The opening week of the 2025 Junior Representatives kicked off with the Parramatta Eels on the road in all four games. While they may have arrived in Canberra and Cessnock via buses they left in street-sweepers after notching up a quartet of first-up victories. TCT brought you all of the blow-by-blow action on Saturday but here is your Monday debrief after a perfect weekend in the Junior Reps!

Lisa Fiola Cup

Parramatta Eels 36 defeat the Canberra Raiders 6

A dominant, if frenetic, first half effort in which the Eels posted 5 tries has paved the way for an opening round victory for the Blue & Gold. Freedom Crichton Ropati bagged a brace down the right sidellne with strikes in the 14th and 23rd minutes as Parramatta would eventually go on to score 7 times against the Raiders. Leonia Vei, Mitszy Cairns and Catea Duff caused plenty of grief for Canberra in the forward pack while Mere Sivo impressed off the bench. As expected, Bailey Ma-Chong was a menace out of dummy-half with her speed around the ruck.

The second half saw the visitors in a more stilted mode of play as errors derailed numerous attacking raids. This isn’t to be unexpected in the Junior Reps, especially early in the season, but it will be a point of emphasis for coach Ryan Walker in the coming weeks. If they manage to get on top of the issue then there is every reason to believe they will flourish this year (although the Canterbury Bulldogs already cast a long shadow after just one game).

Tarsha Gale Cup

Parramatta Eels 54 defeat the Canberra Raiders 12

It was hard to ask for much more from the Tarsha Gale in Round 1 as they ran the Canberra Raiders off the park in a 54-12 demolition job. Indeed, all 17 players turned in terrific efforts for coach Charlotte Henry in a brash, bold opening statement from the Blue & Gold. In a star-studded field, Kyliah Gray shone bright as any with the middle forward tormenting the Raiders with her ability to play at the line. Gray laid on try assists for Rory Muller as well as a double for Taylah Falaniko showing great vision and soft hands.

Captain Ryvvr-Lee Alo and fellow backrower Fontayne Tufuga both showed the fruits of their time in the Harvey Normans Women’s Premiership last year with both looking a class above on Saturday. There is just about a case for a quick write-up for the entire squad but given this is a synopsis for the game but I will give Alleya Scrivens a quick shout out. The Eels have been spoiled by the boot of Alysha Bell in recent seasons and Scrivens lived up to her legacy with a sparkling 9/9 from the kicking tee.

The only concern from Round 1 lies in something the Eels couldn’t control by virtue of their own offensive dominance. How resilient are they defensively? They did a goob job in containing the Raiders in the little ball they had and the 2 tries Canberra scored were spectacular against-the-run-of-play efforts. How will they fare when possession splits are closer? .

That however, is the definition of a problem for another day and for now I salute an outstanding team showing in Round 1.

Harold Matthews Cup

Parramatta Eels 24 defeat the Newcastle Knights 20

Errors and a tough whistle have seen the Parramatta Eels fight and claw their way to a Round 1 victory over the Newcastle Knights. A crucial 90m intercept try in the first half from Samuela Sorovi and a short-range strike on the stroke of midnight from New Zealand recruit Steven Nunn proved to be the difference as the Eels stole a critical win on the road.

Nunn flashed plenty of talent in his Parramatta debut and immediately stands out as one to watch after joining the club as a highly touted rugby union prospect. The trio of experienced starting backrowers in Michael Nauer, Kasinga Noa and Samuel Polley all proved to be typically industrious – particularly Polley in his new role at lock forward.

The early season rust was evident from Parramatta but the gumption to hang on and grind out the win was surely a genuine positive for coach Josh Hodgson. With a nucleus of second year players and some intriguing new recruits, the potential certainly looks to be there for the Matts. As with the Lisa Fiola team, the key will be getting a lid on the errors.

SG Ball Cup

Parramatta Eels 36 defeat the Newcastle Knights 10

A clean, complete road win against the Newcastle Knights in the SG Ball is always something to treasure and by that metric the Eels kicked off 2025 in damn near perfect fashion. Lincoln Fletcher steered Parra expertly to the 26-point victory with the first year SG Ball half looking completely at home in his Ball debut.

Against the bigger Newcastle pack, Parramatta’s smaller and more mobile unit tore the Novocastrians to shreds with their leg speed around the ruck. Max Popo and Maison Ong stood out in that regard with the latter scoring two excellent tries. Christopher Petrus looked terrific in his debut as an Eel while the bench were heavily involved throughout the contest.

The Eels sport a number of first-year Ball players in their squad but this was a composed, methodical result. Coach Mitchell Lewis will no doubt be hungry to build on the road victory and it gives the club the ideal platform to look to consolidate against the Roosters in Round 2.

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