the short ball.
Try scored by Mantelatto. Conversion successful.
Wyong trail 6-22
35min gone
OH WHAT A SHOT! Ray Stone has knocked the kick off carrier into next week and jolted the ball out! Tanginoa with the assist there. Turnover for Wenty. They go to the posts immediately where they are held up but form there they lose their shape. Robson ends up bombing to the left but his chasers are caught flat-footed and the Roos get the ball in the field of play.
A penalty comes immediately after when Robson is pinged for shooting early and a second follows for a high shot from Tanginoa. Field position has completely flipped in 30 seconds. The Roos work from right to left before coming back to the posts. Good angled run but they are turned back before Robson tries to trap their grubber with his foot on the last. 6-again for the Roos.
Great first up tackle from Stone as he drops a runner on his arse. Wyong go left after that though where they might have numbers but it is a moot point as they drop the ball cold. Let off for Wenty.
Leleisiuao has another scrum carry. Good meteres again. Davis is met by willing defenders for little gain but Folau makes up for it with a strong carry afterwards. Short side play for Robson but he is caught on the sweep before Twal has a run and late offload for Tuha who slices in behind the ruck for a great gain. King jumps out of dummy half with 20 seconds left and smashes a grubber towards touch but it is knocked on by the right winger for Wyong! The Wenty forwards come flying in from everywhere to set a scrum with 10 seconds left and pack down with 2 seconds on the clock but the referee is having nothing of it and blows half time. Really sloppy officiating there.
Half Time
Wentworthville Magpies 22 lead Wyong Roos 6
Second Half
Wenty will receive the ball in the second half. Robson catches it! Good work old man. Twal and Stone cart it up first. Down the right to Niukore on the third as he knocks over a defender for a solid gain. All the good work is undone on the fourth when Tanginoa grasses a simple short ball. Pressure flips back on Wenty.
Wenty defend solidly through the middle but they take the bait on the blocker run down their right edge as we caught one man short again down the right. Tuha tries to make it across in time as the ball is played across Aukafolau and Leleisiuao but he can not make it in time. Wyong strike first in the second half.
Try scored by Wyong. Conversion unsuccessful.
Wyong trail 10-22
44min gone
And now the Roos make a bone-headed unforced error! Dropped a pass from dummy half.
Dummy and run from Fogarty from the scrum win. Sharp run that has the defenders holding off him for a moment before he is pulled down. Tanginoa has a good carry on the second before Folau flies onto a short ball and is just pulled down short of the line. Shape gets lost a bit on the next two tackles before we try a short side play on the last. I don’t mind the idea actually and only a desperation last ditch tackle stops Niukore from stopping. That was just a great defensive play.
Good defensive set by Wenty and a clean kick reception by Tuha puts the Magpies in good position. Jennings and Twal have solid carries bore Robson plays left to Jennings. The winger comes infield where he is tackled. Bit of a nothing bomb on the last as Wyong tidy it up without any issues on their 20m line.
Great double from marker from Folau this set. Has been a really solid game from the centre-come-backrower so far. Wyong bomb Tuha on the last and he loses it backwards but the Roos knock on in the follow up contest.
The Magpies lose a bit of their North-South impetus this set as they get bogged down on halfway before a darting run from Fogarty nearly splits the line. He offloads to Tuha in support and Honeti races through before finding Ray Stone pushing up. Stone steps back inside across a couple of defenders before he is caught a couple of metre short of the line! Tuha tries to kick from dummy half for himself on the next play but it catches defender and pings back to Robson. Not played at is sung out by the ref. Correct call. Robson sums it up and sorties to the left before cutting out Niukore and Davis to find Jennings who crashes over in the corner! Try time, baby.
Try scored by George Jennings. Conversion unsuccessful by Jamal Fogarty.
