Pathways Wrap: Round 9

St George went down to the Panthers 46-0 in their final Lisa Fiaola Cup clash of 2025.

Penrith jumped out to a 22-0 half-time lead behind tries to Violet Hiku, Isabella Ferguson, Patricia Heihei and Betsy Fifita.

Fifita notched a second in the opening set of the second half to stretch the lead further before a late Rihanna Petelo double coupled with tries to Patricia Heihei and Lilianne Halangahu put the result beyond doubt.

Whilst the points dried up towards the backend of the year, it proved an improved campaign for Renee Targett's squad whose Round 2 win over South Sydney remains a high point.

The Steelers' finals hopes were dashed as they went down to the Central Coast Roosters 28-0 in Woy Woy.

The Roosters were hot early with Shenae Cassidy, Meg McPhail, and Coco Butcher all nabbing tries in the opening quarter of the clash.

A brave Steelers defence held strong on either side of the break but were unable to contain Talea Tonga who snagged the hosts' fourth before Marsters secured her second late to seal things for the Roosters.

A win would have seen Brad Reh's squad sneak into the finals, but four losses from their final five made life all too hard for the Under 17s unit.

HAROLD MATTHEWS CUP

St George's Harold Matthews unit fought hard but were unable to reel in Cronulla in their local derby clash at Kogarah going down 38-16.

Five-eighth Jasais Ah Kee enjoyed another strong outing to cap off a stellar season but the Sharks' hot first half proved too much to overcome.

A Daniel Green double coupled with tries to Spencer Swann and Liam Challenor earnt the visitors a 20-0 lead going into the break.

Chase Junior Stanley and Thomas Beattie went back-to-back early in the second stanza for the Sharks before Ah Kee nabbed his first.

Jayden Best found one for Cronulla before Ah Kee and Nicholas Raniga scored late four-pointers for the Red V.

St George managed just two wins from their eight outings but remained competitive with the side ruing several tight losses to competition heavyweights.

The Illawarra Steelers are the Harold Matthews Cup minor premiers for 2025 thanks to a 32-10 win over Balmain on Saturday.

No.1 Ollie Burton again stole the show with a try-scoring hat-trick as the Steelers powered towards their seventh win of the season.

Burton drew first blood for Illawarra just eight minutes in before tries to Tayler Humphries and Hunter Fangupo boosted the squad to a 16-0 half-time edge.

Callum Cooney crossed for the Steelers on the other side of the break before Burton nabbed a second shortly after.

Sioeli Iongi got the Tigers on the board before Burton found his third to seal it for the visitors.

TARSHA GALE CUP

The Dragons fell to the Panthers 30-10 at Jubilee Stadium in their final clash of the season on Saturday.

Imelda Wright, Naioka Tuipulotu, and Jade Elford found first-half tries to give the visitors a 12-0 lead.

Kahlanie Hebden-Salase found another for Penrith on the other side of the half before Merinda Carney and Ana Ahmat notched back-to-back tries for the Red V to bring them within a converted try with 20 minutes to play.

Danica Talitonu, Mya Muller, and Kayla Henderson however nabbed late tries to seal it for the Panthers.

The Dragons put together a vastly improved campaign with the side not conceding over 30 points once all year – a stark contrast to last season when they conceded 30-plus on eight occasions.

The Steelers took down the Roosters Indigenous Academy 26-24 on Saturday to claim the Tarsha Gale Cup minor premiership.

A seesawing first stanza saw Illawarra take a 14-8 lead into the sheds behind tries to Billie Va’a, Maddy Bullock, and Trinity Tauaneai.

Tori Shipton crossed in the opening set of the second half to improve Illawarra's buffer before Manisha Seebeck scored two quick tries to bring the Roosters back within two.

A 51st minute Indie Bostock try put the Steelers back up beyond a converted try before Logan Fletcher crossed late for the Roosters.

Their fightback fell short however as Courtney Crawford's Steelers secured a second-consecutive minor premiership.

SG BALL CUP

The Dragons ended their year with a hard-fought 28-20 victory over Newcastle at Jubilee Stadium.

St George began the clash in strong fashion with skipper Lewis Sargent-Wilson crossing just three minutes in before Toby Winter answered for the Knights.

The next period of the match swung firmly in St George's favour with Samuel Mardini and Viliami Hikila both notching doubles to go along with a Cooper Meldrum try as the hosts jumped out to a 28-4 lead with 25 minutes to go.

Newcastle mounted a fightback with Aidan Gow snagging a late double along with a Jaylan Bishop try but it proved in vain with the Red V holding on to finish the year on a high.

The Steelers punched their ticket to the finals thanks to a dominant 54-6 win over Balmain at Leichhardt Oval.

Aaymon Fitzgibbon nabbed a deserved hat-trick whilst Leeroy Weatherall managed two of his own.

Weatherall drew first blood for Illawarra 15 minutes in before Fitzgibbon went back-to-back-to-back to blow the game open.

Drew Langdon got over to continue the Steelers' momentum before Weatherall found a second and Charlie Heidke, Kade Reed, and Kye Andrews all scored to seal a convincing Steelers win.