IA split final round in the junior representatives sees the Lisa Fiaola and Tarsha Gale squads in action today in a rare Thursday night game. After over two months of competition, contrasting fortunes await these two teams. A late season rally by the Gale was left a week or two too late leaving them painfully adrift of the Top 6 while the Fiaola are ready to bring the ruckus to the finals.

Sixties is out at Eric Tweedale tonight to bring you the blow-by-blow coverage of these two games with the action starting at 6:00PM in the Lisa Fiaola.

 

Lisa Fiaola Cup Team List

1	Logan Lemusu
2	Nikita E
23	Mitszy Cairns
4	Essence Alo
5	Fiafia Freedom Crichton Ropati
6	Sharon Latapu
7	Aaliyah Soufan
8	Shire Thocolich
9	Bailey Ma-Chong
10	Fontayne Tufuga
11	Alleya Scrivens
12	Danielle Seckold
13	Khyliah Gray
14	Anika Penitani
15	Leonia Vei
16	Mere Sivo
17	Leyla Oueik
18	Evelyn Kuwendu
19	Sienna Bonello

Match Updates (Sixties)

First Half

Cool temps tonight at Granville. Eels kicking off and running to the southern end.

Good set completion from Penrith to start and they kick to the Eels 10m line. Parra get a penalty on the next play the ball but make a massive error in failing to find touch. Riff on the attack but Eels hold strong and field the kick.

Parra make great inroads and draw another penalty. They tap and go this time but drop the ball on the first tackle.

Basic footy from Parra in the next set. Strong runs from the back three, a couple of hit ups from the forwards. Kick on the last and the Riff are coming out from deep in their red zone.

Penriths last tackle kick is attacked by Lemusu but it’s too ambitious and she drops the ball. Eels forced to defend their red zone again and they scramble well.

Penrith give away yet another ruck penalty but the Eels play a relatively cautious set and Penrith defend it easily. Now it’s a penalty to Penrith.

Without question Penrith have the better of territory over these first 12 minutes but the Eels have just drawn their fourth penalty, this time for a high shot.

Aaliyah Soufan Is doing a great job of managing the attack here. The Eels are brought down in try saving tackles twice in this set. They head left late in the count and Fontayne Tufuga splits the defence. She’s ankle tapped but gets a great offload to Sharon Latapu (or Danielle Seckold?) who dives over.  Conversion unsuccessful

Eels 4 lead Panthers nil after 16 minutes

Here we go. The Eels spread the ball towards the flying Nikita E and she’s unleashed down the wing with a massive cut out pass. The touchie calls it forward and he’s probably spot on.

The Eels now invite Penrith to attack their line with an error on their next possession. They defend with it with physical ferocity then take an intercept on the last.

They advance downfield and a try is on again down Nikita E’s wing but another error follows.

Penrith return the favour in yardage and the Eels work back to the quarter and look to take a drink from that left side well. The tackle is made right on the line and this time a pass is threaded from dummy half to E and the winger crashes over in the corner. Conversion unsuccessful

Eels 8 Penrith nil, three minutes to the break

Parra charges back into Panthers territory off the kick off and they’ve dropped the ball once more. At some point this will be costly.

No sooner do I type this than the Panthers put in a grubber kick on their last tackle – it takes a rebound off Eels legs and a Panthers player is on the spot to force the ball.

The conversion is missed as the siren sounds.

Half time – Eels 8 lead Penrith 4

 

Second Half

The Eels can run over the Panthers in this second half if they simplify their play.

And that might be the plan based on that first set. Plenty of runs through the ruck advances play to the Penrith quarter. They get expansive on the last as the ball finds Fiafia Freedom Crichton Ropati but the defence crashes her over the sideline just before the corner post.

The Eels defend back to back sets and now they’re on the attack following a penalty of their own. They keep their play ten metres either side of the ruck and it reaps dividends with huge metres. Bailey Ma -Chong sees an opportunity on the last and she makes a ten metre dart out of dummy half to dive over between the sticks.

Conversion successful

Eels 14 lead Penrith 4 after five minutes

Parra drop the kick off and once more are forced to defend. Penrith get to their last tackle kick and earn a drop out. Parra are in front of the kicker so it’s a penalty in front of the posts. The defence is holding and then Ma-Chong comes up with the one on one steal! Huge play.

The Eels shift left and create space for E. She breaks free but is taken by the converging defence on the quarter line. It’s the last coming up so the ball is hoisted high. Penrith field it but their players had been offside. Parra take the tap and earn a second penalty. Left now and the player is tackled short. Lemusu goes to dummy half. She looks to pass left then sees that the ruck defenders have logged off. She literally falls over the line to score. Wide conversion from Anika Penitani goes over!

Eels 20 lead Penrith 4

Im still typing the last try up as Parra attack the left edge again. The last pass finds Nikita E with only the fullback to beat so she steps off her left and grounds the ball for a terrific try

Another wide conversion from Penitani is successful

Eels 26 lead Penrith 4 15 minutes remaining

An error from Penrith in their quarter and Parra decide to attack the right for a change. Fiafia Freedom Crichton Ropati is now in on the try scoring caper as she gets over out wide.

Conversion unsuccessful

Eels 30 lead Penrith 4 with ten minutes to go

what a run by Nikita E. She fields a kick behind her shoulder on her 30 metre line then beats half of the Panthers team with blinding acceleration and footwork. She only gains 15-20 metres but it’s spectacular.

It’s full time without further addition to the score.