Wenty lead 26-10
52min gone
Powerful runs from Taingona and Stone first up. King has a dart on the third before Marata surges forwards and offloads to Fogarty who then finds Tanginoa. Nice late short ball from Robson to Folau who is barely pulled down by the defence. The Magpies run it on the last as they spread to their right but Leleisiuao isn’t given much space to work with and is wrapped up for the turnover.
Another turnover tackle from Ray Stone! He launches himself at the ball-carrier on the fourth tackle and knocks it out on halfway. The home team pick up a penalty shortly after for a high shot. Great chance for Wenty now.
Fogarty finds touch 32m out form the Wyong line.
Good run from Marata on the first. Sam Gorman goes on the second before Fogarty runs to the line without support on the third. Gorman is back for his second run ad from there Fogarty plays to Robson who has his pass batted down for a Wenty scrum feed.
Good inside run from Leleisiuao from the scrum win and he draws a penalty as the markers try to prevent him from making a quick PTB.
Stone up first from the restart before Folau has a brave carry to the posts. Right now to Gorman who nearly steps his way over but is a metre short. Robson kicks in behind early and earns a line drop out as a defender lashes out at it in the line and it sails dead. Great composed pressure.
Stone scoops up the rolling drop kick and passes left to Tuha who jaunts down the left before he is tackled. Tanginoa trips over as he catches the ball but holds onto it and on the third there is a penalty to Wenty for a late hit by Brendan Santi. Fogarty slows the game down as he points to the posts and will attempt the penalty conversion 5m to the right of the posts and a good 28m out.
Penalty conversion attempt successful by Jamal Fogarty.
Wenty lead 28-10
59min gone
Brutal carry from Tanginoa from the kickoff as he knocks a defender 3m backwards onto his rear. We spread wide to Marata next before Ualesi is taken in a great shooting tackle. Stone gets in on the tackle breaking action as he also knocks a lead defender over. A poor kick on the last undoes a bit of that momentum and Tuha is called offside and has to pull out of the chase.
Good tackle from Folau! He backs it up with a double form marker and Tuha cleans up a challenging attacking bomb in our right corner. Leleisiuao has the second tackle run. Aukafolau and Ualesi follow as metres are hard to come by. Niukoure fights his way forwards for a useful gain but Wenty have to hoof it downfield from deep in their own half. Wyong building here.
Jack Morris checks in to the game as Niukore concedes a penalty for hands on the ball. Wyong resumes play in our red zone. They work to their right for two tackles before switching play to the posts and going left with a short ball to their backrower who is tackled short but it able to reach out his arm and plant the ball next to the posts. Vunikese (sp) was the scorer there.
Try scored by the Wyong Roos. Conversion successful.
Wyong trail 16-28
65min gone
Wenty are desperately short on troops here. O’Brien is out for the game with an ankle injury, Sam Gorman left the field dusty as has Cameron King just now. One man on the bench.
Big set for Wyong as they rumble over halfway and nearly bust through Fogarty with a short ball but he desperately clings to the runner and brings him down. A great kick down the left short side on the last sees Tuha have to kick the ball dead. Line drop out.
Time off as Niukore and a Wyong player are left strewn on the ground. Looks like a head knock. Both boys get up after trainers see to them. Seem to be alright.
40m drop out from Fogarty. Tanginoa leads the chase and makes the first tackle. Stone races up for the second and puts on another good shot. Wyong play right for one tackle before switching to their left but Fogarty and Niurkore make the tackle. Unfortunately the possession, territory and injuries are taking their toll as the Roos play short from dummy half on the last and burrow over next to the posts. The Roos are coming home with a wet-sail as Wenty struggle to field 13 fit players.
Try scored by the Wyong Roos. Conversion successful.
Wyong trail 22-28
68min gone
Another strong set for Wyong as our ruck defence gets real flimsy due to exhausted forwards. They kick in behind Leleisiuao on the last and he has to dive backwards to secure the ball but loses the ball in the process. Oh boy. Valiant effort from the 20 year old but his hands just let him down. Huge chance for Wyong to level things up here.
