Jets consolidate their place in the NSW Cup Top Five with an emphatic away victory against the Dragons.
Match Report:
Last Sunday’s away game against St George-Illawarra at the well-appointed Collegians Sports Complex in Figtree had plenty of danger signs for the Newtown Jets.
The Jets were aiming at winning three games in a row for the first time this season, and they were up against a team desperately trying to stay in touch with the fight for a place in the final five.
The Newtown Jets display the Tom Kirk Cup which they won on Sunday, 9th August 2026. (Newtown RLFC).
Newtown doesn’t have a particularly good record of winning away games in Wollongong, and Sunday’s 12 noon kick-off time was slightly unusual to say the least. On the up side, the Jets had named a strong forward pack with Jayden Berrell and Tuku Hau Tapuha included.
The Jets made one of their best starts to a game this season, with Niwhai Puru scoring in the fourth minute after Liam Ison and Sam Stonestreet broke away up the left side and sent the Newtown halfback running clear to score.
Fleet-footed Sam Stonestreet leaves this Dragons defender in his wake. (Mario Facchini)
Just two minutes later, Stonestreet sprinted away again up the left side and stood up the Dragons fullback. Riley Pollard converted both tries for Newtown to lead 12-0.
Liam Ison looks to dash past these Dragons defenders with Riley Pollard in close support.
Newtown kept the pressure on and in the 18th minute Liam Ison made a break to send Jaxon Lavender racing away to score under the posts.The conversion gave Newtown an 18-0 lead, and the BarTV commentary team observed that the Newtown Jets had not made an error in the first twenty minutes.
Felix Faatili on the charge against the Dragons. (Photo: Mario Facchini).
The game’s momentum shifted slightly and the Dragons eventually made inroads into Newtown’s territory by way of penalties and the occasional Jets error. The Dragons scored in the 32n minute when one of their big forwards took advantage of some casual Jets defence right on their own try-line. St George-Illawarra gained ground again through a penalty and six again calls, along with a one-on-one strip that saw the Dragons besieging the Newtown tryline. A Red Vee error led to a wild melee breaking out, which took play into half-time and a Newtown lead of 18-6.
Jaxon Lavender is about to ground the ball for what many people at the ground regarded as a legitimate try.
If the Dragons were to continue to fight back in the second half, some incentive might have come when Newtown’s Jaxon Lavender was penalised for a double movement that looked suspiciously like a fair try. Once again the Jets broke through up their left side and the splendid Stonestreet, who was having a sensational game, was sent racing clear to score. Pollard’s conversion had Newtown in a strong position with a 24-6 lead.
Taj Ford puts up a high kick with Jaxon Lavender primed to give chase.
Another raid up the left side saw Taj Ford lay on the pass that enabled Chris Vea’ila to score and push the lead out to 28-6. The Dragons hit back with a converted try and were still just in the contest, trailing by 28-12 and with their finals hopes very much on the line.
Chris Vea’ila scores in the second half with Sam Stonestreet in close proximity.
Jets captain Liam Ison was badly slammed in a tackle and the resultant penalty goal kicked by Riley Pollard took Newtown’s lead out to 30-12.
The very capable Pollard, who had been the man of the match at Henson Park on the previous weekend, was in rare form and he produced a 40/20 kick late in the game that put the Jets in a favourable attacking position.
Tuku Hau Tapuha looks ready for the show-down with the Dragons. (Mario Facchini)
Big Tuku Hau Tapuha scored with four minutes left to play and Newtown had won in commanding style by 36-12.
Newtown won back the Tom Kirk Cup from the Dragons on Sunday, based on the results of this year’s two games (in round 14 Newtown won 34-22, and in round 23 the Jets won by 36-12).
The Tom Kirk Cup displayed literally on the line for Sunday, 9th August 2026 – and the Newtown Jets won the trophy! (Mario Facchini)
The Jets are now in fourth position on the competition table but are by no means assured of a finals place. They take on the Canberra Raiders at Henson Park this Saturday (15th August) at 3.00pm, knowing that this match is probably “the last throw of the dice” for the Raiders.
The Green Machine has plenty of point-scoring capacity and is only marginally behind Newtown on points for and against. They will come to Henson Park determined to take the competition points and to stay in the finals quest.
Details from Newtown's match against St George-Illawarra Dragons at the Collegians Sports Complex, Figtree on Sunday, 9th August 2026.
NSWRL Knock-On Effect NSW Cup
Round 23
Sunday, 9th August 2026
Collegians Sporting Complex, Figtree
St George-Illawarra v Newtown
Kick-Off: 12 noon.
Weather: 18 degrees, cloudy, windy, light rain expected
Playing surface: Very good.
