Match details
3.00 pm, Saturday, 7 April 2012
Campbelltown Stadium, Pembroke Rd, Leumeah
Game 1 - Tom Raudonikis Cup
2012 Newtown Jets players & staff
NSW Cup ladder
Browse moment-by-moment game action and game highlights in the galleries of our wonderful Newtown photographers, Gary Sutherland and Mike Bidboudis.
The Newtown Jets have a track record of making hard work of games they should win comfortably, so no doubt Saturday's away match against bottom-placed Western Suburbs would have caused their fans some concern.
Newtown delivered mixed performances in each half
The Magpies actually had the better of the first twenty minutes and were leading 6-0, but the Jets had the game well in hand with a 30-6 lead at halftime.
The scoring pattern in both halves was rather similar and Newtown eventually claimed the competition points with a 56-10 win at Campbelltown Stadium.
Newtown scored most of their tries in the second twenty minutes of each half.
The Magpies had certainly been competitive in the game's first quarter but the Jets off-loads and repeat sets at Wests' end of the field started to pry open the Magpies defence.
Jets coach Greg Matterson warned his players at halftime not to start playing touch football and demanded that his men use the second half as a disciplined dress rehearsal for the tougher games that are fast approaching in the VB NSW Cup draw.
The Jets took advantage of a Magpies error early in the second half but didn't score again until the 61st minute.
Matterson at fulltime rated the team's performance as satisfactory, admitting that it can be hard for a team to be up when preparing for a game they are expected to win well. Newtown kept the pressure on the Magpies right up until the fulltime siren and forced Wests into several goal-line restarts in the second half.
Player performances
Tall centre, Peni Tagive, turned in a strong performance for Newtown and he is running the ball with confidence. Second-rower, Jack Bosden, had his best game this season and showed that he can be a real force in this competition. Front-rower, Andrew Pearn, was once again one of Newtown's best forwards and halves, Mark Kheirallah and Jack Littlejohn, are developing a good combination and are supplying a sound midfield structure for the team.
Next game
Newtown's next playing assignment is against one of the competition's early front runners, the Canberra Raiders new partnership club Mounties.
Just as the Raiders had considerable success with Souths-Logan in the Queensland Cup in recent years, the Green Machine are obviously providing the VB NSW Cup newcomers with the requisite playing resources to be a competitive force.
Mounties host the Newtown Jets next Saturday, 14 April, at 3.00pm at Mt Pritchard Oval, Humphries Rd, Mt Pritchard.
Match summary
Newtown Jets 56 [Peni Tagive 2, Mark Kheirallah, Isaac Liu, Andrew Pearn, Jack Bosden, Jack Littlejohn, Isaac Dargen, Blake Williamson, Samiu Latu tries; Mark Kheirallah 6 Jack Littlejohn 2 goals]
Western Suburbs Magpies 10 [2 tries, 1 goal]
Half-time: Newtown led 30-6
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