Some second phase play for Wyong here but Stone rallies to kill the play. He has really been in everything today. Time off for an injured Roo. Vunikese (sp) is the man down but he is alright after a short break.
Great read and shot by Aukafolau as the Roos play short down our right edge but it amounts to naught as they go back to the posts. They are tackled short but grubber from dummy half on the next tackle. The PTB looked reallllll shoddy mind you. Robson sticks a hand out to try and clean up the kick in the field of play but it bounces out of his grasp and is dived on as it bounces across our line for a heart-breaking try.
Try scored by the Wyong Roos. Conversion successful.
Wyong lock the scores up at 28-all
72min gone
Wenty finally put together a decent defensive kick off set but a good kick still pins us 20m off our line. Leleisiuao and Twal try to will us forwards before Morris has a carry to take us over halfway on the last. Fogarty is caught as he kicks the ball for the second time today and gets a shallow grubber away – that could cruel our hopes here.
Good tackle from Morris early in this set. A blatant forward pass is missed from dummy half. Stone puts on another great shot to bring up the last! Tuha cleans up the kick of the full and beats the first defender before he is tackled 10m out. Aukafolau tries to clear out the ruck but is driven backwards to his goal line but the defenders are offside! What a reprieve.
Niukore first up this set. Leleisiuao up next before Ualesi plays out the back to Robson who finds Folau. Hang on, the ref has ruled he lost it forwards! He definitely dropped it for a moment but it didn’t touch a defender or the ground. That is a damnably bad call.
Wyong get the scrum 5m on their side of halfway and immediately work left. They make solid gains before coming back to the right where Tanginoa has a great effort play to pull down Vunikese. The Roos are still in useful position for the 1-point attempt and they take a crack via Mantelatto who calmly slots it from 35m out directly in front.
Field goal attempt is successful.
Wyong lead 29-28
78min gone
Short kickoff from Fogarty as Davis pours through in chase. He soars up 35m out and comes down with it! But he is dispossessed as he starts to open up and the referee rules a double knock on against the Magpies. Ouch. That is probably game.
Small gains for the Roos this set but a snipe from their hooker late in the count catches the exhausted ruck defenders out and Tuha has three men to defend at the last line. The Wyong rake finds support as Tuha rattles him and the Roos will close this game out with a 2-score lead. That was genuinely heart-breaking stuff as the Magpies simply ran out of troops to carry that lead home.
Try scored by the Wyong Roos. Conversion successful.
Full Time
Wyong Roos 35 DEF Wentworthville Magpies 28
TCT Best On Field
3. Ray Stone
2. George Jennings
1. Kelepi Tanginoa
HM – John Folau, Joseph Ualesi
interesting team indeed. Will wait to see how the team fairs as they run on. Good to see the young brigade given a shot
Great stuff 40. Looking forward to it. One would think the injurys to the NRL forwards arent so significant given Windscreens and Marara are playing in the Twos.
Hey 40-20 what a blessing to get your live blog mate. I’m working in the bowels of a building in Newtown but get reception at the grd level car park.
Makes coming to work a double delight. Can’t wait for the rest of the call.
Thanks Rowdy
Thanks 40. Sounds like injurys again played their part in the defeat.
Although. Regardless of injurys, 25 points scored against in the final 15 minutes probably tells another story altogether.
Agreed mate. Injuries played a heavy role in the loss but I think a significant portion of responsibility also lies on Robson and Fogarty for letting the game slip away. Even a smidgen of astute game management in the second half sees us edge home I reckon.
Don’t concern yourselves ,reckon 90% off them gone 2018 and in come all our juniors that ba and Anthony field have been nurturing for 3 seasons , no more room for money grabbers , they’ll get a shock when they go to other premier league clubs and don’t get the treatment they received here, bit the hand that fed them ..
Its a bit of concern to me as Robson is seen as being a top side half and very much on stand by for the NRL squad. He wanted to retire end of last season but BA wanted him to have another year. Sadly he’s going to be remembered as another player who stayed one year too long.
