It’s a huge couple of days for the Sydney Roosters with the club not only taking on the Wests Tigers tonight but also the Penrith Panthers tomorrow in the SG Ball Grand Final.
The U/18s competition is the pathway for the future stars of the club and the young side have done incredibly well to reach the pinnacle of the competition.
Young Panthers sides are always incredibly talented and the young Tricolours will need to put in a strong performance to walk away with the trophy on the day.
The two sides have met twice already this season with the ledger at one a piece, the most recent encounter a remarkable 44-42 victory to the Tricolours just two weeks ago in the first week of the finals.
Coach of the side Tony Barnes says the team has progressed well throughout the season.
“We have really grown well as a team,” he said.
“We had some hard games early and faulted a bit but late in the season in the really tough games we have lifted.”
“They are a good bunch of kids and I think they are now aware how big this opportunity is and the hard work required.”
Scoring hasn’t been a problem for the young Tricolours with the team averaging a cricket score in every match, consequently the focus tomorrow is quite obvious.
“We have great talent in this team, we want them to really go out throw the ball around and play some footy but most importantly we need to stop tries,” Barnes said.
“The Panthers are a big agile side so we need to run hard and play some footy.”
Not that they need any further inspiration, but one thing that is really boosting the future stars is that the current crop will be at Leichhardt Oval to cheer the boys home.
“It is great to get the support from the entire club,” Barnes said.
“When the players found out the NRL team were coming to support the smiles on the boy’s faces was unbelievable, you could really see it pumped the boys up.”
“We try and work together as a club to get all our sides playing in a similar style from NRL down to the SG Ball and Harold Matthews so having that extra bit of support is great”
SG Ball Grand Final Team List
1. Latrell Mitchell
2. Johnny Tuivasa-Sheck
3. Paul Momorovski (c)
4. Chevi Ellis
5. Jack Murchie
6. Travis Edwards
7. Chad O'Donnell
8. Poasa Foamausili
9. Grant Garvey (c)
10. Shiem Fuimaono
11. Reuben Porter
12. Issac Crichton
13. Samet Erten
14. Connor Watson
15. Joseph Ratuvakacereivalu
16. Darren Schonig
17. Shaquai Mitchell
18. Ryan King
19. Alex Sama
20. Jordan Remfry
21. Jayden Thomas
22. Joseph Manu
23. Liam Crean
Coach: Anthony Barnes
When: Saturday, May 10 at 2pm
Where: Leichhardt Oval
Opponent: Penrith Panthers
