Pathways Wrap: Round 2

The Dragons were able to claim a key 16-12 win over South Sydney at Redfern Oval on Saturday courtesy of a Monique Marshall try on the stroke of full-time.

It secured a vital win for a Lisa Fiaola Cup squad that finished winless a season ago.

Victoria Loleni got the hosts on the board just three minutes into the contest in what proved the only points of the opening stanza.

Daniella Barton hit back for the Dragons on the other side of the half through a determined effort to tie things up.

St George hit the front soon after courtesy of a sharp, sideline-to-sideline shift with Telina Adams bumping away from contact and sending a one-handed pass the way of Urshelah Kohunui who carried several defenders over the line to score.

Their advantage was short-lived however with the Rabbitohs wrestling back the lead through Taya Donovan with 10 minutes on the clock.

With time slipping away, a quick Alexis Fenton play-the-ball just shy of the chalk paved the way for Marshall to burrow her way over to nab the match-winner.

HAROLD MATTHEWS CUP

St George's Harold Matthews Cup squad held on for a hard-fought 14-10 win over Balmain at Lidcombe Oval on Saturday.

Both teams squandered early opportunities before the visitors drew first blood through second rower Lino Tamaseu who punched through a hole off some sharp Lewis Sargent-Wilson ball-playing.

The Dragons extended their edge moments later through co-captain Jaeden Kavana thanks to back-to-back pieces of Jasais Ah Kee brilliance.

The talented No.6 slipped into space and found a supporting Christian Mardini who was dragged down inches short of the stripe before Ah Kee jumped into acting half and sent Kavana crashing over virtually untouched.

The lead ballooned beyond a pair of converted tries on the stroke of half-time through winger Jack Lambert who was on the end of a scrum play that was revived by a late Cody Field offload.

The Tigers stormed back in the second stanza with Izaac Mascarenas finding their first points before a Braidyn Wood try entering the final stages set-up a tense finish.

Reece Regan's Dragons were able to hold on however and snag a valuable pair of competition points in warm conditions.

TARSHA GALE CUP

An early Bronte Morrison double was not enough to propel St George past South Sydney with the visitors falling 22-18 at Redfern Oval.

A Gezreyal Maiu’u offload sparked the first points of the clash with Morrison finishing things off in the right corner.

Morrison found a second on the same blade of grass minutes later after St George managed to strip the Rabbitohs' left edge of numbers and fullback Sky Antoniolli summed things up to send her centre over.

Ava Lavender crossed to put South Sydney ahead before Maiu’u found a try of her own with Morrison this time notching the assist as the scoreboard read 12-all heading into the break.

Shaylee Haines and Josephine Zapantis snagged back-to-back tries for South Sydney on the other side of half-time to earn themselves a double-digit buffer.

Maiu’u nabbed a second of her own with eight minutes to play, but St George's fightback came up short as they remain in search of their opening win of the season.

SG BALL CUP

The Dragons were unable to come out on top in a Lidcombe Oval shootout with Balmain holding on for a 32-26 win despite an Antonio Okusitino hat-trick.

The visitors got off to a dream start with five-eighth Charlie Boyle dummying his way through the line and finding Okusitino for first points.

A superb, length-of-the-field effort finished off by No.1 Xavier Kirk from the corresponding kick-off saw the Dragons snatch a 10-nil lead before the tide turned firmly the way of the hosts.

Ill-discipline proved St George's Achilles' heel with a slew of incorrect play-the-balls cruelling the side at inopportune times.

Balmain nabbed six tries in a little over 20 minutes with Logan Deininger grabbing a hat-trick as their lead ballooned out to 32-10 with a quarter of the match to play.

Darren Nicholls' Dragons embarked on a comeback attempt sparked by a determined Okusitino effort 55 minutes in.

Zachariah Nachar followed Okusitino's lead moments later standing up his opposite to finish off a left-side shift and keep the visitors in the contest.

Boyle and Okusitino combined again in the dying stages to earn the latter his third try and drag St George within a converted try, but time proved too much of the essence with the Tigers holding on.

Illawarra continued their perfect start to the SG Ball season storming past Manly 32-4 on the Northern Beaches.

The scoring started early for Shaun Timmins' men with fullback Lucas Borg dummying and slipping his way over down the short side just five minutes in.

No.6 Aaymon Fitzgibbon sent his back rower Jackson Smith through a hole soon after to extend the Steelers' edge to a dozen.

They found more success down the left-hand side of the field moments later with Borg finding charging Zane Timmins who piggybacked a defender over the line for his first try of the season.

Benjamin Askew found a try for the hosts 24 minutes in before Kade Reed slotted a penalty goal on the stroke of half-time from close to halfway to make it an 18-4 game.

The Steelers' left edge continued their scorching hot play on the other side of the break with Timmins finding his winger Tom Kirk with a sublime flick pass for the team's fourth of the afternoon.

Timmins steamed through a hole late to notch his second and put the cherry on top of a strong Illawarra victory.

2025 NSWRL JUNIOR REPRESENTATIVES SEASON: ROUND 3