While one can see a fair proportion of the wenty players being released, the concern is that if too many go and means a large proportion of the young players are called into the squad, I would wonder if its too soon.
I for one am thankful that those who head the TCT site along with some others are also very much followers of the lower grades and provide some great reports for us as the games progress with their live blogs, also some excellent follow up report cards, which is often the only way that some, like myself can get a feel for what is going on.
I have to admit that I was sorry to read where Twal is heading to Wests next year but it may give him a chance that he may not get with the eels for an NRL berth, but the way that the Tigers are recruiting he will have to realise his potential to get a crack there as well.
Out of the list of players that took the field I would say at least 5 players that are likely to be shown the door while Robson will definately retire.
Twal wouldn’t make top squad here plus value for money , tigers are overpaying for everyone ,as for promoting players to soon we’ve always done the opposite and other clubs have raided us and given them early opportunitys that we haven’t ,the list of them is endless col,get sixtys to do the list he knows , we’ve just had to buy one back , old saying ,” if your good enough your old enough ” have a look at the ages in our top side now , there young long term players with enough tough experienced players to guide them through , the coaching staff know what there doing col .
Chika don’t have a problem with what you say, but at his age I would have liked to have seen him given another 2 years, especially as others who have been nowhere near as good have been given more.
My hope is that he young players coming through at the moment can develop a bit quicker than in the past and that old saying at times seems to be overly true and also overly the opposite when some develop at a later stage, especially in the case of props, where the more common saying goes along the lines that Props don’t really show their worth and development until mid 20’s
Twal has a big motor and does a lot of work and in the times that I have seen him play I was a little disappointed. I remember seeing Alvaro at a similar age and he was doing a lot more I feel that as similar players they would be vying for the same spot. Alvaro’s form would see him well ahead of Twal on the pecking order.
Colin the line “tigers are paying overs ” was the story
In addition Colin your line ” others nowhere near as good have been given more time ,those days gone , aim up because there’s plenty gaining on you now , and being honest col I attend most game and twal is a plodder ,the bars been raised Colin and it’s to high for him at parra now , no loss !
Preach it Chika! There’s some great talent that looks like it’s coming through the juniors now. The NYC has a group of young blokes who must be given a shot and some of those SG Ball players will need to go to NYC sooner than later. Interesting times ahead.
Anon, that is what I am hearing and makes for interesting times ahead. I sincerely hoping that these young players are good enough and are given a shot at higher levels.
Chicka, fair nuff, not seen many games with Twal playing in fact only the once and while not brilliant he wasn’t the worst in the side.
I watched the SOO game with Dargan and Stone last week 2nd half on Streaming and liked what the both of them did, Stone has some aggression in him as well.
Totally agree ,ask sixtys how stoney went with the big boys at wenty , more than impressive mate
Thanks for that mate so at least he is showing his worth in a follow up match against some bigger boys.
A question on two other forwards, as to how they are going.
Marata NIUKORE and Jack MORRIS.
Both of them were supposed to be ones that would be putting pressure on the top side, yet nothing has come of them with Morris being on the bench mainly, or so it seems.
Maratha going ok ,Morris jury out for mine
Ray Stone was outstanding for Wenty. Given that he played 20s Origin on Wednesday in Brisbane, I’m not sure that he would have had much opportunity to train with Wenty, so he was off the bench. He certainly let the opposition know he was out there. Essentially he carried his NYC form into ISP, which would have ticked plenty of boxes. A full pre-season might see him push for a place next year.
From what I’ve seen, and what I’ve heard from the Wenty matches I haven’t seen, Marata has been one of the more consistent players. He’s a back rower Colin, and our current injury issues have been with props. If we ran into trouble with back rowers, he’d be more likely to get a run.
Thanks Mate, he is listed also as Center on eels web site, so handy there, would prefer to see him in the top side before Davis, while that may seem unfair on Davis, I thought he did nothing in the game I saw. whereas Marata went well.