Juniors Report Round 9: SG Ball Claim Top Spot

The Sydney Roosters SG Ball side has a chance of claiming the Minor Premiership after advancing to the top of the ladder with a 30-24 win on Saturday against Canberra Raiders.

The win over the Raiders at Mascot Oval paired with other results saw the Roosters rise to the top of the ladder.

A try in the opening minute from second rower Corey Ross set the tone early for the Tricolours as they raced out to 24-0 lead after 24 minutes.

Canberra got back into the contest with two tries late in the first half and scored the opening try of the second half to get within ten points.

Roosters lock Joshua Wong crossed the line and Sandon Smith converted his fifth goal to have a perfect goal-kicking performance to help seal the win against a fast-finishing Raiders. 

A win over Western Suburbs Magpies and maintaining their superior for-and-against in this weekend’s rescheduled round 7 game will see the Tricolours claim the minor premiership and automatically advance to the grand final qualifiers.

While a loss will not cost the side a finals berth, failing to defeat the Magpies could see the Roosters slip to fifth due to the logjam at the top of the SG Ball ladder.

In the Tarsha Gale Cup, the girls are having a good run leading into the finals after recording a second consecutive win.

A first-half brace from second rower Otesa Pule gave the Roosters a 16-4 lead at half-time, and the Tricolours failed to give the Raiders a sniff in the 26-12 win.

The Roosters will get a taste of finals footy when they take on the third-placed Wests Tigers this weekend. Depending on this weekend’s results, they could play in the first week of the Tarsha Gale Cup finals.    

Sydney has also secured a spot in the top six, but Central Coast need to claim a huge scalp and defeat Penrith this weekend to ensure both Roosters teams qualify for the Harold Matthews Cup finals.

Central Coast conceded a 28-4 loss to slip outside the top six, but a win this weekend’s rescheduled round 7 game will see them finish sixth on the ladder.

Cooper Toy scored a brace to continue his hot try-scoring form and lead Sydney to a comfortable 36-10 win against Canberra.

Toy has scored at least one try in the past three games, and will look to extend the streak in a potential finals preview against the fourth-placed Western Suburbs this weekend.

The junior representative finals was supposed to start this weekend, but has been pushed back to accommodate round 7 games that needed to be postponed due to heavy rain closing many Sydney and Central Coast fields.

ROUND 9 SCOREBOARD

TARSHA GALE CUP

Sydney Roosters 26 (Otesa Pule 2, Iesha Duckett, Tymekqwa Duckett, Taneka Todhunter tries; Ruby Smith 3 goals) def Canberra Raiders 12

Next Round: Wests Tigers, TBC (rescheduled round 7 game)

Ladder: Fifth, have secured a spot in Tarsha Gale Cup finals

SG BALL CUP

Sydney Roosters 30 (Corey Ross, Petelo Kepaoa, Tyler Moriarty, Vaiala Tamati, Joshua Wong tries; Sandon Smith 5 goals) def Canberra Raiders 24

Next Round: Western Suburbs Magpies, TBC (rescheduled round 7 game)

Ladder: First, can automatically advance to grand final qualifiers with top 2 finish

HAROLD MATTHEWS CUP

Sydney Roosters 36 (Cooper Toy 2, Ethan Roberts, Jonti Morshead-Feildel, Grayson Reimer, Cassius Tia, Josh Durkin tries; Josh Durkin 4 goals) def Canberra Raiders 10

Next Round: Western Suburbs Magpies, TBC (rescheduled round 7 game)

Ladder: Fifth, have secured a spot in Harold Matthews Cup finals

Central Coast Roosters 4 (Mason Stottelaar try) def by Parramatta Eels 28

Next Round: Penrith Panthers, TBC (rescheduled round 7 game)

Ladder: Seventh, need to win to qualify on finals