Eels 30 defeat Panthers 4 – Parra now confirm their place in the 2024 finals series.

 

 

Tarsha Gale Team List

1	Dallis Graham-Withell
2	Hayley Bell
3	Micayla Bourne
4	Lindsay tui
5	Avena Ngata
6	Raphaella Perigo
7	Aaliyah Haumono
8	Kalisi Mahe
9	Rory Muller
10	Liaina Dimech
11	Leila Black
12	Bella Sandford
13	Ryvrr Lee Alo
14	Charlotte Cawthorne
15	Keely Stevens
16	Alliyah Ghannoum
17	Losaline Sikahele
18	Susan Tuimaseve
19	Ciara Stockham

Match Updates (Sixties)

The Eels won’t play finals footy but they can finish on a high note with victory here. My apologies for any errors. It’s tough to identify the players in these night conditions.

Penrith kick off. The Eels have made an error in this set. The play is held up as an injured Panthers player is helped off the field.

Penrith now turn it over but the Eels will still have to kick from their own side of halfway.

Geez there’s a collision as the Penrith winger and fullback collide in trying to catch it. Somehow it’s not dropped. They work to the kick which Dallis Graham-Withell does well to catch. Parra again have to kick from inside their own half and the Panthers once more are in Parra’s half on their last. They are winning the territorial battle here.

The Eels error now comes on an early tackle. Panthers scrum feed on the quarter line. Man the Eels defend that set exceptionally well as Penrith ask a few questions – especially on the last tackle play.

Huge break made by Liaina Dimech as she powers through the defence line and shows some light stepping to get into the Panthers half. A spread to the left follows and Hayley Bell is tackled just short of the line. She still gets an offload away but the ball is lost in the collision.

Next possession for the Eels and Raph Perigo with a masterful pass sets Lindsay Tui loose on a searching run to the Panthers quarter. Looks like a ruck infringement penalty against Penrith. Parra centre the play then Vei rips in to take the pass from the ruck and is unstoppable on an almighty diagonal charge to the line.

Conversion from Bella Sandford

Eels 6 Panthers nil after 20 minutes.

Parra make an error in the kick off set. Penrith are peppering the line and Parra are just holding on. Penrith are held up over the line on the fifth and their last tackle kick is overcooked gifting Parra a six tackle set. Huge run metres from Hayley Bell from the tap. Parra capitalise on it by driving play into the Panthers red zone by the fourth. What a play by Perigo. The Eels 5/8 accelerates into a hole and as the defenders converge she offloads in contact to Sandford for the try.
Conversion unsuccessful

Eels 10 Panthers nil with 12 minutes till the break.

Panthers break into open space but Dallis Graham-Withell brings her down. Quick play the ball on the last but Perigo sprints after the ball runner and brings her to the ground with a beautiful ankles tackle!

The Eels are gaining in confidence and testing Penrith in every possession. Quick hands just unleash Tui on another surge to the quarter and only desperate cover from the Panthers forced a dropped pass and saved the try.

An error off the scrum win now has the Eels under pressure. More now as a penalty follows. Parra drop the last tackle kick and defend tenaciously, holding up a crash play beside the posts. The reward now comes as Penrith lose possession.

Great metres in this set and Parra now earns a couple of penalties to advance to the red zone. The tap for the second penalty is taken ten out and Ryvrr Lee Alo does it all herself as she brushes off defenders and lunges over between the posts.

Conversion successful as half time is called.

Half time – Eels 16 lead Penrith nil

Second Half

Parra kicking off towards the southern end.

Raph Perigo is back in the action early in this second half. The Eels get a penalty and work play into Penrith’s quarter. Perigo heads left. She puts on a skip to get outside the defender and slices through to score.

Conversion unsuccessful

Eels 20 lead Penrith nil after five minutes.

A penalty to the Eels in the kick off set has them back deep in Penriths half. A couple of loose passes and the Eels are heading backwards here. Hang on. There’s space on the right and it’s now quick hands. Micaela Bourne is sprinting for the corner and she feeds a beautiful pass to Avena Ngata who dives over in the corner.
Conversion unsuccessful

Eels 24 lead Panthers nil with 20 minutes to go.

Great defence from Parra restricts the Panthers to a turnover just outside the quarter but the Eels squander the chance with an error on the first play.

Penrith are finally in Parra territory for the first time this half but the Erls stay committed in defence. They now turn the screws on Penrith after getting to their kick and very nearly taking possession after Penrith allow it to bounce.

The errors now come from both sides as first Penrith turn it straight back and then Parra drop it ten out from Penrith’s line.

Its end to end stuff now as first Penrith advance the play to Parra’s line, then Parra chance their hand from their quarter.

Parra aren’t going to die wondering in their final match of the season. There are errors aplenty but the adventurous play is very entertaining.

The offloads are asking plenty of questions in this set. The play comes left and a lofted pass looks like it’s pit Hayley Bell over in the corner but the touch judges flag is up.

The Eels have possession again after a strong defensive set. They first explore midfield but it’s quick hands to the right this time and Bourne won’t be denied as she charges towards the corner and crashes across the line for the sixth try of the match.

Conversion unsuccessful

Eels 28 Penrith nil with two minutes remaining

The time is up as Parra get one final tackle. Again they head right and Avena Ngata is the beneficiary of good hands to dive over in the corner.

Conversion unsuccessful

Full time Eels 32 defeat Panthers nil

Well done to the girls for finishing the season with three consecutive victories