Match Result: -
Newtown 36:
Sam Stonestreet 2, Niwhai Puru,
Jaxon Lavender, Chris Vea’ila,
Tuku Hau Tapuha tries;
Riley Pollard 5 conversions, 1 penalty goal
defeated
St George-Illawarra 12:
Cyrus Stanley-Traill, Joseph O’Neill tries;
Kade Reed 2 conversions.
Half-Time: Newtown led 18-6.
With this win (and a previous 34-22 victory in round 14), Newtown has won the Tom Kirk Cup for 2026.
The teams were: -
Newtown:
FB: Liam Ison (Captain)
W: Sam Stonestreet, Kristian Dixon
C: Chris Vea’ila, Riley Jones
H: Riley Pollard, Niwhai Puru
L: Blake Hosking
SR: Jaxon Lavender, Harrison Hassett
FR: Tuku Hau Tapuha, Brad Fearnley
H: Jayden Berrell
Interchange:
Sam McCulloch, Jontay-Junior Betham-Misa
Felix Faatili, Taj Ford
Reserve: Khaled Rajab
Blue shirt: tom Haberecht
Yellow: Brett Kaplan
Orange: Chris Moubarak
Doctor: DR Daryl Wong
Coach: George Ndaira
St George-Illawarra:
FB: Tyler Peckham-Harris
W: Christian Tuipulotu, Jesse Williams
C: Brad Morkos, Nick Tsougranis
H: Joseph O’Neill (Captain), Kade Reed
Lock: Matthew Alhazim
Second-Rowers: Dylan Coutts, Luciano Leilua
Front-Rowers: Ryan Hutchinson, Blake Lawrie
Hooker: Connor Muhleisen
Interchange:
Haele Finau, Viliami Amone
Cyrus Stanley-Traill, Lachlan Weir
Reserve: Nick Quinn
Blue Shirt: Blake Wallace
Yellow: Peter Dalley
Orange: Matthew Gleeson
Doctor: Dr Lachlan Evans
Coach: Willie Talau.
The Newtown Jets and Dragons have an on-field disagreement last Sunday. (Mario Facchini).
Match Timeline:
First Half:
St George-Illawarra kicked off, and were running to the southern end.
5th minute: Niwhai Puru try.
Converted by Riley Pollard. Newtown 6-0.
7th minute: Sam Stonestreet try.
Converted by Riley Pollard. Newtown 12-0.
18th minute: Jaxon Lavender try.
Converted by Riley Pollard. Newtown 18-0.
32nd minute: Cyrus Stanley-Traill try.
Converted by Kade Reed. Newtown 18-6.
Half-Time: Newtown 18 led St George-Illawarra 6.
Second half:
Newtown kicked off.
48th minute: Sam Stonestreet try.
Converted by Riley Pollard. Newtown 24-6.
53rd minute: Chris Vea’ila try.
Not converted. Newtown 28-6.
63rd minute: Joseph O’Neill try.
Converted by Kade Reed. Newtown 28-12.
68th minute: Penalty goal conversion by Riley Pollard.
Newtown led 30-12.
75th minute: Tuku Hau Tapuha try.
Converted by Riley Pollard. Newtown 36-12.
Full-Time: Newtown 36 defeated St George-Illawarra 12.
Match Statistics: -
Player Statistics:
Harrison Hassett (Newtown): Most tackles – 32
Sam Stonestreet (Newtown): Most metres run – 246
Sam Stonestreet (Newtown): Most line breaks – 4.
Team Statistics:
Newtown (N); St George-Illawarra Dragons (D).
Possession: D 43%; N 57%
Time in possession: D 21.50; N 27.08
Completion rate: D 75%, 25/33; N 84%, 33/39.
All runs: D 144; N 187
All run metres: D 1363; N 1808
Post-contact metres: D 528; N 533
Line breaks: D 4; N 10
Tackle breaks: D 33; N 40
Average set distance: D 41.31; N 46.37
Kick-return metres: D 96; N 184
Average PTB speed: D 3.43; N 3.55
Offloads: D 8; N 9
Receipts: D 324; N 433
Total passes: D 178; N 245
Dummy passes: N 20; D 5
Kicks: D 16; N 19
Kicking metres: D 450; N 570
Forced drop outs: D nil; N 3
Kick defusal: D 92%; N 100%
40/20: D nil; N 1
Bombs: D 4; N 2
Grubbers: D 2; N 4
Effective tackles: D 86.57; N 85.39
Tackles made: D 345; N 263
Missed tackles: D 40; N 33
Ineffective tackles: D 14; N 12
Errors: D 11; N 7
Penalties conceded: D 5; N 8
Inside 10 metres: D nil; N 1
On report: D 2; N nil.
Interchanges: D 6; N 8.
Newtown’s next game details:
NSWRL Knock-On Effect NSW Cup
Round 24
Saturday, 15th August 2026
Henson Park
Newtown v Canberra Raiders
Kick-Off: 3.00pm.