With the countdown to the NRL season well and truly on the home stretch, our Junior Representative sides are entering the business ends of their respective seasons.
It was another weekend of mixed results across the board, with both the Harold Matthews and SG Ball sides recording massive wins at Mascot Oval in Sydney, while our Tarsha Gale, Andrew Johns and Laurie Daley Cup sides were all downed by small margins.
Here's how all our teams faired this weekend.
SG Ball
Dragons 14 def. by Knights 48 (Williams 3, Toloi 3, Uhrle, Pezet, Petersen)
The under 18s side have extended their unbeaten start to the season, defeating St George 48-14 at Mascot Oval.
Lachlan Williams and Tevita Toloi each walked away with a hat-trick of tries, while Jonah Pezet took a 16 point haul away from the match with a try and six conversions.
Incredibly, the Knights managed the romp despite Williams being sent to the sin bin late in the first half.
The team now sit one point clear of the Warriors on top of the table and will meet the 16th placed Central Coast Roosters next week.
Tarsha Gale Cup
Eels 8 def. Knights 4 (Van Wyk)
Life hasn't been so easy for the Tarsha Gale side, who are still without a win following a tight 8-4 loss to the Eels in Sydney.
The girls trailed 8-0 at half-time and attempted to fight their way back, but a lone try to Terri-Lee Van Wyk wasn’t enough as the Knights fell four points short.
The team still sit at the bottom of the table but will play at home next week when the Raiders come to visit.
Harold Matthews Cup
Dragons 10 def. by Knights 52 (Ferguson 3, Perry 3, Blackman 2, Faalua, Paraha)
The under 16's Knights team bounced back from a disappointing loss to dominate the Dragons away from home, winning by a huge 42-point margin.
It was a huge performance from all the team, but in particular Ethan Ferguson who managed to score a hat-trick, and also nail six conversions finishing off the day with 24 points to his name.
Brody Perry also scored a trio of tries while Taj Blackman also got his name on the scoresheet twice to help the side gain their second victory of the season.
The boys have moved into fifth place with the win and will face a tough task next week against the Raiders at home.
Andrew Johns & Laurie Daley Cup
Johns: Knights 16 (Whitby, Sharman, Conn) def. by Bulldogs 22
Daley: Knights 28 (Kennedy 2, Walker, Rose, Butterfield) def. by Bulldogs 34
It was a tough day at office for our two Country Rugby League junior representative sides as both teams encountered narrow defeats.
The U16s Andrew Johns Cup team attempted to work their way back from a 22-6 deficit and pushed the Bulldogs all the way with second-half tries to centre Hugh Sharman and back-rower Preston Conn, but ran out of time to secure the game-equalising points.
The boys now sit in seventh place on the ladder still within touching distance of many teams above them.
The Laurie Daley Cup side also experienced a painful defeat as they also tried to fight their way back from being down 28-12 at half-time.
Halfback Fletch Kennedy score two tries in the first half and while his team supported in the second half by scoring three tries to the Bulldogs’ one, the visitors walked away with the points.
The loss is the third of the Knights’ season as they now sit in 10th on the ladder.
Both teams will travel to the Central Coast next Saturday to face the Roosters.
