TARSHA GALE GO DOWN TO ILLAWARRA
The Sydney Roosters Indigenous Academy Under 18s girls had a lot of confidence going into a tough clash against Illawarra Steelers after a great performance last week against the St George Dragons.
The girls started great with an early try to Brad Davis-Welsh, though Illawarra hit back with a couple of tries and the girls knew they were in for a game.
Lillyann Mason and Robyn Draper both scored tries at the end of the first quarter and the girls looked like they were controlling the game early on.
It was tight game early in the second quarter and Montana Roberts scored a try to level it up at 18-18.
Illawarra soon saw a long stretch of possession and started putting points on the board.
Soon enough the score line went away from the girls as their momentum faded.
Their spirits were down, but now they will now look forward to turning things around in Round 4.
TRIES: Brandii DAVIS-WELSH(2m) Lillyann MASON (12m) Robyn DRAPER (14m) Montana ROBERTS (18m) Beverley BEALE (34m)
HAROLD MATTHEWS COLLECT FIRST WIN
After a narrow loss in Round 2, the Harold Matthews squad had something to prove and they did just that.
They put away their first victory against a strong Illawarra team that won their first two clashes of the competition.
A return from five eighth Ronald Volkman made a big difference as he helped to guide the team around the park.
They made some early errors which hurt the young Roosters as they had to defend their goal-line for the first ten minutes.
To their credit they held strong and scored the first two tries of the match.
The first was awarded to replacement hooker Liam Tonpi and the second to Vince Raco on the back of some nifty backline play.
Just before halftime an error on their line gave Illawarra the ball and the teams went into the break 12-6 in favour of the Roosters.
The second half was a tight one, with both teams having chances to score tries.
There was some great rugby league on display from the young Harold Matthews boys.
With ten minutes to go in the match, Ronald Volkman kicked a field goal 35 metres out under pressure to push the scores to 13-6.
The boys looked like they were controlling the pace of the game.
Soon enough Illawarra hit back with a length of the field try to make it 13-12 with five minutes left on the clock.
They showed plenty of courage and stuck in there to make their way up the other end of the field.
The ball went wide on the bell to Ronald who then set up Jordan Swan in the corner to seal the win.
It was a blockbuster first win and much talked about for the rest of the day.
Man of the Match: Ronald Volkman
TRIES: Liam TONPI (17m) Vince RACO (23m) Jordan SWANN (59m)
S.G. BALL ROOSTERS ON A ROLL
The Under 18s Roosters remain undefeated in the S.G. Ball as they put on an impressive performance on Saturday afternoon to defeat the Illawarra Steelers 36-16.
They found themselves under pressure going into half time, with the Steelers in the lead at 16-12.
All the momentum was with Illawarra due to Roosters errors which the Steelers did well to capitalise on.
The second half would see the Roosters run riot over the Steelers as they clicked into gear to score tries all across the park.
In the end it was the young Roosters bench that made a big difference, with strong carries through the middle from Lewis and Faima which set the platform for the players around them.
The Steelers started to get tired and the Roosters used the fast footwork from their outside backs to blow the game away.
They were too strong on this occasion and their work ethic had a noticeable impact on the result.
TRIES: Anthony PELE (7m) Egan BUTCHER (24m) Lewis AFEAKI (46m) Luca MORETTI (51m) Luke SOMMERTON (58m) Asu KEPAOA (64m)
Central Coast Roosters V West Coast Pirates
It was a great start for the Central Coast Roosters as Fletcher Berry crossed the line after five minutes.
This was followed up with three more tries to the home team through Scott Casson, Jack Alipate and Toby Elliott.
The scored jumped out to 20-0 after 20 minutes, with two of the tries converted by Jack Frasca.
The West Coast Pirates hit back with two tries before half time as the young Roosters went into the sheds leading 20-8.
A strong try to Ryan Jones after the break extended the Roosters lead to 26-8.
A converted try to Jackson Bond from the Pirates on the 57 minute mark breathed some life into the visitors, but a try to the Roosters through Aaron Commins with 15 minutes to go put the game out of reach for the Pirates.
The Central Coast Roosters came away with a 30-14 victory.
